This report is about the tour: Canyons of Criimea
Story about the hike "Canyons of Crimea" from July 14, 2009.
Somehow it happened that, although I always lived not too far from Crimea, I had almost never been there. There has been a desire to fill this gap for a long time, but somehow it didn’t work out. But time passed, summer was approaching, and with it the opportunity to relax a little. The idea of spending my short vacation turning from side to side on some beach, even in Crimea, did not arouse any enthusiasm in me. I wanted to get the maximum possible number of impressions in the shortest possible period of time. In short, I wanted a miracle.
“Beware of your wishes, they will come true.” The famous phrase, which came from the depths of centuries, ultimately turns out to be filled with secret meaning. And so it happened. I must say that I am an office-home person, a romantic, I travel mainly on the Internet (and how did people manage without it before?). It was in its vast expanses that I wandered into www.OutdoorUkraine.com. The idea of getting to know Crimea for real, without any bells and whistles of civilization, seemed very attractive to me. Real acquaintance from the inside. In addition, the issue of equipment and travel companions was immediately resolved: equipment could be rented, which was very convenient, and the groups were formed by the organizers from thrill-seekers like me. As time has shown, Kirill was right when he said: “Bad people don’t go hiking, they have other hobbies.”
At the Simferopol station, I easily found using the map posted on the same website, for which special thanks, the meeting place. As it turned out, there were 2 groups instead of one wanting to go along the “Canyons of Crimea” route. There were 8 people in our group, including the guide. Having stocked up on light (at first glance) products, we loaded ourselves with backpacks into a roomy minibus, and - forward, towards new adventures! Purring merrily, he took us to the starting point of the hike, the village of Alsou, and sped off somewhere back to civilization.
Our guide, Andrei, in bright red vestments (so that we could not get lost even if we wanted to) cheerfully walked forward along the path, looking around the surroundings and, as far as possible, answering our many questions. Having put on our heavier backpacks, we followed in single file. Everything was new and interesting for me - the constantly changing landscapes impressed me with their beauty and grandeur, and at times I forgot about the weight of my backpack.
We walked along the Black River, upstream. The path wound through a real tropical forest, every now and then it was necessary to move aside the branches hanging over it, the tree trunks were entwined with vines. We had to ford the fast mountain river several times; the day was hot and the cold water was pleasantly invigorating. Our first stop was in a forest clearing. A large mossy boulder served as a makeshift table. We whipped up sandwiches that seemed very tasty. ))) We smeared ourselves with potions designed to scare away curious hungry insects (I wonder who they eat when there are no tourists nearby?) and moved on. At times the trail almost disappeared; we had to climb through rubble and climb rocky ledges, helping each other.
On the first day it seemed to me that we had walked a lot. There are a lot of impressions! We settled down for the night on a narrow area between the river and a rocky wall. We set up tents, collected brushwood for the fire, and cooked a camp dinner in a pot, which was found in Andrei’s backpack (it seems to be the heaviest thing). Then everyone gathered around the fire. The dry branches of juniper crackled merrily, enveloping the clearing with the unique aroma of the mountainous Crimea. We got to know each other, joked, and even sang. It turned out to be a wonderful, soulful evening.
And at night there was a thunderstorm. Thunder woke me up. I have never spent the night in such a small open-air tent. It even seemed like it was leaking. I’m lying there, the rain is drumming on the awning, thundering, and around there are only trees and rocks. I think: “What should I do now? What if the tent floods? Or will it wash away? Then we’ll have to get out, of course, everything will be wet, and there’s nowhere to dry, to make a fire, to save things.... You won’t have to sleep at all, but you need to go tomorrow, there are so many interesting things ahead... I’d better sleep a little more, until everything is completely flooded...” She fell asleep and slept until the morning. The rain didn’t soak anything, only the things that were not hidden under the awning from the rain got wet.
On this day we walked along the Black River. The path went along the mountain slope. The sky was still overcast, which was helpful - it was not hot to walk. After a night thunderstorm there was a smell of freshness, pine needles and flowering herbs. The river gurgled merrily somewhere below, peeking through the branches of the trees. At the top there is a steep slope covered with forest, at the bottom it goes down just as steeply. It seemed like the next mountain was just a stone's throw away. Very beautiful. In the afternoon we reached the Baydar Valley and moved to the Gorny camp, located in the Uzundzhi Canyon and walked along the bottom.
Surprisingly: at first the river bed was completely dry. We were perplexed - where did the water go? Let's go upstream, so to speak, when there is no current at all. Gradually, as we moved, we began to come across tiny reservoirs in the depressions between the stones, and soon the cool streams of the Uzundzhi began to gurgle. When we stopped for the night, the river was not much smaller in size than the Black River, and the current was strong. I still wonder where all this water goes? Andrey hid a treasure near the Uzundzha cave. Until I went on a hike, I didn’t even know about the existence of such a game - for modern treasure hunters. I won’t describe the details here. If anyone is interested, ask Andrey, I think he’ll tell you better.
We completed the tour. “Ai-Dimitri” parking lot, “Tea House” tract. and Here there is a cave in which partisans lived during the Great Patriotic War. A small monument nearby commemorates those who died here during that difficult time.
