The Dakhovskaya cave, also known as Gryaznaya, is located in the vicinity of the village of Dakhovskaya, two and a half kilometers from the mouth of the Dakh River, at the base of the cuesta ledge. It is one of the so-called Unakozovsky caves - faults located in the rocks of the Una-Koz ridge: Meanderovaya, Pylnaya and a number of shallow grottoes. Almost all the caves are located in the area of the Devil's Finger rock. The Dakhovskaya cave is located separately, on the western slope of the Unakoz ridge.
There is a wide entrance to the cave, which is located at a height of about two meters from the path. The entrance to the Dakhovskaya cave is 70 centimeters high. Almost immediately after the entrance, the ceiling of the cave begins to drop sharply; then you can go through a slightly bent 20-meter corridor, the height of which increases and forms the first hall, about 50 meters long, ending in a narrow manhole. The first smudges appear in it. It is followed by a second hall, where stalactites grow on the vaults of the cave.
In the first room, the site of a man from the Moustier era was discovered. In 1957, the site in the Dakhovskaya cave was studied by archaeologist Alexander Aleksandrovich Formozov, a leading specialist in archeology of the primitive era. The site of primitive people discovered in the cave dates back to the Early Paleolithic era. The cave site of the village of Dakhovskaya is the first Paleolithic cave monument discovered in Transkuban. The cultural layer discovered in the cave (50-70 cm) contained flint tools: a stone axe, a chopper and arrowheads. Also in the Dakhovskaya cave, animal bones were found (bison, mammoth, giant and red deer, mountain goat and cave bear, hamster, hare, wolf, cave hyena, forest cat, tiger lion and badger).
The cave is damp. The floor, walls and ceiling of Dakhovskaya are covered with a thick layer of clay, so you need to take a change of clothes. At the entrance to the cave there is a large observation deck, which offers views of the village of Dakhovskaya, Deguakskie glades, the Trident and Gut mountains, the Azish-Tau ridge, and the Belaya River.
In addition to Dakhovskaya, the Unakozovsky caves include:
Tunnel Cave I, Tunnel Cave II are through cracks or passages in the rock. So the entrance to Tunnel I is located opposite the entrance to the Grotto cave, and the exit is opposite to the entrance to the Tunnel II cave.
Cave Grotto is located to the left of the rocky ledge Devil's Finger, somewhat away from the main path. The cave has a ceiling height of up to 5 meters and a length of about 30 meters. At the end of the main passage there is a hole into a small hall.
Cave Dusty or Unakozovskaya located right along the path at a distance of about 500 meters from Devil's Finger in a northwest direction. The cave entrance is in the form of a huge triangular crack with stone rubble after the entrance. The cave is absolutely dry, as a result of which it is very dusty - everything is covered in dust, and the floor is covered with a very thick layer of it. The length of the cave is 30 meters, but there is information that its length is greater, since the existing manhole leads to another room.
Cave Balcony is located between the Pylnaya and Grotto caves above the path at an altitude of about 10 meters. The cave has a rectangular entrance and two passages to the left and right, which quickly end in small halls. Right move at the end
has passage to lower levels.
How to get to Dakhovskaya Cave. The path to the Dakhovskaya cave begins along a marked path, which begins to the right of the Dakhovsky bridge in the village of Dakhovskaya. Follow up the mountain to the rock massif, and then move further - past the wall, to the cave itself. To explore the Unakozovsky caves, you can get under the side of the ridge from Khadzhokh on foot or from the side of the Vesely farm by car to the outskirts of the forest behind the quarry and then on foot along the flat landscape.
Coordinates:
Latitude: 44.239167
Longitude: 40.219167
By car.
Along the M4, M159 highway. Distance 1560 km. Travel time – 22.00 hours.
By plane.
