Eagle Rocks (Orlinye Skaly)

The Eagle Rocks (Orlinye Skaly), also known as the White Rocks, are limestone cliffs above the gorge of the Agura River in the Khostinsky District of Sochi, Krasnodar Krai. They stand in the Matsesta forestry of Sochi National Park, on the right bank of the Agura about 2 km from its mouth, next to the Agura waterfalls and not far from Old Matsesta. The rocks rise to 379 metres above sea level, and the summit has a viewing platform with a statue of Prometheus.

Description and nature

The cliffs curve around the Agura gorge and drop to the river in almost sheer walls. They are made of pale limestone and yellow sandstone, which gives them their second name, the White Rocks. Several karst caves are known nearby, the deepest going down 15 metres.

Pines, oaks and oriental hornbeams grow on the tops and even on narrow ledges of the cliffs, among them the Pitsunda pine, listed in the Red Data Book. Eagles and falcons often soar over the rocks, and the name is linked to them.

What to see

The viewing platform on the summit faces the main Caucasus range. From it you can see Chugush (3,238 m), Pseashkho (3,257 m), Achishkho (2,391 m), Sakharnaya Golova (1,550 m) and the Aibga ridge, whose highest point is 2,462 m. Directly opposite rises the cone of Mount Bolshoy Akhun (663 m), and below, the Agura runs along the bottom of the gorge; in clear weather its waterfalls can be made out. There are tables and benches at the top.

Next to the platform, above the drop, stands the sculpture "Prometheus Breaking His Chains" by the Omsk sculptor Alexander Kapralov, put up in 1998.

The legend of Prometheus

A local tale moves the Greek myth to the Caucasus: Prometheus, who stole fire for people against the will of Zeus, is said to have been chained to these very rocks. Every day an eagle came to peck at his liver, which grew back again. The prisoner was guarded by the god Akhyn, patron of herdsmen, who lived on Mount Akhun across the gorge. A girl named Agura secretly brought the sufferer water, but one day Akhyn caught her and in his anger turned her into the mountain river that still runs at the foot of the cliffs.

Getting there

City buses No. 3, 43, 48, 120, 121 and 180 go to the Staraya Matsesta stop, including from Sochi railway station. You can also take a local train to Matsesta station. By car, follow Kurortny Prospekt to Matsesta; there is parking at the start of the trail.

The trail from Old Matsesta climbs about 2.5 km and takes one to two hours, with hardly any level stretches. According to travel guides, the bridge over the Matsesta River on this route has been destroyed and not rebuilt, so the river has to be crossed another way. The second route starts in the Agura gorge, where the Agurchik joins the Agura, near the Sputnik sanatorium; this climb is even steeper.

Good to know

Entry to the national park is paid, and there is a checkpoint called Orlinye Skaly on the route. Since June 2026 a ticket costs 300 roubles, with discounts for children, pensioners, people with disabilities and large families. After rain the stones on the trail and near the edges become very slippery.