Armed with flashlights, we went down into the dungeon. Cold and damp. Wooden steps, rotten from cold and moisture. Your feet slip, so you have to descend carefully. Stalactites hang from the ceiling, water droplets sparkle like diamonds in the light of our flashlights. We don’t stay long - we still can’t stay here for long without warm clothes, and we get out to the surface to the sun to warm up. Next time we take a short break at the observation deck. Towering above us are Skyryu - Kaya and Sedam-Kaya (Eagle Flight). We meet a couple of vacationers, they also climbed up to admire the views, looking at us with curiosity. A light rain begins to fall. “Guys, is there an extra tent?” - they quickly retreat somewhere.
Today we saw the Grand Canyon from above - an impressive sight. From here you can watch how the clouds slowly float by, catching the trees on the slopes with their translucent robes, or completely hiding the tops of gentle mountains.
We reached Lake Yusupov and hid another treasure. At the foot of the rock is the “Yellow” cave, from which a spring flows. The water is clean, clear and very cold. We are replenishing our supplies. And again we hit the road – to the Silver Streams waterfall. It’s not called that for nothing – it’s an amazingly beautiful place. Streams of water run like living silver from a moss-covered rock; you can admire this spectacle for a very long time, listening to the whisper of the forest and the sound of falling water. Local residents have equipped an observation deck here - the path is lined with wooden round timbers, and the platform itself is all made of logs. Beautiful. But when it rains, it’s very slippery, to be honest.)))
On the morning of the fourth day of the hike, we woke up after heavy rain, and we were all a little wet. Andrey, it seems, knows how to make a fire in any weather, thank him very much for what we would do without him.))) The morning turned out to be wonderful, bright, the rays of the sun pierced the tree crowns, the smoke rising from our fire, the guys decided to capture what they saw for history.
But we still left later that day. Near the Blue Lake we met a group of Taras - this is the second group walking along this route. Actually, we didn’t see the group itself, only Taras himself and a lot of backpacks. After exchanging greetings, we move further up. And here in front of us is the Grand Canyon. It’s very good that we passed one canyon from the bottom, and the other from the top. Completely different impressions. The majestic view opens from a bird's eye view. Standing on the edge - it will take your breath away! What do you think... What is a person in this world? A grain of sand... These rocks have seen so much... We walked along the roads that were built by the ancient Romans! And how many more will they see...
We passed the Yokogan-Su stream and stopped at the Bash-Dere parking lot. That day we walked a little and stopped early for the night. The place is wonderful, very picturesque, the sun was warm. After the bad weather at night, we enjoyed sunbathing and drying off. The river formed natural baths in these places, and the children splashed happily in the cold water.
From Bash-Dere we went to Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla and climbed Bald Mountain. There were no more steep ascents and descents, the going was easy. Along the path, ripe strawberries were visible through the leaves, and there was a smell of pine needles and thyme. On Bald Mountain, mobile communications were finally discovered, it became possible to contact your family and friends - everyone talked for a while, it turned out to be a mini-negotiation point! ))))
At every opportunity, Pekka armed himself with a camera and went hunting for a rare shot - photographing insects. In the thicket of the forest it was more difficult, but open spaces were freedom. Here you can find endemic species that are found nowhere else on Earth.
We bypassed Ai-Petri and went to the Tatar Wall, where Andrey hid another treasure, it seems, the last one on this campaign. They say that this wall was built in the Middle Ages to prevent sheep from leaving the pastures towards the sea and from falling off the steep banks. There have been no sheep or nomads for a long time, only the wall remains. And the places are beautiful!
Searching for treasures in such beauty is a real pleasure! Even the air is different! It smells pleasantly of forbs, heated stone, and something else, probably the sea.) We went out to the observation deck to look at Yalta: from such a height it looks like a toy. The sea reaches to the horizon, the cries of seagulls, the ocean liner frozen at the pier - from here it resembles a collectible model - with magnification all the details are visible. After resting and admiring the views, we move on to the tour. parking lot “Kosh”, where we stop for the night.
The parking lot is surrounded by luxurious beech trees. A little to the side is a spring. There was once a watering hole for sheep here. Several troughs are installed along the slope along a ladder. Water cascades into them and rushes further down the slope. The bunny, frozen in the sparse bushes, takes off as I approach. I got scared.
In the evening we brewed an unusual tea: we put lemongrass and sage into the pot, it turned out very tasty, and the aroma is simply amazing! This was our last night on the hike. Everyone gathered in a circle near the quietly crackling fire, talking, sipping fragrant tea, singing and laughing. Wonderful evening.)
The next morning - descent along the Iograph ridge to Yalta. We descended in half a day, having passed several climatic zones during this time: if at the top it was +18-20 degrees Celsius, no more, and the strawberries were just ripening, then below, at the foot of the mountains, they had long since moved away, the sun was scorching with might and main. At the top there are mostly pine trees, and on the streets of Yalta palm trees, plane trees, and magnolias feel at ease.
Crimea is a unique place! I am very glad that I met him in this way. And I met wonderful people! Our group was very good, friendly and cheerful. Since this was my first time traveling with a backpack, advice from experienced travelers was simply necessary! Thank you very much guys, you helped me a lot! And special thanks to the organizers of the trip! Thanks to them, we all spent several unforgettable days and got to know each other! And Irinka – I didn’t have a camera with me, just a camera, so we exchanged information.
A huge hello to all participants of the hike! Getting to know the inside - a wonderful vacation! I recommend it to everyone!
Victoria Pogodina from Donetsk