From Domodedovo, Vnukovo or Sheremetyevo airports, flights to Krasnodar or Rostov-on-Don. The distance from Rostov-on-Don to Dakhovskaya is 380 km, from Krasnodar – 197 km. Then you can use taxi services. Travel time is 2.28 hours (from Krasnodar) and 6.30 hours (from Rostov-on-Don). Or take a bus to Maykop.
On a long distance train.
From Kursk, Kazan and Paveletsky railway stations by train to Krasnodar or Belorechensk. Travel time is from 19.27 hours to 33.00 hours. Then take a bus to Maykop. From Maykop to Kamennomostsky (railway station "Khadzhokh") - on commuter train or by bus. And from Kamennomostsky to Dakhovskaya - by taxi (7 km). Travel time – 0.10 hours.
From Maykop
By car.
Along the M4, M159 highway. Distance 197 km. Travel time – 2.48 hours.
By local train.
By train from Belorechensk to the Khadzhokh station in the village. Kamennomostsky (twice a day). Travel time – 1.30 hours. From Kamennomostsky to Dakhovskaya by taxi (7 km). Travel time – 0.10 hours.
By bus.
There is only one direct line from Maykop bus route a day to Dakhovskaya and several to Kamennomostsky. Travel time 3.20-3.40 hours.
Walk around the village of Dakhovskaya and its surroundings
You can start a walk through the ancient Cossack village and the picturesque foothills surrounding it in the center of Dakhovskaya near the church St. George the Victorious(Klubnaya St., 2). The old temple was built in 1864, two years after the founding of the Cossack fortification on the site of the former Circassian village. The village was the front line during the Caucasian War. The temple was erected with the money of the Cossack army from oak beams on a stone foundation. In the 1930s, when the state was fighting religion, this church was closed and turned into a warehouse. Today, the Church of St. George the Victorious occupies a converted former village store building.
Inside the Church of St. George the Victorious
From the church you need to walk about 0.7 km along the main highway (A159) north, towards Maykop. Here, across the Dakh River is laid Dakhovsky Bridge. The name of the river in Circassian sounds “dahe” and translated means “beautiful”. The Stone Bridge was built in 1906 by the Cossacks and local residents. Its strength and durability is explained by the fact that egg white was added to the solution used to fasten the masonry. The old bridge can still be used to cross the river. But to save historical monument A modern concrete bridge was built nearby.
Dakhovsky Bridge
Below the village, above the left side of the Belaya River valley rises Azish-Tau ridge, which stretches for 25 km. There are many karst sinkholes and caves, the formation of which is caused by the rocks that make up the ridge - dolomites and limestones.
Azish-Tau Ridge
About 2.5 km northeast of the mouth of the Dakh River is the famous Dakhovskaya cave. Before entering it with observation deck you can see the houses of the village, the spacious valley of the Belaya River, the Trident peak and the spurs of the Azish-Tau ridge. The entrance to the cave is low - only 0.7 m. After a 20 m corridor, two large halls open, the vaults of which are covered with limestone growths. During the study of the cave, which was carried out in the middle of the last century under the leadership of archaeologist A.A. Formozov, a site of primitive man was found here. People lived in these places during the Early Paleolithic era. In the cultural layer, scientists discovered the bones of ancient animals, as well as silicon tools and tips.
Dakhovskaya Cave
About 0.7 km south of the cave there is Stone Iron, so named for its shape. This huge piece of rock, about 50 meters long and the height of a three-story house, broke off during German artillery fire in 1942.
From the southwest of it is clearly visible, towering above the valley Devil's Finger rock, located in the Una-Koz mountain range. The route to this natural monument begins near the old Dakhovsky Bridge. First you need to follow the path up the Dakh valley, and then, at the fork, turn towards the Devil's Finger.
Devil's finger rock
And you can complete your walk around the outskirts of Dakhovskaya by driving along the Maikop - Guzeripl highway a little more than 10 km south of the village. Here, in the valley of the Belaya River, there is a picturesque natural monument - Granite Canyon. It stretches for 4 km. And the gorge formed in the rocks has a depth of up to 0.2 km. The gorge compresses the river, forming raging rapids on it. In the south of Granite Canyon visible from afar Mount Trident, topped with tall towers.
