The group meets at about 10 am in Simferopol at the railway station, food is distributed there, instructions are given and an introduction to the instructor takes place. Transfer to the starting point (Alsu village near Sevastopol) is carried out by minibus (1 hour and 50 hryvnia per person) or by regular trains and buses (3 hours and 20 hryvnia per person) at the choice of the group.

In Alsou there is not only one of the entrances to the Black River canyon, but also the remains of an underground military strategic command post (object No. 221). Endless tunnels go deep into the monolithic rock, where we, of course, will not climb - a canyon awaits us.

Let's move on to exploring the Black River Canyon. Depending on the weather and water level, we will walk along the right or left bank, along the lower (along the water) or upper path. On the first day of the hike you shouldn’t “overload”, so soon we will stop for the night at one of the tourist sites.

The most intense part of the journey begins. The trail either flies up over the river, then descends to the water itself, where a real jungle rages on a narrow strip of water. Several times you will have to wade the river (it’s a little deeper than knee-deep) or walk clinging to the rocks. The terrain is so rugged that our speed of movement is unlikely to exceed 1 km/h. But now the gorge widens, the river flow calms down - we emerge from the Chernorechensky canyon.

In front of us lies the wide Baydar Valley, a significant part of which is occupied by a huge reservoir with a cape in the middle. We again have a choice to go around the reservoir on foot or... No, not to swim across it on horseback on backpacks, but to use a bus to get closer to the Skelskaya cave.

This is an equipped cave (with lighting, steps and a guide) with a very beautiful underground lake. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that we will get there, since the working schedule of the cave is extremely unpredictable.

But what will definitely happen is an overnight stay. Today we will be located near the next “our” canyon - Uzundzhi.

Поднявшись по каньону  Узунджа (воды тут меньше, чем в Чернореченском, а вот набор высоты больше) мы окажемся в огромном лесном массиве. Эти тенистые буковые леса являются заповедными уже несколько столетий. Мы будем проходить несколько лесничьих кордонов, основанных еще при Екатерине 2. Возле одного из них - Чайного домика (чудное место со старым заброшенным фруктовым садом и полудикими поросятами) есть небольшая пещера где во время войны находился штаб партизанского движения.

Ближе к вечеру мы выйдем на Барскую поляну. Это турстоянка с отличным панорамным видом на долину реки Бельбек, главную гряду Крымских гор и массив Бойка отделенный от нееБольшим каньоном. Красота...

В качестве дополнительного бонуса выступает пещера Данильча-Коба, куда мы будем ходить за водой для ужина и завтрака.

After basking in the rays of the morning sun, we will begin our descent from Barskaya Polyana to the valley of the Kokozka River. We will walk exclusively through eagle places (from Eagle Flying Mountain to Eagle Flying Rock). Below, one of the tributaries of the Kokozka, the Sary-Uzen, will delight us with a whole range of water attractions. First - Yusupov Lake with a picturesque semicircular wall. The water from it fills a wide network of pearl cascades and at the end breaks down into the Silver Streams waterfall, under which there is a small through cave.

A little more forest and the main one begins - the Grand Canyon of Crimea. We will walk along its bottom to the Bath of Youth, and then, depending on our mood and weather, we will continue along the bottom or climb to the side of the canyon (only 300 meters in height). The path along the bottom is a real obstacle course with crossings, walking on logs and other joys of life in a narrow gorge (in some places up to 2 meters wide).

The upper trail is more suitable for spring or rainy weather, when a rushing river flows along the bottom. By choosing it, we get an excellent view of the canyon from above, and a much simpler road (albeit with a climb).

In any case, we will spend the night on the other side of the Grand Canyon, at the Bash-Dere parking lot.

We say goodbye to canyons and lowlands. This morning, a long climb to the Ai-Petri plateau will begin. The climb is not at all difficult, but rather tedious. In such places, a player stuck in your ears helps a lot, or vice versa - start communicating, arrange a game of Danetki or other entertainment on the go so that a restless head does not interfere with your legs.

The forest ends, the climb ends - we are on Bald Mountain, the northern outpost of the Ai-Petri plateau. From here it’s a stone’s throw to the snow-white space eggs of Mount Bedene-Kyr (this is a radar installation, not an observatory, as many people think).

Now we have a vast field of possibilities before us. You can rush headlong to the battlements of Ai-Petri (there are people, a teahouse, Tatar pilaf and other temptations). Or you can bypass crowded places (fortunately the plateau is wide) and go west to At-Bash, or east to the partisan camp of Kosh. There are enough attractions and stunning views (rocks, sea, white ships, lights of Yalta) for everyone.

We are about to visit the most popular peak of Crimea - Ai Petri. Around it there is a real oriental bazaar, with teahouses, pilaf, camels and trained bears. Most visitors to Ai-Petri stop there. We will try not to waste time, quickly (in the rhythm of a waltz, of course) we will pass the noisy crowds of vacationers and rush west along the very edge of the plateau. Far below, Alupka and Simeiz are sweltering in the heat, and driven by the fresh mountain wind we ascend Mount At-Bash. Immediately behind it is the Besh-Tekne basin - a unique place with many springs and a tiny mountain swamp with real mountain frogs. On the slopes of the basin, on one of the many terraces, we will watch the sunset and spend the night.

Continuing our way along the edge of the Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla, we will not only admire the dizzying views from the steep cliffs of the Kastropol rock wall, but also seep through the jungle entwined with vines, the real Crimean jungle. And in the evening we will go to the famous Devil's Staircase - a steep path hidden among the rocks. It’s hard to even imagine that the road we came on was laid by the ancient Romans. But they were far from the first to blaze this path connecting the coast with the interior of the peninsula. In order to thoroughly think through the problems of ancient logistics, we will set up our camp not far from this historical pass (Shaitan-Merdven).

After breakfast we will walk along the battlements of the Foros Kant - a real Mecca for rock climbers and battlement climbers. However, all these risky guys will still be climbing far below when we cross the southern slope and approach the Foros Church, nestled right above the cliff. A little higher you can see the Baydar Gate - another ancient pass from which our path around the southernmost tip of Crimea begins. Having crossed the next ridge, we will find ourselves directly above Laspi Bay, where we will spend the night. Since tomorrow is the final, today we can push ourselves a little and reach the sea.

We spend the morning swimming in the sea. Then we pack our backpacks and climb back to the track (if you want, you can stay at sea). We move towards Sevastopol (we'll catch a passing minibus or order a minibus). The dance is over, the march is over.

It is better to take return tickets from Sevastopol. You can be at the train station around 16:00. If you need to go to Simferopol, then you can get there by 19:00.