Ai-Petri pass

Group gathering in Simferopol at the station (10:00). After distribution of food and equipment, transfer by minibus to the village of Sokolinoe (1.5 hours). The beginning of the walking part of the route.

In the place where the Boyka massif breaks off from the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains, quite a lot of attractions are concentrated in a small area of ​​space. We will start with the Silver Waterfall (aka Silver Jets), then the cascades and Yusupov Lake, and, if we have time, the viewing platform at the Eagle's Zalet. The transitions here are small, everything is nearby, but the schedule is very tight and we must not waste a minute.

In the afternoon we will “take on” the Grand Canyon - we will walk along its bottom from the Blue Lake to the Bath of Youth (those who wish can take a swim). This section of the path (1.5 km) is an absolutely simple, but very interesting obstacle course. The path jumps from bank to bank, hugs rocks, winds between bizarre trees, and all this at the bottom of a deep 300-meter gorge.  

We will begin the second day of the hike by climbing the left, northern side of the Grand Canyon. There are wonderful viewing platforms up there from which you can appreciate the scale of this outstanding gorge. Having gone around the canyon, we will again go down to the river, stopping along the road to Cow Mountain.

On the other side of the river the trail to Ai-Petri begins. A simple but lengthy climb through the beech forest awaits. A player or a group game like “DaNetok” will help you cope with it and not fall asleep on the go.

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). 

We will go down through Taraktash - a shallow picturesque split on the southern slope of Ai-Petri, somewhat similar to a battlemented fortress wall. Further through the intoxicating pine forest (the real Mediterranean), the trail will lead to Uchan-Su - the highest waterfall in Crimea. If you are in a hurry, you can go to Yalta directly from the waterfall. I would recommend continuing the descent on foot along the Botkin Trail. It will take us under stunning rock overhangs, through Krestovaya Mountain, straight to the Glade of Fairy Tales, from where it is a stone's throw to Yalta.

In case of bad weather or an unexpected attack of laziness, you can go down from Ai-Petri not along the path, but by cable car.