Mount Trident
Mother Nature presented us with another surprise from the “Discovery of America” series in the form of the Una-Koz ridge. How many times have we wandered past it on the way to Lago-Naki, Khamyshki, Guzeripl, Tkhach, looking at its characteristic rocky ridge from the car window, and we only got around to getting to know each other better now. This is probably one of the peculiar features of human character: something that is nearby, at hand, is postponed for later, or even for no reason considered unimportant and not paid special attention. I won’t say that until now I had no idea about this ridge at all. The first live local tangential contact occurred 5 years ago in the rocky fault of the Mishoko Gorge. Then information about Dakhovskaya cave, Devil's Finger rock, etc. But stereotypical thinking was in no hurry to seriously focus attention on this topic and, every now and then, threw it somewhere in buffer zone: yes then, sometime next time. Now, in practice, I was personally convinced that I was wrong: Una-Koz gave us “above the roof” impressions in just a few hours. In my memory, this is one of the best one-day radios. Once again I made a conclusion for myself: in the field of tourism, you need to try everything by touch in person.
The Una-Koz ridge (Go and be afraid - from the ancient Greek) Stretching along the highway for many kilometers, it accompanies everyone passing along the road from Khadzhokh to Guzeripl for a very long time, attracting attention to itself with a belt of yellow steep rocks crowned in the upper part. Stretching linearly along the wooded body of the ridge in approximately the same stripe, reminiscent of a fortress wall, they are the highlight and decoration of Una-Koza.
Opposite Una-Koza, on the opposite bank of the Belaya, lies its twin brother, the Azish-Tau ridge ( Guiding) with a similar rock belt on the top. Between these ridges stretching into the distance, the Belaya River continuously sharpens its rocky banks, harmoniously completing the landscape of a beautiful, spacious valley.
At first, I assumed that the translation of “Go and Be Afraid” was due to the unsafety of the place, the possibility of accidentally falling off a cliff, or falling into some crack or hole, of which there are plenty here. But the history of the name is more intriguing. It turns out that from ancient times the slopes of the ridge served as a convenient training ground for organizing predatory raids on traders and travelers heading along the Belaya Valley through the mountains to the sea. Apparently, some Circassians in Khadzhokh at the slave market sold captives abducted the day before to the Turks into slavery, while others at that time were preparing a raid and liberation, without losing the benefits from the transactions made with the Turks (perhaps the most utopian version). However, Una-Koz gained fame not so much due to his legendary past as to his size. This is the longest ridge of Adygea, stretching its territory right up to Karachay-Cherkessia. One must assume that he still contains quite a few unknown secrets. However, I got carried away again...
Behind the old bridge over the Dakh River ( Beautiful- from the Adyghe) in the mountain Cossack village of Dakhovskaya we immediately take a clearly marked path.
When building the bridge, the Cossacks added egg white to the lime-sand mortar. Eggs were collected by the entire Dakhovsky world. Therefore, he is still standing on his eggs quite confidently.
The path immediately climbs up and winds through a clear forest without undergrowth, with many plump oaks, which makes it a pleasure to stomp along it. However, this segment of the route is by no means a walking route and will take an hour of steady ascent. Along the way there is a never-drying spring, flowing clean and tasty water in any weather. Finally, the exit from the forest to the rocks near a huge stone that broke away from the main wall called Iron, or Dakhovsky collapse.
Iron on the left, in the middle. Above it, in perspective, is the rocky ridge of the Azish-Tau ridge. Above, on the horizon, are the spurs of the Lagonaki ridge. And just below the rocky ridge you can clearly see the road winding up towards the Lago-Naki Tourist Base, the plateau and into the upper reaches of the Kurdzhips River valley.
