Mount Akhun (Ахун) is a stand-alone mountain in the

Khostinsky City District Khostinsky City District (russian: Хостинский райо́н) is one of four city districts of the city of Sochi in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city district borders Maykopsky District of the Republic of Adygea in the northeast, Adlersky C ...

of Sochi,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. Wedged between the Matsesta and Khosta rivers, this karst

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

is the highest point of the Sochi littoral. The peak of Greater Akhun is above sea level. Its summit is marked by a 100-foot-tall Romanesque tower. It was built in 1936 from limestone

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitr ...

. The tower offers panoramic views of the

Western Caucasus The Western Caucasus is a western region of the Caucasus in Southern Russia, extending from the Black Sea to Mount Elbrus. World Heritage Site The Western Caucasus includes a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising the extreme western e ...

as far south as

Gagra Gagra ( ka, გაგრა; Abkhaz and Russian: Гагра) is a town in Abkhazia/Georgia, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular he ...

and

Pitsunda Pitsunda ( ab, Пиҵунда, russian: Пицунда) or Bichvinta ( ka, ბიჭვინთა ) is a resort town in the Gagra District of Abkhazia/Georgia. Founded by Greek colonists in the 5th century BC, Pitsunda became an important politi ...

. An 11-km-long serpentine road leads to the tower from the Sputnik Hotel. Lesser Akhun rises to an elevation of . Nearby are the ruins of a medieval Christian church. The entire massif contains about 20 caves. The forests support 200 species of

higher plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

. The scenic Eagles' Rocks stretch along the right bank of the Agura River toward the Agura Falls. The mount was apparently sacred for the local Ubykh community. Its name translates from the Ubykh dialect as "the mountain giant". Image:View from the top of Akhun mountain.JPG, View from the top File:Tower on the Akhun mountain.JPG, The Akhun Tower

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhun Sochi Mountains of Krasnodar Krai Natural monuments of Russia