Orient Express

The group gathers at the Simferopol railway station and moves to the beginning of the route in the village of Perevalnoye. Along the road “with slogans” we will go to the Kizil-Koba tract, where we will see the sanctuary of the Crimean esotericists, the Su-Uchkhan waterfall and visit the Red Cave (equipped). If you wish, you can go to the local dinosaurs - for exotic pictures. Having finished with the entertainment, we will finally begin the hike - we will climb the Dolgorukovskaya Yayla plateau. We will cross this plateau from west to east and spend the night at the edge of the forest, where a partisan camp was once located.

In the morning we will visit the Mound of Glory, walk a little through the open space of the Dolgorukovskaya Yayla and dive into the deep canyon of the Burulcha River in search of a trail to the Orta-Syrt Yayla. There we will visit an excellent grotto, which tourists inherited from partisans and cavemen. After admiring the views on the yayla, we will again descend into the canyon (Su-At) to reach the next plateau - Karabi. In the middle of a desert plain stands a lonely building with a wooden machine gun on the roof. This weather station is an excellent refuge for weary travelers.

All morning we will walk along the famous “lunar landscape” of Karabi - along the steppe, pitted with karst sinkholes. On the way we will look into the Bolshoy Buzluk cave. Even in the summer heat, this cave breathes cold - its walls are covered with a thick layer of ice. Then our path lies to the Big Gate pass. This is the first of four passes that we have to go through today. Next will be the Malye Vorota and Kalliston-Bogaz passes. Maneuvering among small peaks, we will gradually descend lower and lower, moving away from the black bulk of Karabi. Our home for tonight will be a clearing near the Alakat-Bogaz pass. A little lower in the forest there is a powerful spring, and right from the clearing there is a panoramic view of the Karasubazar Gorge.

If yesterday we wandered all day in the sun, then most of today will pass in the shade of the forest. In just a few hours we will reach our overnight stop - the Upper Kok-Asan parking lot. Here we will have lunch and, having hidden our backpacks, we will go on a radial trek along the Kuchuk-Karasu canyon. It is small, but very picturesque. Surrounded by steep walls, it attracts with its coolness, numerous cascades and waterfalls. We will walk along it for several hours, constantly moving from one bank to another, sometimes jumping over stones, sometimes clinging to rocks. Having reached the Bath of Youth, we will stop for a swim, after which we will go back to the parking lot.

Just a half-hour walk from our overnight stay we will find ourselves in a completely different Crimea - bright and sunny. Dense beech forests are left behind - we reach the Gorucha Pass. From here you can see a beautiful view of the Svidanie rock and the spurs of the main ridge descending to the sea. We also go down - to the Panagia tract. This is also something like a canyon, but not at all like yesterday. That one was dark, but this one shines in the sun. Warm water runs over polished stones. You can wander barefoot and dream of the sea. It's already close. Just behind the cascade of the Arpat waterfalls is the village of Zelenogroye, where we will hire a minibus. He will take us to Kutlak Bay. Overnight in tents right on the seashore - after all, we don’t just have a route, but “through the mountains to the sea.”

For the last day of the hike, I saved a trip through the beautiful bays of Karaul-Oba. We will go around Cape Chicken, see with our own eyes Hell and Paradise, the rocks Zub, Elephant, Divannaya and Falling, and we will find ourselves on the Tsarskoye Beach. Next we will look at the Blue and Sinye bays from Cape Kapchik, look into the Shalyapinsky and Skvoznoy grotto. Continuing our journey along the Golitsyn trail we will reach the New World, from where we will move to Sudak. Our hike ends at the walls of the famous Sudak fortress.

Return tickets should be taken from Simferopol for trains departing no earlier than 18:00.