Only when you approach the belt of rocks do you observe their real scale. From below, from the road, they naturally look more miniature.
That's right, Luda. Film me. There is only one hope for you.
If you turn left at the wall, then after a while you can get to the Dakhovskaya cave. I planned to turn right, examine several corridor-type caves along the way, not to mention countless various grottoes, then climb to the top of the ridge near the Devil’s Finger rock. After lunch, head up towards the recently launched Una-Kose Savranskaya cable car (the first and so far the only one in Adygea), jump onto a couple of upper viewing platforms and, having looped the route, fall back to the highway either on the cable car or on your own two feet.
Soon, right under the wall, another fontanel was encountered. So there is no need to carry water with you at all.
Looking at this mossy crevice, unambiguous associations will inevitably arise
I liked absolutely everything about this active walk. But the most indelible impression was made by the grotto family. Moreover, it is not so much their quantity as the quality of some members of the family. I have probably never seen such exotic formations, and even collected geographically in one place.
So, turning to the right, we walked along an almost horizontal path along a rocky wall stretching somewhere into the distance. To the right we were accompanied by a sleeping forest. Confused by the abnormal weather fluctuations, now he again looked forward to the awakening and onset of spring, giving sacred signs by the singing of birds uncharacteristic for winter and the awakening of primroses here and there.
I was afraid that the complete absence of snow would paint us a grey-depressive, dull landscape. But the bright sun miraculously transformed everything around and painted it in unusual interesting colors of some Martian shades. Along the way we meet the Stone of Fortune, under which, following tradition, you should definitely take a photo. Otherwise, Fortune will not be seen.
Wait, what about me...?
After a rather long procession, we approach a large cone-shaped crack in the wall. This is the Dusty Cave.
The front part of the cavity at the entrance, the so-called. The “dressing room” is voluminous and impressive.
But this promising start was followed by a sharp narrowing of the corridor, which led to several small extension rooms. Accordingly, there are no leaks. Everything is quite monotonous. There is really a lot of dust on the floor.
In general, it will go with “beer”. You can take a look. Literally 70 meters later, just above the main path, we were immediately greeted by three more caves located next to each other. One of them - Meander, resembled Dusty, with the difference that the walls of its far room sparkled with some pearl-like sparkles. And on the ceiling, hanging upside down, the owner of the cave was dozing.
Entrance to it
You can't see the glitter in the photo, but if you look closely, you can see it.
But the other two caves, Tunnel-1 and Tunnel-2, seemed more interesting to me. One of them was a long through gap-corridor with an exit to the opposite side of the rock.
At the exit from the through hole there is a small gap and then again there is a gap with a corridor.
This crack is characterized by the fact that it is illuminated by daylight from somewhere above, which is why you can rummage around in it without flashlights, as if in your own closet.
Where have you dragged me, you damned...?!
Literally 100-150 meters from the caves, following these beautiful rocks
We are approaching another interesting object - the Ring grotto (aka Arch, aka Window).
The entrance to the grotto is really in the form of an arch, formed by the complete absence of a ceiling (or roof). Looks original, like part of a destroyed ancient structure
The back wall of the grotto, poorly illuminated by the sun, is covered with icicles.
Immediately behind the Ring on the left there is a gap in the rocks with a smooth exit to the top of the ridge
On the right on the horizon, after the next bend, is a promising continuation of the Una-Koz ridge, with the same rocks in the upper part.
to the Devil's Finger rock (the second name is Bell Tower, the third name is Heavi Metall - mine).
Photo of the rock from the side
The three caves described above are right under your fingertips.
Side shot of the finger was taken from this rock
Well, are we finally going to have lunch today, or not...?!
View of the village of Dakhovskaya and the Azish-Tau ridge.
“Now I’m even ready to stay and live here,” Vovchik exclaimed enthusiastically after completing the meal procedure.
Filled with inspiration, we began to drawl: “Kuban, you are our homeland...”
