Rufabgo Waterfalls

The Rufabgo joins the Belaya near Kamennomostsky, and in the last two kilometres before it does it drops through a narrow canyon in a series of falls - about a dozen in all, of which four or five are substantial, with names like the Shum, the Cascade, the Heart of Rufabgo and the Devil's Mill. The canyon is deep, wet and green with moss, fern and box, and the path runs along it with bridges, steps and rails, taking a couple of hours up and back. There are two ways in: from the Belaya bridge at the bottom, which is the long walk and the better one, or from a car park at the top which shortens it considerably and costs more. Nearby the Belaya itself runs through the Khadzhokh gorge, a slot forty metres deep and a few metres wide with walkways, and the two are usually done together. Flow drops substantially by late summer.

What you actually see

• The fall chain - about a dozen drops in two kilometres, four or five of them substantial.
• The wet canyon - moss, fern and box on every surface in a deep slot.
• The two approaches - a long walk from the Belaya bridge or a short one from above.
• Khadzhokh gorge - a forty-metre slot on the Belaya nearby, usually visited with it.

When to go

April to June for water volume from snowmelt; by August the falls are much reduced. Two to four hours depending on the approach.

Honest expectations

Flow is seasonal and late-summer visitors find thin water. The path is wet, slippery and has steps throughout. Busy at weekends and in the summer season. Both approaches charge, and the upper one is a shortcut people resent paying for.

Nearby

Khadzhokh gorge is in Kamennomostsky; Lago-Naki is south.