Cosăuți

Cosăuți sits on the Dniester north of Soroca and has been quarrying stone for centuries: a hard sandstone that was used for Soroca fortress and for buildings across the region, worked by masons whose skills passed down in the village. The quarries are still active. A monastery stands nearby and the wooded slopes above the river, cut by ravines with springs, are a protected landscape. A section of the Struve Geodetic Arc, the nineteenth-century survey chain that UNESCO later inscribed, runs through this stretch of the Dniester valley.

What you actually see

• The quarries - the sandstone workings that have supplied the region for centuries.
• The masons' tradition - the stone-cutting skills passed down in the village.
• The wooded ravines - the protected slopes above the Dniester.
• The monastery - the foundation standing nearby above the river.

When to go

April to October is the pleasant season. The quarries work on their own schedule. Winter makes the ravine paths difficult.

Honest expectations

The quarries are working industrial sites and access is limited. There is nothing set up for visitors. Paths in the ravines are unmarked.

Nearby

Soroca is south, and Rudi is north.