Pilgrimage to holy places

Report on a walking tour of the cave cities and monasteries of Crimea June 6–11, 2010.
In general, we decided to go hiking one day (me and my husband Zhenya). Those. I decided, and my husband made a heroic effort and with the words: “Okay, so be it,” he began to prepare, so to speak, morally.

We must give him credit, he is a thorough person, so even though this was our first trip, clothes, equipment, it was all as light and practical as possible. Thank you very much, my love! And also many thanks, Kirill, for the clearly presented and understandable advice for beginners (they didn’t take anything extra).

Now about the hike. We prepared for the worst. Zhenya - because he is not a sports person. And I - because I was prepared in advance to drag 15 kg up the mountain and listen to compliments about “why don’t you stay at home?!” It worked out :)

Day one.

We met at the station. We immediately became acquainted with our comrades in misfortune and with the food that needed to be carried. And, of course, with a guide. We reached Bakhchisarai without incident and unloaded near the Khan's Palace. We went inside, looked, admired the garden, and took memorable photos. Let's move on.

And then we moved to the Assumption Monastery, past the rocks in which dwellings were carved out and people still live. How practical! (Three walls instead of four) We go up to the Assumption Monastery, a backpack on our back, cars pass by.. - Well, just think, anyone can do this! Would you like to try it like this in the heat, with a backpack, up, and at the same time smiling at all 32! In general, this is the beginning, a wagon of energy and a small cart, adrenaline is coming out of your ears. EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL!!!

We caught our breath after the climb, looked at the beauty of the monastery, drank some water for future use, and again headed towards the cave city of Chufut-Kale. Near the city there is a cave 50m deep (well, maybe I lied a little), with a spiral staircase carved right into the rock, and at the very bottom there is a well. If you don't feel claustrophobic, go ahead.

Karaite cemetery, another five kilometers and the place of our first overnight stay, Beshik-Tau. The first thought is to fall, relax. But you understand that it’s not worth it, we carefully listen to the guide’s instructions about how exactly to set up the tent, where to get water, etc. The spring barely flows, so it takes about half an hour to fill the pot with water. We leave the pot and go settle down.

We watch Anton prepare dinner (by the way, he cooks a delicious 5+ for our guide). Then we eat everything. We later made the observation that the more tired you are, the less you want to eat. And then the guys show miracles of ingenuity, such as how to wash greasy dishes after six people and two pots, using leftover tea, a barely flowing spring, grass, leaves, soap and toilet paper. Then we had fun like this the whole trip, taking turns, twice a day.

Day two.

Morning. It's raining. The sky was overcast. I absolutely don’t want to get out of the tent, but I have to. I need to cook breakfast and I'm wondering if there is technology for starting a fire in the rain. I go to Anton to find out “what to do?” We decide to wait half an hour. The rain has almost stopped, exactly according to plan, just in time for preparing breakfast. We are having breakfast under a canopy (it’s good that there is one), the wind is blowing, something is dripping from the sky, right into the plate and onto our nose. It’s damp, and therefore everyone gets ready so cheerfully and quickly, and we stomp further to the cave monastery of Kachi-Kalyon. On the way we saw enough of such landscapes - Van Gogh was resting.

There was some kind of special atmosphere in this monastery, however, it is not logically explainable, but for some reason, from everything we saw further (and we had a real pilgrimage to holy places), the strongest feeling of the sublime remained from it. The monks were quite friendly and completely engrossed in their daily activities. Irrigation system rising above the path; mountain steps, a couple of kilometers long, made of tires and stuffed with all sorts of things - in general, a gigantic job has been done! Well done!

We go down the path from the monastery. Along those same steps. We descend for quite a long time, the sun is at its zenith and there is an equally long and steep climb to the grotto ahead, but we don’t know about it yet, and therefore we look around, admire the views, and enjoy life.

Then the climb begins, the sun is scorching, the path is steep and narrow, stones crumble under your feet, sweat fills your eyes, the backpack pulls down, digs into your shoulders, interferes with coordination, your throat is dry, you endure it and think, “well, when will we get up there?” Then nervous giggles begin, we pester the conductor with questions - “maybe a break?” and “how much longer?” Anton patiently reports, “It won’t be long now, and there’s no point in stopping, let’s climb up, and then we’ll rest.”

We crawled to the cells in the rocks and made a halt. After a couple of minutes, the most persistent ones (i.e. all the girls and the guide - no offense boys, we love you) went to inspect the grotto and the wonderful views opening from the heights.

Later there was an extreme descent. There are several kilometers ahead on the highway. They fell from the edge of the road, gaining strength, absorbing water and road dust, taking out pebbles and thorns from their shoes. Suddenly a bus appeared, and after five seconds, everyone, as if on command, found themselves inside with backpacks and shoes.

The day turned out to be eventful, swimming in the Bashtanovskoye reservoir, climbing to Alimovaya Balka, camping in a rock grotto.

Day three.

Long journeys contribute to sound sleep (it turns out that at night something was flying there, screaming, etc.... I didn’t hear anything) We gathered at the Chelter-Koba cave monastery. Along the way, our brave guide took us into a narrow gorge, to climb a little and tickle our nerves.

And then there were long treks, pleasant fatigue, giving way to wooden muscles in the arms and legs, but we moved on, and it became easier, then hard again. At some stage you get involved, and “tone” sets in, you feel all the muscles when you walk, but this state is not painful, rather pleasant, you walk and enjoy the movement (I speak for myself, because my husband does not support me in this matter, he thinks that it is just tiring, but after all, all people are different, and you know yourself much better, so in principle you can approximately predict your reaction).

