Akhun Mountain, Sochi – detailed information with photos and video

Mount Akhun is one of the highest peaks of the foothills of the North Caucasus, approaching the Black Sea coast near Sochi. This hill is located 4 km from the center of the resort city and serves as a watershed of the mountain rivers Agura and Khosta. The densely forested peak with a height of 662.7 meters is called Bolshoi Akhun. To the south-west, closer to the seashore, there is a lower mountain – Maly Akhun (501 meters). The green cone of Bolshoi Akhun is a landmark landscape business card of Sochi. To be on the famous peak and look around the spectacular circular panorama aspires to every traveler who came to relax on the beaches of Sochi.

Video: Mount Akhun

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Highlights

In ancient times, Mount Akhun was sacred to the indigenous people, the Circassian Ubykh people. The mountaineers believed that one of the main gods of their pantheon lived on the summit. According to one version, its name means “Mountain Giant”, according to another – “Mountain Dwelling.”

There is an observation tower erected on the top of Akhun. On fine days from the observation deck opens a wonderful landscape. Behind running up the foothills of dense forests in the east darken the gorges and silhouettes of the ridges of the Greater Caucasus, in the west cast turquoise sea, in the hilly parterre can be seen smart boulevards of the central district of Sochi, clearly distinguishable Olympic facilities in the mountains, and the resort coast is viewed for 70 km – from Adler to Pitsunda.

Even more spectacular moving panoramas can be captured on a video camera from the windows of the Ferris wheel cabin, located near the Akhunskaya Tower. This is one of the most popular attractions of the amusement park built at the top of the mountain. Hiking under the shade of century-old forests spreading on the slopes of Bolshoy Akhun also leaves wonderful impressions. Here tourists are attracted by mysterious caves, picturesque canyons, waterfalls.

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Sights of Mount Akhun

The central attraction of Mount Akhun is a stone observation tower built of hewn slabs of light sandstone. It is said that the tower was ordered by General Secretary Stalin, who liked to vacation in these picturesque lands. The graceful 30-meter high structure rose to the top in the summer of 1936. The architect gave it the romantic look of a medieval sentry donjon with narrow loopholes.

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An internal staircase leads to the open upper landing. There is a small natural history museum in the building, as well as a tasting room where various types of mountain honey and liqueurs are offered for sampling. At the entrance to the tower there is a ticket office. The opening hours are 10:00-20:00 and the ticket price is 100 rubles. You can pay for the entrance with a bank card. It is worth considering that in the peak season there are large queues.

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A kind of attraction of Mount Akhun is an abandoned restaurant, built in 1938 near the observation tower. The building, topped with an elegant rotunda, is surrounded by a semicircular colonnade. Here, guests enjoyed the chefs’ skills for only one season. A year after the opening of the elite establishment there was a fire, people died, and the restaurant was closed forever. More than 80 years have passed since then. The elegant building, which gave rise to many legends, has turned into a colorful ruin. Sochi authorities are unsuccessfully trying to sell the building, but investors are not in a hurry – it has a bad reputation as a cursed haunted house, a haven for Caucasian witches and otherworldly forces. Guides bring groups of excursionists heading for the observation tower. Tourists, having listened to blood-chilling legends, arrange romantic photo sessions at the picturesque colonnade.

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The gentle slopes of Mount Akhun are covered with protected forests. There are about 200 species of trees, lianas and other southern plants, three dozen of which are included in the Red Book. The southeastern slope of Big Akhun, facing the Khosta River valley, is covered with relict Colchis boxwoods and berry yews. These are the oldest prehistoric endemics that “settled” on the mountainside about 30 million years ago. Rhododendrons, hazel bushes, laurel and chubushnik grow in the undergrowth. There are forest longevity trees up to 2000 years old. This location is a part of the Sochi National Park. Entrance to the protected Khostinskaya grove is paid – 300 rubles. In the northeastern part of the grove preserved ruins of walls and towers of a medieval fortress.

