Wolf Gate Gorge, Chibiy. Wolf Gate Gorge in Tuapse Wolf Gate Gorge on the map
The Wolf Gate tract, or Chibi Gorge, is a small gorge in the vicinity of Goryachiy Klyuch. This is not the most popular place among hikers and is suitable for a leisurely weekend walk.
Wolf Gate Gorge on the map
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Wolf Gate Gorge
The Wolf Gate Gorge, or Chibi Gorge, is a small gorge in the vicinity of Goryachiy Klyuch. This is not the most popular place among hikers and is suitable for a leisurely weekend walk.
Wolf Gate Gorge 44.668311 , 38.976745 The Wolf Gate Gorge, or Chibi Gorge, is a small gorge in the vicinity of Goryachiy Klyuch. This place is not the most popular among backpackers and is suitable for a leisurely weekend walk. Find out more
The tract is located in the upper reaches of the central source of the Bolshoy Chibiy stream. The history of its name dates back to the middle of the 19th century, when the local area was actively developed by the Russians. At that time, carts carrying food regularly went to Goryachy Klyuch, and the caravans were often attacked by wolves, for whom the gorge was the only road to these places from the steppes. Over time, all the predators were destroyed, but the name stuck.
The “Wolf” tract is formed by steep cliffs of soft gray sandstone, which over time have become covered with numerous autographs of careless tourists. The length of the gorge does not exceed 50 meters, and the width along the riverbed is about 4-5 meters. In some places the gorge is so narrow that the “walls” on both sides can be touched simply by spreading your arms. The slopes along the rocks are covered with a dense oak forest, the massive trunks of which are entwined with ivy.
The path to the Wolf Gate gorge in autumn
Despite its length, the Chibi Canyon is very picturesque; due to its narrowness, a special atmosphere of twilight and dampness reigns here. About ten meters ahead from the entrance to the canyon, overhead you can see steps carved into a vertical line and the entrance to a small cave.
After crossing the gorge, you can climb to a small wooded area to look around. Returning to the path, you can get into the second, “bear” canyon, interesting, among other things, with Lermontov’s high relief carved into the rock.
How to get there?
To get here, you need to get by car to the village of Chibiy through the village of Novodmitrievskaya. You can leave the car at Sidreria’s farmstead, and the route starts from there. A road leads from the village into the forest parallel to the river past the pond, smoothly turning into a path. You will have to overcome about 2.8 kilometers along a wooded slope and continue moving up the river bed. The road will lead to a very picturesque entrance to the canyon, or rather, to two canyons at once - to the right of the Wolf Gate at the left source of the stream there is another gap - the Bear Gate, they are somewhat wider and shorter.
Chibiy is a small remote village of several courtyards, lost somewhere in the middle between two highways: Krasnodar - Novorossiysk and Krasnodar - Dzhubga. The village is located at the foot of the Pshaf ridge - the first mountain formation in the area. Pshaf, stretching from the village of Stavropolskaya to Goryachiy Klyuch, is not high, its highest point is 490 meters high. The name of the ridge most likely comes from the Adyghe pshakhao - “sandy”, “sand”. A telling toponym, because the ridge is made of sandstones and its northern slopes abound with rocky outcrops along the slopes of ravines cut into the ridge by numerous streams and rivers. The most remarkable and at the same time undeservedly deprived of attention object of the ridge is the Chibi Gorges - the Wolf and Bear Gates. An excellent destination for a relaxing weekend stroll.
You can only get to Chibiy by private car; public transport ends in Kaluzhskaya, from which there are another seven and a half kilometers of good dirt road to Chibiy. We were afraid of the problem of where to leave the car under supervision, but we were lucky, we saw an elderly man near one of the yards, asked - he allowed it, saying that no one would touch him in his yard. Moreover, he responded quite sharply to the offer of money, such a good grandfather was caught.
Photo 1. Foggy morning in Chibiye.
Photo 2. Travel companion.
We set off. We walked around the last house on the main street on the left side and walked along a dirty forest road. There were no heavy rains, but there was still enough precipitation that the section of the road from the village turned into an unpleasant clunker, annoyingly sticking to the boots. Just outside the village there is a small monument dedicated, as usual, to the events of the Second World War. There, at the last house, a dog became attached to us. Surprisingly, this is the second time this dog is coming with us. In March of this year, 14, I was in these places, but then the hike, for a number of reasons, turned out to be not the most successful, I did not write about it, however, and then this same dog walked with us.
