Cascades of the Colonel waterfalls are located on the Stony river, which flows along the Eastern slope of Gebius mountain, in the area Dzhubga pass (where the road passes between Krasnodar and Dzhubga). The tour to these waterfalls will be one of the most interesting in the area of the Western coast of the Black sea.
The route starts near the village of Colonel (15 km on North from Dzhubga). Unlike nearby Gebiussa waterfalls, there are no bridges and convenient tracks. You will have to follow the course of the Stony river, which fully justifies its name. Along the route, you often have to cross the river from one Bank to the other. Without comfortable shoes, and in some places, without physical training, the route will be difficult for ordinary beach tourists. Until the end of June, while the Stony river is full-flowing, you can only walk along the riverbed in rubber boots. The route is very difficult for children.
The first waterfall, called the Canopy, is located 2.7 km from the start of the route. It is very wide, and it does have a canopy over the grotto, where you can climb. At first, the route along the river is very easy, but after the first waterfall, the slope among the marl rocks becomes steeper, and the gorge is much more picturesque. The marl slabs are in some places stacked in perfectly even piles, and in some places, they are bizarrely broken.
Most beautiful is Colonel Second Waterfall. It is located in a wide gorge (4.5 km from the beginning of the route in village). Its height is more than 5 meters, and it looks inaccessible, but to the right of it there is a cable that you can climb up and continue the tour. Further, the stones in the gorge become wetter even in summer, and when the river is full, most of the way will have to go on water.
In this place, the gorge is very picturesque. The rocks above the river have a height of several tens of meters, small waterfalls and cascades become more, until there is a Large Colonel waterfall. Its height is 18 meters. You can go further, but it is difficult, so it is best to finish the walk at this waterfall. If you want to go further, before reaching the waterfall on the right side, you need to climb a vertical slope on a cable.
The distance from the beginning of the route in the village to the Large Colonel waterfall is 5.5 km. Considering the complexity of the route, the walk there and back (11 km) will take at least 5-6 hours, so you need to come here in the morning and plan to spend the whole day here.