Having caught our breath, we headed along the ridge along a muddy road, muddy after the morning frost. Then from rope road"Tethys" to the cable car again walked along the marked path, next to the cliff. Along the way, we regularly turned onto seductive branches to observation platforms.
Lapota...!
Viewpoints alternated with through-column-wing-shaped grottoes of unrealistically fantastic shapes and views.
And this hole, polished by many onlookers, leads to the edge of the abyss. That’s why it’s a little slippery and not entirely safe on the edge here.
Grotto of Desires As fate would have it, it managed to find itself in the 21st century, right next to the cable car, and therefore it naturally suffered the sad fate of becoming a civilized excursion site. Currently, they are constructing some kind of useless viewing balcony from metal structures over the cliff.
We were denied a ride on the cable car since tickets are only sold round trip at the ticket office downstairs by the highway. Half-hearted service is not provided here. No problem! We plowed along the slope right under the cable car.
After mixing mud for about 40 minutes, we pulled out of the forest onto the highway near the Dakhovskaya Chapel.
I was shocked by the scale of the terror that was carried out locally here a hundred years ago by the red-bellied communist fanatics.
Like a fly in the ointment at the end of such a positive event.
P E S C H E R A D A K H O V S K A Y
Exactly a year later, in January 2017, returning from Guzeripl, with almost the same train, we again visited Una-Koz and this time from Utyug we slipped to the left to the Dakhovskaya cave. The second, and perhaps the most appropriate name is Dirty. What to say? Alas, the impressions are diametrically opposite compared to last year’s walk. In other words, if you want to be disappointed, get smeared up to your ears in mud and ask yourself the question: what am I doing here, then this is the place for you.
The path itself under the rocks from the Iron to the cave turned out to be wilder and more unpleasant than towards the Dust and Finger caves. True, there is another, better-known option: from the cable car above, on the opposite side there is a well-marked and clearly marked path. Most likely, this route has a higher priority than the one we took.
“Where are you taking us, Susanin the hero? Go to hell, this is my first time here...!” A real breeding ground for evergreen wild weed
It’s as if the trunks of a real tree of this weaver and its all-penetrating countless branches are spreading in an aggressive way, digging into the rocks and creating a single organism with them. An amazing sight.
I called this stone Ichthyander's Gills
Well, finally here she is, my dear...
A long and very low corridor leads into the cave, forcing you to climb to the first hall on all fours, all fours, or goose step, as you wish. The corridor itself is moderately dry and, in principle, did not cause excessive psychological rejection.
Having made your way into the first hall, you can straighten up to your full height and look around. Moisture drips from the walls and ceiling, which consequently accumulates on the floor. Hence the ubiquitous dirt. The humidity is very high. That’s why my camera immediately fogged up and instead of pictures it came out with a complete blur. And there’s nothing to shoot here. Gulkin's nose is running.
The first hall is followed by a narrow, 70 cm and rather long manhole, which leads to the second Big hall. The length of the latter is supposedly 50 m. According to descriptions, the main beauty of the cave is concentrated in it. However, this is the whole intrigue. Only a few get there. After all, you need to crawl through this hole on your belly through the vile, unpleasant slurry. The price is too high for dubious pleasures. But you are guaranteed to be like Schwarzenegger in the movie Predator, who made himself a mud camouflage before the fight with the monster. But his motivation was more significant. Do we need it?
In general, it turned out like in a bad fairy tale, when a fellow was hunting for a beauty, he overtook her, but suddenly under the veil there was not an angelic face, but the grimace of a pitiful old woman. Well, it happens. A bad result is also a result.
This is not Rio De Janeiro...!
I love you, Adygea, the more the more I know...
