What is the name of the mountain where there is a monk's path. Mountain monk, Adygea. Natural monuments in Adygea - Mount “Monk”

The route to Mount Monk is the calling card of the village of Khamyshki. The mountain drops steeply 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, before his death they forced the monk to hollow out his face in the rocks as a warning to all living people 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 past habitation are found more than once in the grottoes of Mount Monk. And there are all the conditions for this - a non-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-paved and marked trail gains altitude very sharply - per kilometer of travel the elevation gain 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 come 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 out 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, where the monk’s grotto is located. Here is an observation deck with an excellent view of Khamyshki, Bolshoi Tkhach, Acheshbok, Dzhuga.

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

A unique wonder of nature is located at the entrance to the village of Khamyshki, Maikop district. The flat-topped mountain - a spur of the Azishtau ridge - rises steeply above the village 500 m. Its cliff below is covered with screes and overgrown with broad-leaved forest, and is bare at the top. But it seems as if up there, it’s not the reddish rocks that are exposed, but the high-cheekboned, frowning face of an old man. Slanted, swollen eyes look out from under their brows, a massive flattened nose protrudes sharply, and the mouth is tightly clenched, covered with a thick upper lip. Thick hair is tousled above the low forehead, and there is a white bald patch on the top of the head...
These features are not the fruit of idle imagination and not the trace of a skillful chisel, but the result of weathering of Jurassic platy sandstones and the limestones covering them.
The name of the mountain is due to the fact that a lonely monk once lived on its top.

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

Mount Monk rises gloomily at the very entrance to the village. They say that this rock often throws blocks of stones down; the last collapse was in 2008, when stones fell right onto the road. 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 tell the following legend about the Monk Rock.

The Legend of the Monk Rock.
“A long time ago, monks settled in the sandy caves of a high mountain. They lived peacefully, fed on the gifts of the forest and mountains. Below in the valley were white clay huts in which hardworking people lived. They cultivated the land, grazed livestock and went hunting. Smoking the smoke of their furnace, in the spring the gardens bloomed luxuriantly, and in the fall the branches of the trees burst from abundant harvests.
Everything was fine in the mountain village, but a misfortune happened. A monk and a beautiful girl from a mountain village fell in love with each other. The monk broke his vow. He committed an unworthy act. 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 village residents were firm and unchangeable. People chained the monk to a monolithic rock and forced him to carve his face in the stone so that it would remind people of the inadmissibility of actions that defame a woman.
Since then, this stone creation of the monk has been forever addressed 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, a goblin, a hero, a 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. The monk rock has quite wide overhanging “eyebrows”, from which a beautiful view opens up.
3. View from Mount Monk to Khamyshki and the Belaya River

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


5. Trail


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7. Trail

8. Limestone cliffs


9. Cheese rock))


Then just go up.
I haven’t gone to the mountains for a long time, and the trip to Europe did not have the best effect on my physical fitness. And so I, happy that we finally got out of the boring city, grabbed a backpack filled with food and water and cheerfully walked up the path. The trail is steep, very steep in some places. And it doesn’t let you relax - it’s always up and up, there is almost no serpentine at all. And after about 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 nauseous, I can’t feel my legs or arms. I thought I was about to lose consciousness, I already looked around where I could fall more conveniently. My husband got a little worried and took my backpack from me. I left only my camera. And I feel like I can’t hold it in my hands, they’ve become like cotton wool. And I can’t hang it on my shoulder, I don’t have the strength.
Another group of tourists passed by, they were already going down. A cheerful man of about 60 with two young girls caught up with us. I shook my husband’s hand and said hello cordially. He asked what was wrong with me and why I was so green. He made a couple of jokes about how it’s better to leave the route on time, and that a smart person won’t go uphill. He offered to take me down with him 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 thickets


23. A piece of rock separated

We didn’t meet anyone else on the route that day. After about 10 minutes I finally came to my senses and then rested as soon 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 abuse it. Because if something happens, it will be very difficult for your fellow travelers to drag you back.
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The whole journey took us 3 hours. We walked up for about 2 hours, but we walked slowly, I constantly made stops to take photographs.

This Georgian hermit's name is Maxim Kavtaradze. Now he is 59 years old, twenty of which he lived in the mountains of Georgia, on an inaccessible cliff. Food is delivered to him using a winch. The hermit himself spends all his time in prayer. This is how he atones for the sins of his youth, in which he drank a lot and sold drugs to other people. The photographer managed to photograph his home! Let's see!