Photo 3. The beginning of the journey.
It's about an hour's walk to the first gorge - the Wolf Gate. A little along a forest road on a hill, then a left turn, the narrower road leads to the bed of the Big Chibia, a river that is actually a barely noticeable drying up stream and then the path runs along the bed. The first fork in the road. Both paths lead to the gorge, only the direct path, along the Big Chibiy to the Wolf Gate, and the right turn to the Bear Gate. We go straight, five minutes from the fork and we are there. The Gorge turns out to be modest, compared to what can be found in “adult” mountains, but a very interesting place. For fifty meters, stone walls up to 15 meters high close above the stream, forming an incredibly narrow passage. It is so narrow that in some places you won’t even be able to spread your arms, no wider than a meter. The gorge is dark, wet and dirty. The walls are actively covered with autographs of modern cavemen, but it is noteworthy that very recent autographs are in the minority, and there is surprisingly no trash, for such an easily accessible object. I caught myself thinking that I could take a risk and try to climb up, but I didn’t tempt fate. I wonder how many wolf gates there are in the region? Without looking at the clues, at least three come to mind - a sophisticated name.
Photo 4. A rare beetle does not swim to the middle of the Great Chibiy.
Photo 5. Fork. To the left - to the Wolf Gate, to the right - to the Bear Gate.
Photo 6. Entrance to the Wolf Gate.
Photo 7. Through the gorge.
Photo 8. Stone corridor.
After drinking tea at the entrance to the gorge, we move on. Behind the stone corridor there is a short but very steep climb. Having gained 40–50 meters we find ourselves on a very cozy area above the gorge, traces of fireplaces are visible, but it is also surprisingly clean. In the clearing there are several fabulous-looking bearded trees, their beards are turquoise tufts of lichens that generously decorate the trunks. Several pines dilute the picture with unexpectedly lush greenery; through the crowns, the gentle slopes of Pshaf appear gray in the distance.
Photo 9. Rocky outcrops behind the Wolf Gate.
Photo 10. And again a woolen companion.
Photo 11. Panorama of the site above the Wolf Gate.
Photo 12. Lichens on trees.
Photo 13. Just twigs.
From the clearing we climb up towards the ridge. There should be a path on the map, but there is no point in bothering yourself with searching for it; walking through the autumn forest is fine just the way it is. The climb is noticeable, but not difficult. Half an hour and now we are on the ridge. Suddenly the Sun peeks out, the forest turns into warm colors, pleasing the eye. From the top almost nothing is visible, even through the bare crowns. We walk a little along the ridge and come across a fresh stele, again dedicated to the events of the Second World War. It turns out that we are at height 456, which changed hands three times during that war, and each time a dozen, two, three, four fighters lost their lives in the Pshaf forests. Near the stele there is a table and a bench - we are having tea again.
Photo 14. Panorama on the Pshafa ridge. Forest, forest, forest.
Photo 15. Modest view to the northeast.
The return journey begins from the top. Again, the trail turns out to be only on the map and we have to go down a rather steep ravine, moreover, littered with various forest debris: branches, leaves, fallen trunks. Moreover, while we, like turtles, were checking every step on the descent, our woolly companion began to rage, as if mocking him to cut zigzags along the slopes of the beam, only the foliage flew out in clouds from under the paws of the dog’s ass, which went into a skid - a disgrace, and that’s all! It seemed to me that while we dropped a hundred or two meters along the beam, he covered several kilometers, running back and forth.
Photo 16. In front of the Bear Gate.
Photo 17. Rocky outcrops.
Photo 18. Snag strewn with mushrooms.
Photo 19. The way back, through the forest.
Photo 20. Clear evening in Chibiye.
Along the ravine we went straight to another gorge, the Bear Gate. They are not so impressive, but also interesting. Bear's are wider and shorter with approximately the same height of the walls. A few shots and soon we return to the fork, which I wrote about just above. Well, then in 40 minutes we happily walked to the car, drank tea on the path and returned to Krasnodar before dark. In total, the entire trip took one daylight hours, of which only four hours were spent walking, and that’s with all the teas, photographs and other mattress stuff.
A hike has a beginning, but there is no end to hikes!
On June 1, the children of our village, together with their parents, went on a festive hike dedicated to Children’s Day to the Wolf Gate gorge in the vicinity of the village of Chernigovskaya. Here, in the Volchi Vorota tract, in August 1942, Soviet soldiers closed the road to the Black Sea with a strong defense castle. The front line passed in the vicinity and in the village of Chernigov, from here the liberation of Adygea and the Krasnodar Territory from the Nazi invaders began in January 1943.
