Mountain monk of Adygea. Mount Monk - the name from an ancient legend

The route to Mount Monk is a visiting card of the Khamyshki village. The mountain abruptly breaks off to the south and east with sandstone cliffs, on one of which the face of a monk is clearly visible:

There is a legend that a hermit monk once lived on this mountain. But his faith was not strong and he sinned with a girl from the village below. When her relatives found out about this, they forced the monk to gouge his face in the rocks before his death as an edification to all living about the inadmissibility of the fall.

Of course, this is just a legend, and the origin of the "face" is purely natural. Although traces of living in the past in the grottoes of Mount Monk are found repeatedly. And there are all conditions for this - a never-drying spring, rocks that protect from wind and precipitation, the southern orientation of the grottoes contributes to heat conservation.

The route to the rock begins literally right at the bridge over the Bzykha. The steep, well-filled and marked trail climbs very sharply - for a kilometer of the way, the climb is more than five hundred meters! In rain or snow, the route will require some preparation and at least the simplest self-insurance (alpenstock, ice ax or trekking poles).

After three-quarters of the way, we go out to the grotto, where, according to legend, the unlucky monk lived. Here is the only source of water in these places - a good spring gushing from under a rocky wall. In the same grotto, behind a boulder, there is a well-preserved section of ancient masonry on clay - apparently once a windproof wall. But we return to the path and continue to climb. This time the path leads to the upper edge of the rocks, in which the monk's grotto is laid. Here is an observation platform with an excellent view of Khamyshki, Bolshoi Thach, Acheshbok, Dzhuga.

You can return to the grotto in the same way, but it is more interesting to walk another 80 meters along the edge of the rocks and find a descent down and go through the grottoes under the rock to the spring, looping the route.

A unique curiosity of nature is located at the entrance to the village of Khamyshki, Maykop region. The flat-topped mountain - a spur of the Azishtau ridge - rises steeply above the village by 500 m. Its cliff from below is covered with talus and overgrown with broad-leaved forest, and is bare in the near-top part. But it seems as if there, at the top, not reddish rocks are exposed, but the big-cheeked, frowning face of an old man. Slanting swollen eyes stare from under their brows, a massive flattened nose stands out sharply, a tightly compressed mouth, covered with a thick upper lip. Thick hair is disheveled above a low forehead, and a bald spot is whitening on the top of the head ...
These features are not the fruit of idle fiction and not the trace of a skillful cutter, but the result of the weathering of Jurassic platy sandstones and limestones covering them.
The name of the mountain is due to the fact that a lonely monk once lived on its top.

In the expanses of Adygea, numerous natural treasures open up to a curious look - here fast rivers make their way through deep gorges, and forests filled with wild animals rise high up the mountain slopes. Here, the crystal sound of falling water leads travelers to beautiful waterfalls, and mysterious crevices open up a magnificent underworld caves.
It is especially pleasant that all this beauty is very close, you don’t need to go to distant countries and conquer other continents - it’s enough to arrange for yourself inexpensive vacation V Krasnodar Territory.
The wonderful protected plateau of Lago-Naki in the territory of the Republic of Adygea irresistibly attracts travelers. In these places, near the base " white river", can see alpine meadows, amazing vegetation and fearless animals, as well as immerse yourself in the atmosphere pristine nature. locals for centuries they have sung about the beauty of the area in legends, and many interesting stories about the old days. And to believe them or not - everyone decides solely for himself.

The Legend of Mount Monk

Not far from the village where the Dakhovskaya guest houses are located, Mount Monk rises, which got its name for a reason. Many years ago, a hermit monk lived in these places, he devoted all his days to prayers to God and led a righteous life. One day he was thinking about love and how much was revealed to him thanks to faith in the Lord, and then a wind came up and began heavy rain. The monk felt that he was going to be tested by the Almighty...
The monk hid from the weather in a shelter near his beloved mountain, and sat there in oblivion, until his thoughts were suddenly disturbed by a melodious female cry. The monk opened his eyes and saw a beautiful girl next to him, frozen and wet. Her wonderful, innocent eyes and sweet face awakened hitherto unknown feelings in the monk. Previously, he treated all women as if they were his own sisters, but he felt a completely different attitude towards this amazing creature. They spent only a few hours together, not touching, but enjoying each other's company.
Weeks and months passed, but the monk could not forget the girl, he frantically prayed to God to tear out unbidden love from his heart, because he could not break this vow. One fine morning, the girl came to the monk - it turns out that she, too, could not forget him! The happiness of the lovers knew no bounds, they had long conversations and caressed each other, but they did not violate the ban - both remained chaste.
Other monks learned about the sinful passion of their comrade, and decided to severely punish him. Since the stumbled monk refused to say the name of the girl, he was chained to a rock so that his beloved could see his torment every day. The monk hung on the mountain for a long time, but his heart was free - he did not violate the main prohibition, his love had a pure, divine origin. And the girl did not marry, remaining faithful to her monk. And one day he simply disappeared along with the chains, leaving an imprint of his face on a hard stone - and ordinary residents realized how much they had made a mistake by punishing the monk. And everything around the mountain began to grow with a vengeance, as if it also experienced the all-consuming power of love.

