Attractions and location of the Grand Canyon in Crimea

Tourists, travelers or those who dream of becoming one often think that they need to discover the world from famous capitals, famous places. And if you have not been to Rome or Paris, then you are not familiar with the beauties of the world and have seen little. As usual, the matter is in the atmosphere, associations, advertising, the prevailing image. Urban tourism is one thing, but acquaintance with nature, its grandeur, the variety of its forms and the splendor of the views is travel of a completely different nature.

If there is not enough funds for a tour of European capitals, there is always the opportunity to go on a budget trip to Crimea, to get acquainted with its beauties, for example, the Grand Crimean Canyon.

The Grand Canyon in this area was formed in the Upper Jurassic massive limestone rocks. The influence of water erosion led to its formation. It happened at least one and a half million years ago. In the zone of the tectonic crack, the Grand Canyon of the Crimea was formed.

Its location is the Crimean Mountains, five kilometers southeast of the village of Sokolinoye, in the Bakhchisarai region. The canyon is considered the northeastern border of the Ai-Petri massif, the Boyka massif. Its depth is more than 320 m, and its length is 3.5 km, the width of the canyon in some places is no more than 3 m.

If you delve into history, you can find out exactly how this natural splendor was formed, striking in scope, views, relief. About 200 million years ago, the Tethys Sea was located on the peninsular territory; the remains of bioorganisms were deposited on its bottom for a long time.Subsidence, faults, movement of earth layers, as well as numerous solid-rock destruction on land led to the formation of rocks at the foot of the canyon under difficult conditions and over a long period of time.

These rocks are called sandstones, mudstones, siltstones. Above them are already young rocks, called flysch: that is, layered interweaving of clay with sandstones. And already on the fleche there are carbonate limestone rocks, which are the remnants of bioorganisms in warm water. The lower, middle and carbonate layers fell on the Jurassic geological period (it lasted 55 million years).

137 million years ago, Crimea rose from the water element, dried up. The hardened rock layers became tender due to the movements of the earth's crust, and cracks began to form on them. In the area of ​​the canyon itself, a crack was formed of sufficient depth. Then the water decided everything: it dissolved the rocks, and limestone too. The peninsula rose, the water dissolved and pierced the narrow gap of the Crimean canyon.

It turns out that millions of years of tectonic labor, the relentless rise of the peninsula, the impact of surface waters have created the image of a crevice in the crust, which is now called a canyon. It is interesting not only for geologists, but also for all tourists who can appreciate the gigantic and incomparable work of nature.

The canyon bed is a depression, smooth-walled along the sides. At the bottom of it there are boulders and boulders, with waterfalls and rapids, with erosion cauldrons. These boilers are called baths, their depth can reach two and a half meters, length - 10 m. There are about 150 such boilers.

Endless mountain streams, streams, springs irrigate this place. For example, Pania, the most outstanding of them, consumes 350 liters of water per second at an average annual flow rate. The temperature indicator of water in the Auzun-Uzen river, into which the mountain streams merge, does not rise above 11 degrees.

The microclimate of the Grand Canyon of Crimea is, first of all, a high level of humidity, as well as a lower (in comparison with the surrounding area) level of temperatures. All vegetation is in no hurry to develop here: it lags behind the surrounding flora by almost a month.

The slopes of the canyon are limestone faded gray, and sometimes pinkish, here and there overgrown with small groups of Crimean gray-trunk pines. But at the bottom of the gorge - broadleaf forests. Their bright representatives are beech, ash, as well as hornbeam, mountain ash, linden, field maple. The undergrowth is represented by shrubs - hazel, barberry, dogwood, buckthorn, common ivy also grows here.

But this is not the main feature of the flora of the Grand Canyon of Crimea: here a tertiary relic grows, about one and a half thousand berry yew. Old trees can reach one and a half meters in diameter, and their height can be equal to a high-rise building (up to 15 m). And really rare species of fern grow in the canyon, and that will especially delight botanists, more than half of the Crimean orchid species grow here.

As for the fauna, then everyone who has been here wanted to see the same brook trout that lives especially in the cold, oxygen-enriched water of local rivers. You can find in this area a hedgehog, badger, weasel, quivering roe deer. Bird watchers will be delighted to see the Crimean Muscovy, Long-tailed Tit, Resilient Woodpecker, Warbler, Jay, Robin and Redtail. Reptiles are represented by the ubiquitous lizards.

It is known that in 1947 the Soviet government declared the Grand Canyon a natural monument, in the 70s it was given the status of a landscape reserve. Since then, it is forbidden to pick flowers, cut down trees, arrange overnight stays with tents and bonfires.Anything that could violate the ecology of the territory was banned.