When I found out that the Una-Koz ridge is more than a hundred kilometers long, I didn’t believe it! After all, as it seemed to us, we covered a large and interesting part of it in a few hours, and this is clearly not a hundred kilometers. But after carefully studying the maps, I became convinced of this information. It really does not end with the radial route that we took, but goes further towards the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia. But to get acquainted with its main beauties, you don’t need to walk the entire length of the ridge; it’s enough to cover 7-8 km. The height of the Una-Koz ridge is on average from 800 to 1000 meters above sea level. Near the village of Kamennomostsky the ridge is limited by the gorge of the same name and the Belaya River. And it is from Kamennomostsky that we are heading our way. Our route turned out to be radial, that is, from where we start it there and return, but on a slightly different road.
He took about 6 hours, and its length was 7.5 kilometers. Following this route, you can visit various grottoes, the Devil’s Finger rock, the Dakhovskaya, Pylnaya, Meandrovaya caves, and also take a ride on the cable car.
The Una-Koz ridge is a karst limestone and is therefore rich in caves and grottoes. Its name from ancient Greek means “go and be afraid,” which is associated with the fact that robbers were hiding in the caves and attacking trade caravans heading to the sea. And through Khadzhokh (Rufabgo waterfalls, Adygea), as we remember, one of the threads of the Silk Road ran. And also in some caves sites of primitive people were found.
How to get to the Una-Koz ridge
This popular daytime route can now be accessed from at least two directions. From the side of the village of Dakhovskaya, from the old Dakhovsky bridge across the river Dah is coming path to the ridge. She leads to the Iron rock. From the Utyug rock you can turn left and walk to the Dakhovskaya cave. And if you turn right, you can see the Pylnaya, Meandrovaya caves, and several more grottoes, climb a rocky section of the ridge and examine the Devil’s Finger rock, and then walk towards the cable car and find the grotto and site of an ancient man. The latter, by the way, we couldn’t find; we turned off too early. And the second option: get to the cable car, which is located opposite the turn to Lago-Naki, climb it and walk along the ridge to the Devil's Finger rock, go down from the ridge and visit all the attractions described above.
The second option seemed more logical to us. Firstly, a ride on the cable car is always interesting, and most importantly, if, having reached the Devil’s Finger rock, you don’t feel the strength to go down from the ridge and walk the whole way, then you can return to the cable car again and go down in comfort and beautiful view, because you paid for the descent already during the ascent. And secondly, even if you don’t want to go down the cable car, your path on foot will be mostly downhill, you will spend less effort, and in the end you will come to the same cable car, if you left your car there.
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Hiking route along the Una-Koz ridge
From the parking lot we head to the cable car and pass by the chapel erected in memory of the repressed Cossacks.
The cable car was built in 2015 and its length is 1265 m. The elevation gain is about 450 m. But still, taking a ride on the cable car is like a small holiday every time, some kind of forgotten feeling from childhood, like riding on a big carousel! 
This time this holiday cost 500 rubles per person for the ascent and descent. Not the cheapest holiday, but oh well. Already when climbing the cable car, a wonderful view of the Skala tract opens up, and you can also see the Lago-Naki plateau, in our case everything is still covered in snow. 
I also liked that the cable car goes below the level of the tree crowns, and you get the feeling that you are moving in a tunnel of trees. In summer it will probably be a green tunnel. 
We are arriving. 
Immediately upon arrival we are greeted by a waypost. It seems that everything is clear, but I can’t imagine how we galloped past the site of an ancient man! 
We begin our journey along the path that leads to the first observation deck, and also, as I understand, if you go down to the intermediate terrace, then to the grotto site of the ancient man. 
From the observation deck a panorama opens up: the village of Dakhovskaya in the valley, a little to the right in the distance a patchy piece with snow, then snow-covered, the white peaks of Mount Oshten and the rocky, also covered with snow, the Stone Sea ridge. Well, what’s next, to the left, it’s hard for me to say. There is definitely the Black Shikhan Mountain in the middle ground, and then many ridges and mountains of the Main Caucasian Range. 
