Dakhovskaya

Dakhovskaya was raised in 1862 by soldiers of Geiman's Dakhov detachment — on the site of the Circassian aul of Asretkhabl, where the small Dakh river joins the Belaya. The stanitsa stands at 480 metres above sea level, ringed by beech, oak and fir forests; the slopes of the Azish-Tau and Unakoz ridges are overgrown with cornel and cherry plum. The land here is archaeologically rich: a Palaeolithic site of ancient people, the dolmen burial ground of Deguakskaya polyana, and — on the bank of the Belaya almost in the centre of the stanitsa — the 'golden graves', found filled with many precious objects. Today Dakhovskaya is a transport hub of mountainous Adygea: half a kilometre to the north a bridge crosses the Belaya, and from it the road climbs via the Azishsky pass to the Lagonaki highlands; southwards the road leads to Guzeripl and the edge of the Caucasus Reserve. Trails to the Unakoz ridge start here too — with karst caves like the Dusty one and the ring-shaped Skvoznaya grotto.