The travellers who spend their vacations on the Black Sea coast near Gelendzhik or Tuapse and want to take a short break from their ‘beach everyday life’, can take a walk up to the mountains and visit a real miracle of nature - the Gebius Waterfalls located between the villages of Dzhubga and Arkhipo-Osipovka.
Golden water
The waterfalls were named after the 735-metre-high Mount Gebius. Another name is the Teshebs Waterfalls named after the Teshebs River, which means “golden water” in the Adyghe language. A cascade of seven waterfalls is at a height of 150-200 metres, and the waterfalls named the Lace, the Grotto, and the Devil’s Mouth are the most beautiful among them.
A walk to the Lace Waterfall takes about half an hour through a picturesque mountain park with raging rivers and streams and nice bridges crossing them. The entire park is fitted with benches, comfortable wooden handrails and steps. However, to go up and down the mountain safely, the tourists should wear sports shoes as part of the route is quite sharp climbs and sudden descents, and in some places, the travellers need to walk on stones to cross a mountain stream. However, parents with small children do not seem bothered at all. Those travellers who are with small dogs hold them in their hands while walking on very steep slopes.
Lace Waterfall
The path can be slippery after rain. However, if it is not raining heavily, the waterfalls are unlikely to be full-flowing streams with the sound of rushing water. This is really true about the first large Lace Waterfall - a narrow, bubbling stream with thin water jets sparkling in the sun.
This waterfall is a very significant ‘obstacle’ in the way of travellers. When they leave the thicket and are in a large clearing in the forest, the first thing they see is a huge 17-metre rock. A raging stream rushes along its right slope, forming a small lake there, it is pleasant to swim in its cold crystal-clear water in hot summer days. In addition, swimming in it can be healthy as the water in these mountains is rich in silver iodide.
On the left side of the rock, there are steps leading up, and tourists have to go up the steps to continue their walk to other stunning waterfalls and enjoy the beautiful Lace Waterfall.
If you go right, you will see…
Going along the path through the park, the people see many small amazing waterfalls and rapids, but all tourists, of course, strive for two largest and most breath-taking ones - the Grotto and the Lion waterfalls. It is up to tourists which of them to see first. They can first climb to the very top - to the Lion Waterfall, it is also called the Devil’s Mouth Waterfall. And really, this name is right because to see this miracle of nature, a traveller needs to go down into a narrow rock crevice. When viewed from above, the slope looks so fear-inducing that some people don’t feel like going down the slope. Indeed, there is no equipped platform below and steep steps can lead the travellers straight to the Waterfall, where they can stand on narrow stones, watching the roaring stream under their feet. But the stunning view is worth going there.
Large streams of the Devil’s Mouth Waterfall fall from a height of 20 metres making noise and rushing past the travelles’ feet as if into the throat of a huge beast. Standing on the stones, everyone is afraid to stumble and be carried down by the stream, while imagining this dangerous and fascinating journey into the unknown.
Here, the water streams carved intricate caves in the rocks, and the rocks look like the faces of people and animals. Here, the legend associated with these places sounds more impressive. The story has it that a wealthy man who lived in this area dreamed that his three daughters could marry rich suitors and become even wealthier, but in his pursuit of money, he lost the love and trust of his loved ones and was completely alone. Those who still dare to go down into the Devil’s Mouth can see his weeping face.
Grotto of Vysotsky
In another beautiful place, in the Grotto Waterfall - also called the Vysotsky Grotto - the travellers really feel that stones shed tears.
In fact, this picturesque 6-metre-high Grotto Waterfall is just a continuation of the Devil’s Mouth Waterfall. The water flowing down the narrow Devil’s Mouth falls with enchanting murmur of the waterfall into this grotto full of dozens of streams that look as if coming out right from the rocks and flowing into a small ‘stone-lined’ pool.
They say that poet and singer Vladimir Vysotsky liked to visit this place full of poetic charm when he spent his vacations in the village of Dzhubga, which is not surprising, as the harmony and solitude of the grotto dispose to peace and reflection.
Especially amazing are the Caucasian oaks, some of them are two hundred or three hundred years old, these trees add some ‘special energy’ to the park.
A dolmen built in the park specially for tourists is among the park’s natural and man-made attractions, as well as the “Tree of Wishes” with a gap through which a person who made a wish needs to pass to be sure that the wish will come true.
There is also a small Caucasian restaurant in the park welcoming those who want to have a cup of real black coffee or herbal tea and taste local cuisine.
Photo courtesy of the author