Today canyon excursions are popular, interesting and well thought out by the organizers.

If you are attracted by the mountainous Crimea, then be sure to choose a tourist route to the Grand Canyon. Take your camera with you, do not forget to make a video, share your impressions right during the excursion - then you will edit it, and you will get an impressive film.

The tour is a one-day hike. The walking tour takes 6 km and the round-trip transfer is 140 km. The question arises, is it possible for everyone to go on such a journey? It is believed that almost everyone is able to pass this route without loss.

Approximate excursion plan:

• Transfer from Sevastopol to Sokolinoye village. Here, at the northeastern slopes of the Ai-Petrinsky mountain range, the canyon begins. The journey itself to the starting point will be fascinating: the ancient Chorgun tower, cave monasteries, Karalez sphinxes, unusual rocks - I want to stop at each of these points.

• Blue Lake... It meets along the route of the route pretty soon. And here prepare your camera, because it is simply impossible not to capture these beauties. But first, admire for yourself the dazzling smoothness of an incredible watercolor shade. This water mirror is surrounded by marvelous emerald bushes and branches of trees bent over, as if paying tribute to the beauty of the lake. There are always a lot of tourists here. The water in the lake is cool, and in the heat it really beckons those who want to freshen up. But the reservoir has one more secret. Its second name is the Lake of Love.

• The source of Pania. What is certainly full of the canyon is the opportunity to swim. And the largest karst spring of the peninsula is also suitable for this business. There is a legend that once on the site of a seething spring there was a chapel of the Holy Mother of God. Orthodox people from everywhere flocked here to ask the Mother of God for intercession. For this reason, the water in Pania is considered holy today.

• "Bath of youth"... Perhaps, it is definitely worth swimming here for those who did not do this either in the Blue Lake or in Pania. The depth of this bath is 3 m. The water cannot be called warm, it does not rise above 13 degrees. But brave tourists still decide to swim here, because swimming promises a serious rejuvenation for the body. You can check, again, only on your own experience. If you are afraid of freezing, then immediately after the rejuvenating bath you can warm yourself with tea made from local herbs, which are sold here to tourists. After taking a bath, the excursion group goes back.

• Old post oak. It actually stands at the exit from the canyon. There is a version that during the Great Patriotic War, partisans hid notes in it. Today tourists leave messages to each other in an old oak tree. However, relatively recently, lightning hit the historical tree, the post oak almost burned down.

• Northern channel. Here tourists take a walk through the beech forest. It is here that the attentive traveler will see the hyoid bumpkin, fern, relict trees and the very lady's slipper.

• Silver Stream Waterfall... It is not very big, but beautiful. On the grotto overgrown with emerald moss, water flows in thin streams - against the background of the blinding sun, they seem like silver threads. The picture turns out to be fabulous.

• Suspension bridge. This is the longest suspension bridge on the peninsula, its length is 100 m, and the maximum height scares and delights at the same time - 70 m. Of course, not everyone will dare to pass it, but if they wish, they will fasten you in and wish you good luck.

By the way, among other extreme options of this tourist route there is a zipline and downhill descent with equipment for climbers. Beginners should seriously consider: Adventure can be nerve-wracking. If you haven't challenged yourself before, it will be scary.

A walk, springs, lake, bridge, waterfall, admiring the enchanting vegetation of the Grand Canyon - all this can be included in your program of one day. But what you definitely can't do during the excursion is to kindle fires, collect bouquets from the plants of the reserve, drink alcohol and litter. However, a civilized tourist is able to fill himself with impressions without these points.

Many people may want to plan a trip to the Grand Canyon in Crimea. How do you get here on your own? The answer is banal - come by car. If you are coming from Yalta, keep the course to the Yalta-Bakhchisarai highway. From Simferopol to the canyon they also get through Bakhchisarai. Moreover, a car is not particularly needed there - minibuses go from the bus station to the village of Sokolinoe. Then 5 km can be taken by taxi or walk.

In order not to get lost, while still on the "mainland", make sure that you understand from the map where everything is. Have a charged phone with you, just in case, take screenshots of the map in it. Take a light sports jacket with you, even if the sun beats down mercilessly, it can be chilly at the bottom of the canyon. After heavy torrential rains, it is not advised to visit the canyon: there is a risk that a stone will fall just above your head. Do not go where you do not see paved paths, do not climb dangerous slopes, do not separate from the excursion group.

Observing safety rules, you can be sure that the Crimean wonders of nature will open to you from their best sides.

Next, watch a video review of the Grand Canyon in Crimea.