Mount Monk is located on the northern edge of the village of Khamyshki. There is a legend that the mountain got its name from a monk who lived many years ago on the top of the mountain, in a small cave, like a cell. This monk, trying to atone for his sins, wanted to knock out the figure of the saint in the rock, but he made only one head. Looking closely at the mountain, you can see the old man's frowning high-cheeked face, his slanting eyes look at you from under his brows, his flattened nose strongly protrudes forward, his lips are tightly compressed. The hair is tousled over the forehead, and on the top of the head there is a bald spot. There is another legend that says that in former times monks settled in the caves of the mountain. They lived peacefully in the mountains, collecting food for themselves in the mountains and forests. And down below, under the mountain, lay people lived in adobe husks. They grazed cattle, went hunting, cultivated arable land. Everything would be fine, but the monk fell in love with a beautiful girl from the Adyghe village. The monk broke his vow, but the harsh laws of the mountains were always respected by the inhabitants of the village, above all for them was the honor of the family. Angry at the monk for an unworthy act, people chained the unfortunate man to a mountain and forced him to carve his face in a stone so that in the future it would remind people of the unacceptability of actions discrediting a woman. Since then, the stone face of the unfortunate monk has forever turned to people as a guardian of the laws of honor, purity and trust in human relations.

But these are only legends, the face depicted on the mountain is not the work of human hands, but the result of a long exposure to wind and water on sandstone. The top of the rock is flat, and Mount Monk itself is one of the spurs of the Azish-Tau ridge. On the eastern side of the upper tier of Monk Rock is Jolas Cave, named after the doctor who hid in it during the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War. The path to Monakh begins at the bridge over the Bzdykha River, the trodden and marked path is rapidly gaining height and in bad weather climbing it will require the simplest preparation and self-insurance. At the end of the third quarter of the path, the path leads to the grotto, where, according to legend, a monk once lived. At the grotto, a spring beats, disappearing after a few meters. In the grotto, a section of the supposed old windproof wall has been preserved. Continuing the ascent, the path leads to the upper edge of the rocks, where the monk's grotto was laid. Here, at the grotto, there is a good observation deck with a view of Khamyshki, Acheshbok, Bolshoy Thach and Juba and other mountains of Adygea. On the upper platform of the mountain there are 21 barrow dolmens. You can go down by simply turning back or going a little further along the edge of the rocks and finding a way down, after which you can go to the spring with grottoes located under the rock, thus looping the route. From time to time, stone monoliths fall down from Monakh Mountain (Adygea), breaking trees, stones roll out onto the road or fly further into the Belaya River.

In the very north of the village, Mount Monk took its place, proudly exposing its face. It is with Mount Monk that it is connected
one of the most interesting legends Adygea, which for centuries has been passed from mouth to mouth among the locals.

Mount Monk - the history of the name

It is no coincidence that Mount Monk received such an unusual name. One of the ancient legends says that several centuries ago this Mount Monk was chosen by one of the hermit monks for his place of residence. He lived in a small cave resembling a cell, located at the very top of this natural monument.

In an effort to make amends for all his sins committed during his lifetime, the man decided to knock out the figure of a saint, choosing for this a bare section of rocks. Whether he managed to finish his work before the end of his life or for some other reason, but on the mountain there is only an image of one head.

If you look closely, you can clearly trace the stern features of the old man's face: his eyebrows are furrowed, his nose slightly protrudes, his lips are tightly compressed, and his hair is slightly disheveled.

However, many do not trust such a vague reason for the name of Mount Monk: there is another legend that this place served as a haven for the monks who settled in the caves.

The most romantic and interesting is the legend of a monk in love with a simple girl. The monk broke his vow, and then the villagers chose a punishment for him: a chained man had to knock out his face on a rock so that in the future it would remind others of the inadmissibility of touching a woman outside of marriage.

Mount Monk - back to the present

Forgetting a little about history and returning to the present, it should be said that Mount Monk is a spur of the Azish-Tau ridge. Under the influence of wind and water for thousands of years, dozens of caves were formed in Mount Monk, one of which bears the name of the doctor Jolas, who took refuge in it during the battles of the Great Patriotic War.