This place is called the Pillar of Katskhi. Even in pre-Christian times, it was shrouded in legends, and already in the 5th century the first church appeared at the foot of the cliff. Until the 15th century, when Georgia was captured by the Ottoman Turks, the so-called “Stylites” lived here.

The monastery was abandoned for a long time, and it was the monk Maxim who advocated for its restoration: he collected money and personally developed the territory.

During construction work, a stone was found with a carved inscription from the 12th-13th century - a prayer for a certain George, who built many things for the glory of God.

2010 Patriarch of All Georgia, His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, arrived in Katskhi. He donated an ancient icon (in gold) of Elijah the Prophet to the Katskhin Monastery. The medallion is worn by the monk Maxim, then he will pass it on to his follower.

Interestingly, Kavtaradze worked as a crane operator before being tonsured in 1993, so he is not at all afraid of heights. He says that at the top he feels the presence of God. Here Maxim atones for the sins of his youth, when he drank, sold drugs and ended up in prison.

The monk usually does not accept visitors, and it took a lot of effort for the photographer to get permission to photograph the home of the famous Georgian hermit (namely, he had to pray for four days, 7 hours a day, and get up four hours before dawn).

 

Coordinates: N44 7.236 E40 6.756.

Mount Monk (Adygea) 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 a saint in the rock, but he only made one head. Looking closely at the mountain, you can see the frowning, high-cheeked face of the old man, his slanted eyes look at you from under his brows, his flattened nose protrudes strongly forward, his lips are tightly compressed. The hair is tousled above the forehead, and there is a bald spot on the top of the head.

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 below, under the mountain, in adobe huts lived people, worldly people. They herded cattle, went hunting, and cultivated arable land.

Everything would be fine, but the monk fell in love with a beautiful girl from an Adyghe village. The monk broke his vow, but the harsh laws of the mountains were always observed by the inhabitants of the village; the honor of the family was above all for them. Angry at the monk for his unworthy act, people chained the unfortunate man to a mountain and forced him to carve his face in stone, so that from now on it would remind people of the unacceptability of actions that defame a woman.

Since then, the stony face of the unfortunate monk has been forever turned to people as a guardian of the laws of honor, purity and trust in human relations.

But these are just legends, the face depicted on the mountain is not the work of human hands, but the result of long exposure to wind and water on the sandstone. The top of the rock is flat, and itself is one of the spurs of the Azish-Tau ridge.

On the eastern side of the upper tier of the Monk rock is the Jolas cave, named after the doctor who hid in it during the Great Patriotic War.

The path to Monk begins at the bridge over the Bzdykha River; the trodden and marked path rapidly gains altitude and in bad weather, climbing along it will require simple preparation and self-insurance.

At the end of the third quarter of the journey, the path leads to a grotto where, according to legend, a monk once lived. A spring flows near the grotto, disappearing after a few meters. A section of the supposed old windbreak wall has been preserved in the grotto. Continuing the ascent, the path leads to the upper edge of the rocks, where the monk’s grotto was founded. Here, near the grotto, there is a good observation deck with views of Khamyshki, Acheshbok, Bolshoi Tkhach and Juba and other mountains

In the very north of the village of Khamyshki, Mount Monk took its place, proudly revealing its face. It is connected with Mount Monk
one of the most interesting legends of Adygea, which has been passed down from mouth to mouth for centuries among local residents.

Mount Monk - 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 Monk Mountain was chosen by one of the hermit monks for his place of residence. He lived in a small cell-like cave located at the very top of this natural monument.

In an effort to atone for all his sins committed during his life, the man decided to knock out the figure of a saint, choosing for this an exposed area of ​​rocks. Whether he did not manage to finish his work before the end of his life or for some other reason, there is only an image of one head on the mountain.

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

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 refuge for monks who settled in the caves.

The most romantic and interesting can be considered the legend about a monk in love with a simple girl. The monk broke his vow, and then the villagers chose a punishment for him: the chained man had to carve 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 modern times

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 thousands of years of wind and water, 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 go to the so-called Monk’s Grotto, where one of the hermits lived many years ago. Mount Monk is interesting for tourists to visit due to the presence of mound dolmens, springs, small waterfalls and several observation platforms on it, which offer views of several mountain peaks of the Republic of Adygea.