I can say, looking ahead, that the hike did not disappoint my expectations. I received approximately what I expected. Of course, if you expect a walk against the backdrop of beautiful landscapes and picnics, this is not it. Although, as far as I know, there is such an “accompaniment” option, when you don’t need to pull anything on yourself. But if you are a bit of an adventurer and want adventure, physical relaxation, and a complete distraction and switch from your everyday thoughts, this is it.

Another plus is the landscapes that you usually see on your monitor, you watch live every day of the hike. The downside is paranoia about ticks and spiders (the former are especially persistent in looking for something to snack on). But in the end, if you are careful and follow the guide's advice, everything will be OK! Well, they will pull out the tick, but it will be something to remember. Well, I know that not everyone will agree with me. But, this is just my opinion. If you don't agree, write your review

As we descended into the valley, the weather seemed to deteriorate, and it even splashed on our skin. We put on, take off, put on again, raincoats and covers for backpacks. Enough! Soaring, we begin to melt. The storm is already nearby. We walk quickly and with concentration, looking at the sky. It starts to rain. We are hiding under the tent of the Obolon company (thank you, they let us in). We fall on the gravel, stretch our legs, relax and watch the thunderstorm...!

When the rain stopped, it turned out that the soil was slipping underfoot, this is especially felt when you are trying to climb up a mountain along a steep path. I noticed to myself that trekking poles wouldn’t hurt me at all right now and there was no point in showing off when my husband offered to buy them (well, of course, I didn’t say that out loud). We took the “less steep path.” Honestly, it was one of the hardest climbs. We walked up the stream. They were waiting for those lagging behind.

I was glad that I was wearing sports sandals. Those who walked in sneakers got up in wet and dirty shoes. Only my feet were wet, but they were clean. And then they dried quickly. Clothes stuck from dust and sweat. While Anton ran briskly, looking for a more suitable parking place in the surrounding area, we exhaled the rise. I wanted to rest; the ground and branches were wet after the rain. Sitting damp. It's dripping from the trees. We crawled to the parking lot. They crawled not so much because of fatigue, but because everything around them was slipping under their arms and legs. We set up tents and lit a fire. I plunged into the plunge pool, the spring water invigorates me, 9°C, you know? The main challenge was to return to the camp clean, without stretching out anywhere along the way.

Day four.

The night was a success. Our camp is somewhat sloped, no matter how hard you try, you won’t find a horizontal surface. The tents stood on a slope and the sleeping bag, along with its contents, methodically slid down the mattress no matter what I did. Accordingly, I woke up in the corner of the tent, curled up in my sleeping bag.

On the fourth day, the backpacks became very light and, one might say, fused with our backs (partly due to the fact that we ate what we were carrying along the way, and we just got carried away). We walked a lot, which means we saw a lot of beautiful places, we saw enough for six months ahead.

At lunchtime we took a soak in the Novoulyanovsky reservoir and walked further to the cave city of Mangup-Kale. It was “tiring”, but honestly, it was worth it, the view from the top is mesmerizing (10 points).

The parking lot was on the grass, under several tens of billions of stars, accompanied by chirping grasshoppers, croaking frogs and someone else (they did not want to introduce themselves).

Day five.

We left Anton with his things and went on reconnaissance to Mangup-Kale. A very fascinating sight: a fortress, a cave grotto, cliff dwellings, cells, a prison. That this is a prison, our guide explained to us later, looking at the photographs taken. Out of our naivety and illiteracy, we made the assumption that this was something like a hostel for monks (our pilgrimage continues).

We went down to Lake Eski-Kermen in the village of Khadish-Sala. Dreamed of cherries! And a miracle! There she is by the road! They ate without taking off their backpacks, like real tourists, fearing that the grandfather would come out with a gun and ask them to leave. The day was hot, not a cloud in the sky. We swam and ate our usual lunch ration. Some relaxed, some just overheated. The prospect of stomping another seven or eight kilometers with backpacks in the heat was no longer rosy. Taking pity on us, Anton made an agreement, and we were given a ride in a jeep to the parking lot. It's not fair, of course, but it's fun.

They threw things. And as soon as reality stopped blurring before our eyes, we went to see the local sights. We walked along the Cherkess-Kermen ravine, past the resting place of primitive people. Something about those places reminded me of the Indiana Jones films. I wanted adventure. They climbed into the cave, and a minute later they were driven away by very angry and serious men rescuing careless tourists. We went up to another holy place - the Temple of Donators. And they walked, crawled and climbed a lot more before returning to their camp in the evening.

Day six.

Return to civilization.

Thanks: Olya, Dima, Larisa! Thank you very much guys for being, by the way, at this time and in this place! It was really fun with you!

And, of course, special thanks to you Anton! For being patient with our antics, whining, mood swings, etc., etc. For not succumbing to provocation and not running away when we threatened to tie you to the fortress. For a sense of humor and maintaining a good mood! We remembered that we shouldn’t take seriously the words: “Come on, guys, another ten meters up, and then on level ground...”, or “Another three hundred meters and we’re there...” .. since the concepts of distance, time, slope and space are very relative.

We will now always treat with understanding people with backpacks on their backs, who are sitting on the ground, with complete indifference to what they are sitting on, how they look, and what everyone else thinks about it.

Elena Frolova, Kharkov