Moving along a long-paved path, you can come to the so-called Monk's Grotto, where one of the hermits lived many years ago. Mount Monk is interesting for tourists to visit because of the presence of barrow dolmens, springs, small waterfalls and several viewing platforms, which offer a view of several mountain peaks Republic of Adygea.

And again we decided to go to the village of Khamyshki, where we had already been in April of this year. At that time, our goal was Mount Monk, the road to which we never found, but we found another one that led us to the waterfalls of the Kutanka River.
This time the Monk Mountain was not our goal, but we were going to see the Bzykhi waterfalls and get to the Raskol rock. But when we were already in the village of Khamyshki, the decision was changed.
1. Monk on the rock

Mount Monk rises gloomily at the very entrance to the village. They say that this rock often throws blocks of stones down, in 2008 there was the last collapse, when the stones fell right on the road. Yes, and in the forest at the foot of the Monk rock there are a lot of huge stones that were once part of the Monk's face.
2. Mount Monk, Khamyshki

Guides who show tourists the sights of the Republic of Adygea about the Monk Rock tell such a legend.

Legend of Monk Rock.
"A long time ago in the sand caves high mountain monks settled. They lived peacefully, ate the gifts of the forest and mountains. Below, in the valley, adobe huts were white, in which hardworking people lived. They cultivated the land, grazed cattle and went hunting. Smoke the smoke of their stoves, in spring the gardens bloomed luxuriantly, and in autumn the branches of trees broke from abundant harvests.
Everything was fine in the mountain village, but misfortune happened. A monk and a beautiful girl from a mountain village fell in love. The monk broke his vow. He did a dishonorable thing. At that time, the laws of the mountains were strict. Customs were observed, and the honor of the family was highly valued. The decisions of the inhabitants of the village were firm and unchangeable. People chained the monk to a monolithic rock and forced him to carve his face in stone so that it would remind people of the inadmissibility of actions discrediting a woman.
Since then, this stone creation of a monk has been forever turned to people and, as it were, stands guard over the laws of honor, trust and purity of human relations..
The “face” of the rock really resembles a monk, as well as an old man, goblin, hero, warrior, Santa Claus, etc. You can see any of these characters in the rock if you want. They say that the monks really lived in the cavities of the rock, anything can happen…
The height of the Monk rock above sea level is 1062.9 m. The height of the village of Khamyshki above sea level is 586.6 meters. At the rock, the monk has rather wide overhanging "eyebrows", from which a beautiful view opens.
3. View from Mount Monk to Khamyshki and the Belaya River

Path to Monks
The trail starts right at the foot. We left the car for the second time at the turn into a commercial tourist park with dolmens. The dogs of this complex barked at us again. On the other hand, under the mountain there is a kind of highway, which goes to the left into the forest. You need to go a little along this road, while carefully peering into the bushes and grass on the left. A barely noticeable path begins here, which then turns into a very clearly visible and marked path. You can just walk a bit in the forest in that area and look with your eyes for blue markings on trees or red arrows on stones.
4. How to get to Mount Monk

5. Trail

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7. Trail

8. limestone rocks

9. Cheese rock))

Then just up.
I have not gone to the mountains for a long time, and the trip to Europe did not have the best effect on my physical form. And now I'm happy that we finally got out of the boring city, grabbed a backpack full of food and water and cheerfully walked up the path. The trail is steep, in some places very steep. And it does not allow you to relax - all the time up and up, the serpentine is almost completely absent. And now, after 7 minutes of such a vigorous walk, I feel that something is wrong with me. I sat down on a log, then on the ground. There is a very loud pounding in my ears, I feel sick, I can’t feel my legs or arms. I thought I would lose consciousness now, I already looked around where I could fall more conveniently. My husband was a little worried and took my backpack from me. Left only the camera. And I feel that I can’t even hold it in my hands, they have become some kind of wadded. And I can’t hang it on my shoulder, I don’t have the strength.
Another group of tourists passed by, they were already descending. A vigorous man in his 60s with two young girls came up to us. He shook hands with his husband and greeted him cordially. He asked what was wrong with me and why I was so green. He let out a couple of jokes that it was better to get off the route on time, and that the smart one would not go uphill. He offered to take me downstairs and take care of me there)))
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17. blue tree

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20. Carnation

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22. In some places you have to wade through the thickets

23. A piece of rock broke off

We did not meet anyone else on the route that day. After about 10 minutes, I finally came to my senses and then rested immediately, as the pounding in my ears began. In general, when you go on a hike, especially a long one, with heavy backpacks, it is better to listen carefully to your body and not mock it. Because if something happens, it will be very difficult for your fellow travelers to drag you back.
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