Excursion "Grand Canyon of Crimea"

Our tour route will give you the opportunity to go on a real hiking trip in the mountainous Crimea. To do this, you do not need to be a professional climber or an experienced mountaineer tourist. A hike along the Grand Canyon of Crimea is able to master almost everyone, unless, of course, you suffer from serious cardiovascular diseases, and your physical fitness allows long walks.

First, you will have a transfer from Sevastopol to the village of Sokolinoe to the northeastern slopes of the Ai-Petrinsky mountain range, from where the Canyon originates. The transfer takes place along a very picturesque road along the inner ridge of the Crimean Mountains. From the windows of the bus you can see the ancient (XY-XYII centuries) Chorgun Tower - the border guard building of medieval feodorites, the cave monasteries of Shuldan and Chelter Maramara. Both monasteries (buildings of the YIII-X centuries) are monuments of national importance. The first sightseeing stop will take place near a picturesque lake at the foot of Mount Mangup, on top of which are the remains of the capital of the medieval Mangup principality – Feodoro. A short excursion into the history of the former greatness of Crimean Gothia, a photo against the background of the “fortress mountain” – and again on the road.

On the way from the bus windows we will see the famous Caralesian Sphinxes – 14 stone giants of the most bizarre shapes, picturesque rocks “Monkey”, “Skull”, “Octopus”, mountains Crocodile, Iron, Syurensky Grottoes, Belbek Gate – the abundance of these amazing landscape monuments will just spin your head. And ahead - a meeting with one of the most important sights of the Crimea - the Grand Canyon.

At the main parking lot near the bridge that divides the canyon into two parts, we leave the bus and go on foot. The canyon is divided by two mountain ranges - Boyka and Ai-Petri. The length of the impressive gorge is 3 km, and the width in the narrowest places is no more than 3-5 m!

Our path runs along the riverbed Auzun-Uzen, which forms numerous rapids and cascades on its way, and in some places – real waterfalls. The bottom of the canyon is covered with luxurious vegetation - mosses, fern, ivy, around forest flowers - lilies, orchids, trees of bizarre forms. And also – clean air, coolness and deafening silence. Constantly there are piles of boulders and boulders, all sorts of boilers and erosion baths with river water. The water in them, as well as in the whole river, is crystal clear, transparent, from the sunlight falling into the river, it sparkles and sparkles like a crystal glass! In the cliff of the canyon there are about 150 such formations.

In general, there are plenty of opportunities to swim during the excursion to the Grand Canyon of Crimea. Ahead of you is a meeting with the boiling water of the spring of Pania. This is the largest karst spring in the Crimea. A long-standing legend says that here, on the site of the source, there was once a chapel dedicated to the Most Holy Mother of God. Here from the surrounding places the Orthodox population flocked and asked the Virgin for intercession. Since then, the water in the spring is considered holy. When you pray, you will be able to ask God for forgiveness for all your sins. So bathing in Pania will not only be pleasant for the body, but also good for the soul.

And the main bathing for tourists familiar with the canyon is in the famous Bath of Youth, the depth of which is about 3 meters. However, not everyone dares to bathe – the water in the bath even on the hottest summer day does not exceed 11-13 degrees! By the way, the Bath of Youth has its own legend, the essence of which is that, having bathed in the bath, you will definitely get younger. Are you gonna check it out?

The Bath of Youth is also the end point of your excursion route. Having warmed up after extreme bathing with tea from mountain herbs sold here, you will go back. Returning to the starting point of the hike, you can relax and eat in the merrily ringing river located here, on the shore, under the shadow of thick elm crowns of a cafe with Tatar cuisine (by the way, the kitchen in the cafe is excellent!).

In the second part of the route, the group will go to the northern channel of the Grand Canyon. Here you will have a walk through the beech forest along the rapids and the basin of the Sary-Uzen river bed. As in the southern part of the canyon, you will continue to admire the peculiar vegetation of the BCC. In addition to the powerful trees of the age-old forest, there are relict species of flora, such as yew berry, jasmine shrub, hyoid eel, fern and even orchids. If you are lucky, you will probably see the rarest orchid – Venus Boots!

And at the end of the walk, the trees will part, and on a small forest meadow you will see the waterfall Silver jets - small, but very picturesque: against the background of a small, overgrown with emerald moss grotto, the water flows down in thin streams, which in the light of sunlight look like silver strings of an unusual musical instrument. It's just a fabulous picture! And no wonder Silver jets I consider one of the most beautiful and romantic waterfalls of the Crimea!

In Sevastopol after a hike on the Grand Canyon you will return tired and at the same time fascinated by the beauty of the pristine Crimean nature.

What's in:
- Transfer (there and back),
- Insurance,
- Visit to the Grand Canyon;
- Visiting the Bath of Youth,
- Yew falls,
- Lake of Love.
- Lake Yusupov.
Water Silver jets (unfortunately without a tuff cap)