Tuapse was founded as a fortress in 1838. It lies in Tuapse bay surrounded by the foothills of the Caucasus.

This small settlement is famous primarily for its beaches and hiking trails and in summer it is full of tourists dreaming of the seaside, the sun and rest. The costal part of the Tuapse is very similar to Sochi’s and almost as charming. Visitors can choose where they would like to stay: in a hotel or rent a private apartment. Most Russians prefer to stay in private hotels located at 3-to-5-minute walk from the shingle beach.

Dolmens

But the North - Western part of Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea coast have in store a great number of ancient monoliths and stone monuments. Most of them are represented by rectangular structures made of stone slabs or cut in rocks with holes cut in their facade.

These monolithic structures are the remains of the unknown ancient Dolmen culture. Modern theory says that these structures are religious constructions with sun orientations. There are over a hundred of these dolmen complexes in the region and they are thought to be 3.5 - 5 thousand years old. They were built at the same period as the Egyptian pyramids and, as it is thought, by the same technique.

However, the locals have another explanation of the origin of dolmens. The legend tells that long time ago modern Tuapse used to be inhabited by giants and dwarves. Dwarves didn’t have their own dwellings and suffered from cold, heat and rains, so giants decided to help them and built dolmens for dwarves to live in.

Nor far from Tuapse you may find the unique the Psinako-1 megalith similar to the stones of the world famous Stonehenge. The dolmen of the complex is made of 5 stone plates. There are several stone gutters running down along the slopes of the hill from the center of the complex. Archeologists believe that the complex is an ancient astrological observatory and a kind of a religious place.

Kiselev’s cliff

Kiselev’s cliff is a favorable resting place of the citizens and tourists. The cliff looks smooth and towers 43 metres above the sea. It is named after artist Kiselev, who painted the cliff. By the way, there is a museum devoted to the artist in Tuapse. It takes quite long to get to the cliff, but all your efforts will be rewarded: clean sea, wonderful beach, various fish and other sea dwellers will never leave you indifferent. Diving is the best way to spend time at Kiselev’s cliff, so take your mask and fins with you to see all the beauty of the underwater world with your own eyes.

Traveling mountains

Many tourists coming to Caucasian towns want to try mountaineering and undertake walking-tours to the mountains. Tuapse also has something to offer. Generally speaking there are two main trails, but one of them is destroyed by tractors, so the only variant is the path going through the aul (local village) of Bolshoye Pseushkho, not touched by the human. During the walk you can bathe in a mountain river. About 20 years ago this place didn’t use to be as abandoned as it is now. Numerous tourist camps functioned without fail allowing hikers to climb mountains every day. The only thing that can remind of the past is a small house on the top of the range. The mountains are unforgettable, especially the true-blue air indicating places rich with oxygen. On a sunny day you may feel hot, but you breathe easily and climbing doesn’t seem so hard.