The route to the Mammad’s Tears Waterfall and the Dolmen-Healer is called the Legends of Mammad. It is not the main one in the Mammadov Gorge, but if you have time, then you should definitely visit it. "Legends of Mammad" is located 1 kilometer closer to the Sochi highway than the entrance to the Mammadov Gorge. Here you can see a beautiful waterfall, a pyramidal dolmen and a stone blockage.
After going down to the Kuapse River, cross it over the bridge and climb the path along the slope of the mountain 300 meters. Here is one of the most beautiful dolmens on the Black Sea coast. The shape of the dolmen on the route of the Legend of Mammad is unique. It does not consist of stacked slabs, like most other dolmens, but is carved into a huge stone in the form of a pyramid. The lid of the dolmen is missing, so many tourists go down to the burial chamber out of curiosity.
This dolmen is not a solid megalith, like the Volkonsky dolmen, since there was a lid here. However, since its main part was carved in stone, the dolmen is classified as semi-megalithic. In addition, the shape of the pyramid at the top is processed considering the astronomical features of the position of the sun during the equinox. The height of the pyramidal dolmen reaches 4 meters, length - 8 meters, width - 5 meters. The age of all dolmens on the Black Sea coast exceeds 3 thousand years.
There are many stories about the dolmen on the route of the Legend of Mammad. Locals claim that it has healing powers and call him a Dolmen Healer. At the stand next to the dolmen, you can read about the history that took place on May 19, 1986. Residents of a nearby village were awakened at night by a strange thunder in the dolmen area, although the weather was clear. The next day they found that several trees near the dolmen had been uprooted and felled. Some of the trees were scorched by fire.
Locals claim that the dolmen "came to life" that night, and since then it has had healing powers. It is also written on the stand that after the dolmen came to life: "an energy column radiates from it into the Universe with a radius of 150 meters, and a special, harmonious, rejuvenating energy is radiated in this area." Whether this is true is debatable, but it certainly arouses great interest of tourists who come here to "feel the Energy of Space". Often here you can see people who are leaning against the Dolmen.
After visiting the Dolmen, walk along the right bank of the Kuapse River to the Mammad’s Tears Waterfall. It is not big, but one of the most interesting on the Black Sea coast. Here you will see the face of an old man with two streams of water flow of the eyes. Indeed, the waterfall looks like the face of Grandfather Mammad, who has tears flowing.
The name of the gorge is associated with the legend of Grandfather Mammad, who in the 19th century saw a Turkish ship moored to the shore. He told the residents of the village to take shelter, and he led a Turkish military detachment far into the gorge, where some soldiers died. Grandfather Mammad was also killed by the Turks, and since then he can be seen here in stone.
There is a Stone Blockage next to the waterfall. This is the third attraction on this route. Here you will see huge blocks that blocked the riverbed. Such boulders are not something special in the high mountains, but here it really looks unusual, since the slopes of the gorge are gentle, there are no high rocks.
After looking at the Stone Blockage, return to the beginning of the trail along the left bank of the Kuapse River, and then go directly to the Mammadovo Gorge. There are very beautiful waterfalls and a canyon. You need to drive another 1 kilometer to Mammadov Gorge. The Berendeyevo Kingdom route is also nearby. This is a small gorge along the Lel stream, where a subtropical microclimate has formed.