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On the southern slope of Mount Akhun, oak and hornbeam forest dominated by vines. Here a zoological forest park of 1100 hectares is being created. Recently, the first settlers – several pairs of deer, chamois and aurochs – have been brought here from the Caucasus Reserve.

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The subsoil of the Akhun mountain massif is penetrated by about 30 karst caves, washed out in the subsoil by seeping waters. Underground passages and halls are open for visits. Popular among tourists is the Big Akhun Cave, located at the walking trail leading from the summit to the picturesque cascades of waterfalls in the canyon of the Agura River, where turbulent streams of water fall from terraces 12 to 23 meters high. There are stairs and comfortable ascents to see the Agura waterfalls. At the upper waterfall, to the left of the trail, there is another legendary attraction of Bolshoi Akhun – Eagle Rocks. According to legend, the titan Prometheus was once chained to this vertical wall of 125-meter cliffs and sentenced to eternal torment by the Olympic gods. In 1998, a sculpture of the mythical hero breaking the shackles was installed at the top of Eagle Rocks.

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Entertainment

On the top of Mount Akhun, not far from the observation tower, an amusement park is open. The most popular attraction is the Ferris wheel. At the highest point, the multicolored cabins of the “Devil’s Wheel” take tourists 701 meters above the Black Sea level. By the way, it gave the name to the entertainment center on Mount Akhun – “PIK 701”. The wheel rotates leisurely, the turn lasts 9 minutes. The ticket price for adults is 300 rubles, for children under 14 – 200 rubles.

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With kids will be interesting to visit the Southern residence of Santa Claus. There is a reindeer farm, animals can be stroked and fed. In the fairy-tale terem organize fun contests, the winners are awarded tasty prizes. Young guests will learn to make simple crafts from clay and cardboard, knit hats from colored wool. Master classes last 60 minutes, the cost of participation is 300 rubles. There is a post office that accepts letters to Santa Claus, and in cute gingerbread houses under the trees serve tea with cookies, candies and cakes. Ticket price – 450 rubles (children’s – 350 rubles).

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With animals you can communicate in the location Husky Park. Here live fluffy good-natured dogs breed Siberian Husky, on whose muzzles always plays a friendly smile. For a 30-minute stay in the enclosure and feeding of four-legged friends you have to pay 400 rubles. You can also have a photo session on a dog sled dressed up in the costumes of the peoples of the North (5000 rubles). Walks with a husky on a leash to an abandoned restaurant and in the surrounding forests are offered (1000 rubles/hour). For 3000 rubles together with a dog you can make a three-hour guided tour to the Eagle Rocks and Agursky waterfalls.

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A charge of adrenaline you will feel, overcoming suspension bridges and rope crossings at a height of one and a half to ten meters in the rope park. Here are arranged routes of increasing complexity, helmets and safety belts are issued. Safety is monitored by instructors. The cost of the adventure – 400 rubles, for a child must pay 300 rubles.

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Children can frolic on the playground with slides, trampolines. The entrance fee is 250 rubles. On the territory of the park is equipped and free playground.

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From May to October, the amusement park on Mount Akhun is open daily from 10:00 to 20:00, in winter, the time of the center may change.

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Excursions

Mount Akhun is an indispensable object of sightseeing tours around Sochi. The cost of a group 7-hour excursion around the city – from 700 rubles per person.

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Many sightseeing tours around Sochi also include a visit to Mount Akhun with its famous observation deck on top of the tower. One of the popular tours is a four-hour bus and pedestrian excursion to Joseph Stalin’s dacha near the Matsesta River, near the Zelenaya Roscha sanatorium. The cost of the walk – 900 rubles per person.

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Sochi tour bureau offers an individual evening excursion to Mount Akhun for a group of 3-4 people. The walk begins in the pre-sunset hour in the city center. You will meet a stunning Sochi sunset on the observation deck of the tower. The sun hides behind the sea horizon right in front of the mountain, coloring the sky with scarlet. The evening panorama of the Caucasus foothills, the Black Sea and the resort town flooded with lights will impress you for a long time. Duration of the evening excursion – 3 hours, total cost – from 4200 rubles.

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