Below is the beginning of the cable car and the bridge over Belaya and the road to Lago-Naki and the Skala tract is visible. 
View towards Kamennomostsky, and the village itself in the distance. 
We continue our path towards the Devil's Finger, the trail is marked, so it’s difficult to get lost. 
While still sitting at home and looking at maps, I noted the Dakhovskaya cave for myself and for some reason I didn’t realize at all that it would be under a rocky section of the ridge. And when I started to get more or less close to it based on the coordinates, I was finally convinced of this. It must be somewhere down there. 
You need to go to it from the Iron rock to the left, if you look at Una-Koz. Well, we, having realized this fact and at the same time being on top of the ridge, continued our way to Devil's finger. Or maybe we’ll find something else interesting along the way.
Tetis Rope Park
We reach the Tetis rope park. If you are in a hurry to get to Devil's Finger, then follow the signs, but we decided to look into the park and see what they offer. And they offer a lot of routes: trolls/zip line, via ferrata, rope routes, all of which require time and money, of course. To be honest, I wanted to fly over the trees next to the rocks along the troll route, but time was limited, and we moved on. Another time somewhere in the future somehow another time sometime later. 
From the park we saw the Iron stone for the first time. 
And also an almost complete panorama opens from the ridge. 
On the left you can already see the Big and Small Thach mountains, which are part of Natural Park"Big Thach". Someday I hope to visit it. 
Almost close-up of Dakhovskaya village and beautiful clouds. 
Well, about the Iron stone a little later, when we get closer to it. We continue our way to the Devil's finger. 
Devil's finger rock
We've arrived. The rock appears among the trees. Yes, the height is decent! And you have to climb it with caution! And the views from it are gorgeous, like the Devil’s Finger rock itself; against the backdrop of the mountains it is irresistible. Although the finger, I would say, is clearly not singular, it is more likely the damn fingers. Or a damn goat! 
View from the Devil's Finger rock. 
A little to the left of the Devil's Finger rock there is a descent from the top of the ridge under a rocky area, where there is a path to the Utyug stone and an exit to the village of Dakhovskaya. 
Meander Cave
Moving not far from the descent, we meet the first cave. The entrance to the cave is located on a hill, so you can miss it. 
The cave is not very deep, but still has its winged guardians. It seemed to me that this was just the Meander Cave, so be it! It's definitely not dusty! And the ceiling is sparkling. 
Next I find some kind of fault, and it looks like it has a through passage, but I didn’t want to climb there, there’s no intrigue. Let's move on, I want to find the next cave. 
Dusty Cave
And here it looks like she is!
The entrance to it is quite large, as it might seem initially. 
It is definitely impossible to confuse it with another one, since there really is a lot of dust there. In my opinion, it’s simply impossible to get into it and not get dirty! 
The cave has a high ceiling. And you look at some of the stones above with apprehension. 
The cave ends at a narrowing. 
We leave. 
Sometimes the path comes close to the rock, this makes it possible to further appreciate how large the Una-Koz ridge is. 
Fortune Stone
And here is the Fortune Stone. It is not known for certain why it is named that way. Some people think because if you pass under it, good fortune awaits you. And the thought came to me, based on the size and its inclination, that fortune lies in the fact that it will remain in place while I pass under it, and I, in turn, will remain intact. 
Stone Iron
We approach the Iron stone. 
It didn’t seem small even from a distance, but even more so up close! Height is about 20 meters, length is about 50 meters. The stone broke off from the rock during a German shelling of the ridge from the village of Dakhovskaya in 1942. There were Russian partisans on the ridge, in fact this was the reason for the shelling; apparently the Germans were unable to reach them any other way. Now the stone is also notable for its parallel lines, the appearance of which some associate with the landings of aliens. We also wondered how they could have appeared. The water clearly does not flow in such even lines, it flows in the way that is easier for it. Otherwise there would be no proverb about water always finding its way. But the fact that this is an alternation of more and less durable geological layers is only possible on the scale of the ridge, and maybe even larger. And the grooves appeared in less durable rock layers under the influence of erosion. 