The hike began early in the morning. Sleepy, but ready for adventure, we went to Novye Polyany on a regular bus to Chernigovskaya. Having safely completed this section of the journey, we reached the little train (locally called the matrix). Having filled the trailer (after all, there were 15 of us hikers), we set off! We traveled along the narrow-gauge railway from Chernigovskaya to Volchie Vorota for only 8 km. The matrix's movement speed is low, and this provides an excellent opportunity to carefully examine the beauty around you.
On the eastern side, the Lagonaki Highlands rises like a grandiose rock bastion. The Lagonaki ridge, with patches of still-preserved snow on its peaks, looks like a harsh rocky belt. Mount Chessy rises above the area as a separate cone-shaped peak, right below which, among the ridges, a failure is visible. This is where the Wolf Gate is located. The Wolf Gate is a rocky massif, deeply cut by a river, sandwiched on both sides in a narrow rocky gorge. Below, under the rocks in the canyon, a formidable rapid called the Lower Wolf Gate, which is the most dangerous rapid on the Pshekha River, seethes. How aptly this place is named! Huge “rocky” paws of a giant wolf rise on the right bank of the Pshekha.
Here, under the steep cliffs, two obelisks stand modestly. In August 1942, the Nazis did not go further than this line. 31st Infantry Division Colonel P.K. Bogdanovich's defense was firmly locked by the Wolf Gate. She fought heavy battles on the outskirts of the village of Maratuki, Mount Oplepen (height 1010.3 m), on the northern slopes of Mount Shupsa, village. Kamenka and in the valley of the Tsitsa River. Exhausted in battle, the 31st Rifle Division retreated through the city of Maykop, defended the crossings across the Belaya and Kurdzhips rivers towards the villages of Apsheronskaya, Samurskaya, Chernigovskaya, and firmly occupied the defense on the Pshekha River. Ammunition and food are almost gone. Delivery of them through the mountains from the Black Sea coast was difficult. Our soldiers were given only one clip of ammunition. But our mountains and the courage of Soviet soldiers helped in the fight against the enemy. And every cartridge issued found its target.
On the memorial plaque we read about the great feat of a Soviet machine gunner, who sat down in a small depression of an almost vertical rock and fired until the last bullet, not allowing the fascist invaders to move further to the sea. He knew he was doomed, but he fought to the last drop of blood. Thanks to such selfless soldiers, here, in August 1942, the 31st Rifle Division stopped the Nazis and from here, together with the 9th Mountain Rifle Division, launched an offensive to liberate Adygea and Kuban.
On our way there is an obelisk erected by Komsomol members of the city of Maykop from the plant named after. Frunze, still preserving the memory of the soldiers who died here. We listen to the story of our guide and the main “search engine” of our village, San Sanych, about the events taking place here, and then we plant perennial flowers in memory of the fallen soldiers. And a group photo for memory.
Not far away, having gone down to the river itself, we stop to rest with a light snack by the fire, and remember the story told to us, answering the questions of a pre-prepared quiz. Everyone found something to their liking: conversations around the fire, searching for beautiful snags and stones by the river, and simply admiring the proudest, stormy Pshekha, filled with waterfalls and rifts.
Impressed by what we saw, we return on foot along the narrow-gauge railway to Chernigovskaya.
The road is interesting, surrounded by mountain slopes that are tempting to climb and climb up. That's what the boys do - who's taller?
And the ripe, fragrant strawberries growing right along the sides of our road help restore strength. Beauty!
And along the way there are also memorial plaques in memory of soldiers - tank crews, pilots, unknown Soviet soldiers who gave their lives for our future.
And yet, fatigue takes its toll, because 8 kilometers on foot is a considerable distance when the youngest hiker is only 5 years old!
But..., encouraging each other, we return to Chernigovskaya and are just in time for the regular bus! And then along the path we have trodden to Samurskaya. At the finishing stage to maintain strength and in honor Children's Day We present our little hikers with festive ice cream. What a wonderful trip we had! We hope not the last, because summer has just begun.
We thank the organizers of this event for the movement to preserve the memory of our ancestors, those who gave us the opportunity to continue to live in this beautiful and amazing world!
