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This report is about the tour: Two Ropes 🗓 July 3, 2011
So, we got ready for a hike. The decision was easy, because... All work is mostly related to service and permanent residence in hotels; it was necessary to change activities not to inactivity but to active pastime. After listening to comments from friends and colleagues (about the same content: “Why do you need this, you can take any tour, but you’re going to eat stew!?”) and enlisting the support and accompaniment of the same friend, an extreme sports enthusiast, we met in Simferopol! Which route to take was also not an urgent question - it is clearly connected with the history and sights of Crimea
Our hike began at 10.00 am with a meeting at the Simferopol train station. Our group – 8 people + our guide Alexey.
Day 1, July 3
After much preparation and distribution of food, by general vote we decided to go to Bakhchisarai by car (which cost us 300 grams for a minibus), because... There was more than an hour and a half left before the train and there was no desire to waste time. Having arrived with a breeze (to be honest, I periodically had doubts that we would get somewhere) to Bakhchisarai, to my amazement we passed the Khan’s Palace and arrived at the Assumption Monastery. After purchasing water and nougat for the path, we went to the monastery.
After spending no more than an hour there and washing with holy water from the monastery spring, we moved to Chufut Kale (entrance 40 grams per person). We spent much more than an hour in this wonderful city, although this seemed not enough. It's a pity that we couldn't get a guide here, because... Guessing “what are these stripes on the road” was interesting, but not always true
The detailed inspection of the city tired everyone out a bit and, without going even half a kilometer away, we had lunch right next to the path. Next, our path lay to the first stop - Beshik Tau. Past the old Karaite cemetery along the remains of an ancient road. Unfortunately, the place marked by our guide for parking (near the spring) was occupied by very not sober vacationers and we had to move a little further. Dinner was prepared with lightning speed, and full, tired and happy we went to bed!
Day 2, July 4
After breakfast (BORSCH!!!) we headed towards Alimovaya Balka. Along the way we examined a rock where, according to the guidebook, there are rock paintings. We couldn’t find any drawings, but we washed ourselves and got some water from the next source. And on the way, they saved a hedgehog who was crossing the road in the wrong place and risked being hit by hot Crimean racers!
The first long climb was not easy, because... due to the difference in physical strength (there were 2 men, 5 girls and an 11-year-old girl in the group), those lagging behind had to catch up all the time. At times it felt like we were having a marathon
After lunch, we went down the snake beam and came out to Maly Sadovoy. Where, having tasted ice cream and bought “everyone according to their needs” (some kvass, some cookies, some batteries), we set off on the trail. parking lot - Chelter Koba.
Having left Lesha with our backpacks, we climbed to the Chelter Koba cave monastery, where we met a kind priest who gave us a fascinating tour of the monastery and told us about its history. By the way, there is a bathhouse in the monastery (which we didn’t know about). If you're there, be sure to bring a swimsuit the water may be icy, but after the climb you'll be fine! Then we went up to the ruins of the Suiren fortress, from where a breathtaking view of the surrounding area opened up. What added to the impressions was that we arrived there just in time for sunset.
Day 3, July 5
Our official rise every morning was scheduled for 8 a.m., but in reality everyone except me and the guide got up earlier, about three hours That morning, the early birds had time to grab their swimsuits and go to the Monastery and take a swim. So cheerful and clean they prepared breakfast for us.
We went to Sokolinoe by bus (3 hryvnia per nose). In the village, having again tasted some goodies (ice cream, mulberries...), again by car (yes, this is our combined trip) we went to the Grand Canyon of Crimea. We paid 40 hryvnia for 2 cars. Having thrown our backpacks in a cafe (for which the owner was later awarded 20 grams), we went to the Silver Jets waterfall. It was easy to move without backpacks - we just flew to the waterfall. We also quickly climbed to the upper observation deck, where, after snacking on supplies of nuts and candied fruits, we went down to the bath of youth. The water turned out to be much colder, and the fear of freezing exceeded the desire to be young let's go eat pasties and drink tea with Crimean herbs! We stopped for the night in the Canyon. The parking lot was near the river, so there was the first normal opportunity to wash and do laundry!
Day 4, July 6
In the morning the girls washed their hair. Really warm water! Breakfast - pea soup - gave me strength for a new ascent. Our path lay through a real Crimean forest. Viewpoints were rare. We walked over the canyon, but at the top.
We completed the route planned for the day before lunch. At lunchtime we stopped at the Bash Dere parking lot (with a real camp bathhouse, which we, however, did not heat) and had a day of relaxation. The first victims of the Crimean forests were also found, after lunch they carried out an operation to remove ticks The night was cold, very, very cold!
Day 5, July 7
On this day we started climbing Ai Petri. Again the forest, again the trees and we are climbing up! The route planned for “before lunch” was covered in three hours and an hour later we were on Bald Mountain. From there it’s a stone’s throw to the Ai Petri observation deck, the end point of our route. Not giving in to the persuasion of “getting to the lookout,” we walked proudly and lightly to the trail. Parking lots. Before lunch. After lunch, we parted ways - some stayed in the camp another night in order to go down to Yalta in the morning, some went straight on foot along the trail, and we went to the lookout, with the goal of going down by cable car (by the way, we didn’t go down on it, but that’s another story).
As a result, we covered the entire route faster and got an extra day to relax at sea, which turned out to be not warm at all, +16 degrees! After the hike, we brought back to Moscow a bunch of new impressions, the ability to make a fire, swim in an icy river and a couple of magnets We plan to return next year to the route “Two Ropes”!