Next, our path runs along the slope through the forest to the Dakhovsky Bridge. 
And this delicate purple flower turned out to be very unusual. This Toothwort belongs to the popular Cruciferous family. There is a popular name - Wild Lilac. This plant is on the verge of extinction, so it is listed in the Red Book. It disappears due to trampling of the soil by livestock and due to trampling and collecting in bouquets by traveling people, since it grows on loose soils and reproduces only by seeds. Interesting feature: a new plant can bear fruit only 5 years after its birth, if during these five years no one tramples it down or picks it. But it turns out that it is also a rhizome and can also multiply if it is not trampled down. 
We reached the Dakhovsky Bridge already at dusk and had almost no strength left to get around it and take a good picture. For orientation, only a silhouette through the thicket. 
Further along the Kamennomostsky-Guzeripl road we reached the cable car, which by that time had already finished its work for the day. And our car was waiting for us in the parking lot.
We liked the walk along the Una-Koz ridge for its contrasts. Grottoes and caves – expanses of mountains and numerous panoramic platforms. Forest with flowers and herbs - open glades.
The varied views were pleasing to the eye and sparked interest to move further along the unexplored path.
Video: Adygea in spring
Granite Gorge, Una-Koz, Mishoko River Gorge, Khadzhokhskaya Gorge and Yavorova Glade
Regulatory and legal basis for the functioning of a geological object: not on the list of protected areas
List of main objects of protection: classic corridor type cave
Brief description of the geological natural monument Dakhovskaya cave:
Karst cavity of the classic corridor type. Its entrance is a cavity 60-70 cm high and 1.5 m wide on the slope of a rocky cuesta. The cave cavity has no branches and goes in one direction. The length of the corridor is about 50 m with a slight rise in depth, the width is about 15 m, the height in some places reaches 10 m. Numerous finds in the cultural layer of the Paleolithic era were made in the cave. The area of the cave is about 22 thousand square meters. m.
Geographical position:
at the confluence of the river. Dah in the river. White
Latitude:44.25 Longitude:40.2 (degrees)
Informational resources:
>
Authors: Karpunin A.M., Mamonov S.V., Mironenko O.A., Sokolov A.R.
Editor-in-chief - Orlov V.P.
> M., 1997
Information and analytical system “Specially Protected natural areas Russia" (IAS "SPNA RF") http://oopt.aari.ru/
Additional information on protected areas:
The territorial location of the village of Dakhovskaya makes it possible to develop the tourism industry. Specialists from Germany are actively providing assistance to the Maikop region in the development of specially protected areas, excursion, rural and small hotel tourism. In April 2004, a joint Russian-German meeting was held on the development of tourism in the mountains settlements Maikop district, with the invitation of all interested government agencies, heads of administration and entrepreneurs, in which, along with German specialists, a member of the Bundestag took part. At the expense of investment funds from Germany, the museum of the Caucasian State Biosphere was equipped nature reserve. Germany has allocated investment funds for the creation of tourist photo albums, guides and advertising booklets aimed at activating and stimulating the development of rural tourism in the region. Thus, at present, to increase the flow of German tourists to the Maykop region, a tourist guide in three languages is being prepared at German expense. With the help of Germany, a small hotel chain in the tourism sector began to be actively created and tourism and multiplier services were provided. In this regard, additional jobs have appeared in mountain villages. In addition, tourism companies of the Stavropol and Krasnodar territories operate on the natural base of the Maykop region, Rostov region and regions of Central Russia. In 2003-2006, new tourist centers and excursion facilities began to operate actively in the Maykop region,
In 1957–1959 In the Dakhovskaya cave, a site of a primitive man was discovered who lived here in the Early Paleolithic era. And finds from another cultural layer confirm that people lived in this cave in the Middle Ages.
