This is the Russian Caucasus chapter from Lonely Planet’s Russia guidebook.

In the southwestern corner of Russia lies the Caucasus, an enchanting and ethnically rich region that’s home to awe-inspiring mountains, relaxing mineral spa towns and old-fashioned resorts dotting the sunny shores of the Black Sea.

• frolic in the Black Sea followed by dinner and dancing in ever lively Sochi
• maps
• carve up Olympic ski slopes, followed by a banya in Krasnaya Polyana
• transport
• restaurants and accommodation
• hike or ski amid the dramatic peaks of Dombay

Coverage includes: Kuban Steppe, Rostov-on-Don & around, Krasnodar, Black Sea Coast, Anapa, Novorossiysk, Sochi & around, Agura Valley, Vorontsovskaya Cave, Mt Fisht, Adler, Krasnaya Polyana, Mineral Water Spas, Mineralnye Vody, Pyatigorsk, Zheleznovodsk, Kislovodsk, Dombay, Teberda, Arkhyz, Nalchik and Elbrus Area.