To the northeast on the ridge there are two more, dilapidated. They were created in the distant era of the so-called “Early or Middle Bronze Age,” in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. er. From the dolmens we go west along the Bogatyrka ridge. On the right, on the northern slope of the ridge, 10 birches grow on the terrace. At the very crest of the ridge, small half-swallowed and overgrown ditches - trenches - are clearly visible. This is a memory for us, living in the world, of the past war. Along the Bogatyrka ridge in 1942-1943. passed the second line of defense of the city. The trail led us to a lake surrounded by chestnut forest. Further, to the right and left on the slopes of the ridge, there are many bizarre blocks of sandstone, the so-called outcrops.
This is the result of weathering - a slow, continuous process of destruction of rocks under the influence of the sun, water, sudden temperature changes, and secretions of microorganisms. Take a closer look at them: this one looks like a turtle, the other looks like a lion's head, and the third... Everyone sees their own. The fantasy of nature is amazing and mysterious.
Already in January - February along the trail you will find primroses - the first heralds of the approaching spring. These are greenish-white hellebores, purple cyclamens, yellowish and purple primroses - “lamb” blue and blue scillas: two-leaved and Siberian, snow-white snowdrops. By March, the most beautiful of them will bloom, looking like small white lilies - Caucasian lily. From May to October, in the open spaces of the meadows, you will be pleased with colorful carpets of daisies - cornflowers, isododas, centaury, St. John's wort, lemon balm, oregano. Of the orchids in the clearings, there are many scarlet Anacamptis pyramidalis and orchids small-spotted, smelling of vanilla, and purple balls of Orchis tridentata. Male and purple orchis have been hiding under the forest canopy since April. Everything is in the Red Book of Russia.
Now down to the Spider River. The spider begins on the western slopes of Messozhai, its total length with all turns is 8.5 km. Moving along the path, you will come to a waterfall about 7m high. Here you can relax longer: build a fire, warm tea, take a swim. The pool under the waterfall is 2m deep, although small, but the water is thousands of times cleaner than in the sea.
Going down the Spider River, behind the second nut plantings, the trail offers you two options: in shallow water, when you can go through two dozen fords on pebbles, you can go down to the city along the river bed. Then you immediately emerge, as if in a fairy tale, into the Wolf Gate gorge. Millions of years ago the sea splashed here, then the mountains rose up, the river cut a narrow gorge into them and soaring, almost vertical layers became visible. Having walked downstream for about 2 km, you will come to the final stop No. 11, No. 12 and minibuses. Or you can, without going into the Wolf Gate, take the left option - along the rocky edge of the Wolf Gate bend, to a height of 320 m and - to the source of the Greek Gap stream. Here, once upon a time, before the era of forced migration of peoples, hardworking Greeks lived and cultivated gardens and vegetable gardens.
The path will lead you over a cozy, beautiful gorge with a dozen waterfalls up to 6m high, with ferns (leaf and hair of Venus) descending from wet rocks. Look up above the transition of the path from the right bank to the left. A centuries-old berry yew has taken root on the rocks. And already above the upper mudflow dam on the other bank you will see bizarre folds of rocks.
In about 10 minutes, cozy Internationalnaya Street will greet you with flowers in the front gardens of private houses, decorative trees: bamboo, boxwood, Japanese quince, Himalayan cedar, Crimean pine. And you will quietly approach the stop of buses No. 2 and No. 10.
Bon Voyage.
(Based on materials from V.P. Chernovol)
Wolf Gate Gorge is a small rift in the rock located along the Spider River. The length of the gorge is only 50 m, and the width varies from several meters to 70-80 cm at the narrowest point. The height of the steep walls reaches 10-15 m. Due to the extreme narrowness of this place, it is almost impossible for people walking along it to miss each other. In the old days, this feature was used to hunt wolves, which were driven into a crevice. The modern name of the area originates from this custom.
In the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the Wolf Gate gorge you can see the White Rocks with a 7-meter waterfall. Below the waterfall there is a pool about 2 m deep with crystal clear water suitable for swimming. Hornbeams, beeches, oaks, chestnuts, and evergreen vines grow on the steep slopes along the bed of the Pauk River. In the spring you can see a lot of primroses (snowdrops, cyclamen, scillas, hellebores); almost all types of these plants are listed in the Red Book of Russia.
Wolf Gate Gorge on the map
Type: Other landscapes Address: Russia, Krasnodar region, outskirts of Tuapse. How to get there: from the final stop of buses No. 11, 12 go along the street. Internatsionalnaya and further along the path or take buses No. 2, 10 to the street. Pushkin (stop on request), then walk to the end of the street and continue along the path marked with blue and red marks on stones and trees.