The group of dolmens is a sightseeing attraction of the Krasnodar Region and Northern Caucasus. They are situated in the foothills (about 250-400 meters above the sea level) along the coast of the Black Sea. This chain is the biggest conglomeration of dolmens in Europe. Some of them are the popular tourist objects; others are hard-to-get.

The Russian dolmens belong to the most common type of the European megaliths, and have the same construction: a chamber consisting of upright stones (orthostats) with one or more large flat capstones forming a roof. The Caucasus dolmens consist of five blocks, forming its walls and roof, looking like mushroom cap. The dolmens can be round or trapezoidal in the plane. They have a round “door” and a little square in front of the facade, for the ritual purposes. They are usually situated on the flat tops of the low mountains and hills, on the mountainsides and dividing ridges. In most cases the dolmens are oriented to the sunny side, but there are also some exceptions, oriented to the north. According to the archaeological data, they were built in 3rd – 2nd millenniums b.c.

The dolmens of the Caucasus were detected in the 19th century and attract attention of the different public from the archaeologists to mystically minded people, believing that some special energy is concentrated near and inside the dolmens and that the megaliths mark the channels of the connection between the Earth and the Space, etc. Some people suppose that a wish made near the dolmen comes true. Anyway, the sight of the ancient buildings, contemporaries of the Pyramids, impresses.

The peoples, living there, have preserved the legends about the creatures built the dolmens. According to one of them, the giants have built them for the dwarfs. They are so small, that can ride into the dolmens riding the hares.

The archaeologists suppose that it was actually people to construct these buildings. All the needed was 150 persons, levers, rolls, shores and 2 years working.

Some of the dolmans are very popular among the tourists.

1. The dolmens of Nexis Mountain. This is a group of two constructions. You can get there from the city of Gelendzhik by bus. You need the settlement Svetly. Turn left, uphill, before this settlement. You should climb the mountain and then walk down the rocky path, which goes along the range. After you reach the mountain called Dolmen, you walk 200 meters and see the first dolmen, and in 100 meters – the second one.
2. The dolmen of the Yatsunov Bugor Mountain. It is situated not far from the previous one. Pass the dolmens on Nexis Mountain and move to the road section between the bridges across the river Shebs and the stream Achbis. In 1 kilometer from the Shebs and in 750 meters from Achbis there is a path on the northern site of the road. Take it and walk uphill half a kilometer. Near the benchmark “211 meters” turn right to the east.
3. The dolmen of the Zhene River. You should go by car from Gelendzhik to the Vozrozhdenie settlement. Walk along the water gap of the Zhene River.
4. The group of tree constructions called Kooperativ “Dolmen”. The easiest way to reach it is to book a bus excursion from the city of Gelengzhik.
5. Pshadsky dolmens. It is a group consisting of six dolmens. You should take the road М-4 (Е-97) by car or by bus, from Gelendzhik or Tuapse to the Pshada settlement. You can reach the biggest dolmen of the group by car, following the arrow “to the dolmen”.
6. The dolmen near Arkhipovo-Osipovka. You should reach the settlement of Arkhipovo-Osipovka, moving from Gelendzhik. After that you should walk past the camp “Sosnovy bor”, and then walk about 1 kilometer along the brook up the stream (direction south-south-west). After you top the ridge, you descend in direction south-west-west. The dolmen is situated in the headwater of the brook, in one kilometer from the seashore.

I strongly recommend you not to do it alone.

Yulia Buzykina

Sources:
    wikipedia

    www.zemnaya-krasota.ru