Walking through the Crimea or the Great Sevastopol Trail as a mega-project for tourists. The Great Sevastopol Trail - trekking route through the Crimea Laspinsky Pass - Baydar Gate Pass
Greetings, friends!
Imagine - rushing off-road, but with clear GPS coordinates so that Could the whole Instagram crowd track you? I promise you, the spectacle will be such that “the client will forget about everything,” but it’s better to take bread, water and an accommodating interlocutor with you.
The Great Sevastopol Trail, a route map of which runs from Sevastopol to Balakalva (1st part), capturing the most amazing corners, natural, historical and ancient attractions - a real find for fans of hiking!
Let's get ready to hit the road soon!
In 2015, the government of Sevastopol approved one of the most luxurious projects - a tourist trail. The 130 km long route starts in and ends in Lyubimovka.
And the path, like in a fairy tale, lies through forests and mountains, passes and gorges, runs along the Black Sea coast, forcing you to walk along wide roads and wind through narrow paths, revealing amazing pictures and showing historical sights to your eyes.
Great Sevastopol trail - easy walking route , which is suitable for beginner trekkers. Moreover, the entire path is divided into smaller sections, and you can choose exactly the one that attracts you. There are also tourist stops along the way.
Now the Great Sevastopol Trail is gradually being improved for the safety and comfort of travelers - the route is marked, information posts are installed, installation of suspension bridges across rivers and equipping difficult rocky areas with metal structures for faster and easier crossing.
Choosing your route
At the beginning of 2018, only the site was ideally prepared Balaklava – Laspinsky Pass . Here is the entire list of sections with mileage:
- Balaklava – Laspinsky pass (18 km).
- Laspi pass – Baydar Gate pass (11 km).
- Baydar Gate pass – tourist stop “Uzundzha” (23 km).
- “Uzundzha” – village of Peredovoe (15 km).
- S. Peredovoe – tourist camp “Goristoe” (13.3 km).
- “Goristoe” – tourist stop “2nd cordon” (14.4 km).
- “2nd cordon” – Gorny Klyuch tract (11 km).
- Gorny Klyuch tract - Lyubimovka (12 km).
From Balaklava to Laspi pass
The trail runs along a steep ledge, partially covering the territory of the reserve "Cape Aya". You will definitely see the cape itself, which is the highest on the Black Sea.
On this part of the route you will come across the ruins of medieval, but small castles, as well as elements of fortifications on the site of the main and forward line of defense of Sevastopol in 41-42.
You will also go out to observation platforms. As well as such attractions as the “Barrel of Death”, “Fort South Balaklava”, “Figs”, Cape Aya itself, Batiliman and access to the Laspinsky Pass.
The path is easy - along trails and dirt roads. Mountain peaks do not allow the wind to blow freely.
Depending on what time of year you go hiking, you can enjoy the unique flora and fauna of this place - in the spring, wild orchids and other plants bloom here, turning the mountain steppes into a bright carpet of aromatic herbs.
And in the reserve, as expected, there are wild representatives of the animal world - wild boars, foxes, roe deer, hares, weasels, red deer, squirrels. You can also come across the Crimean gecko and leopard snake.
When moving slowly, this section takes time up to 6-8 hours.
From the Laspi Pass to the Baydar Gate
This section is even easier. It passes almost through the open area of one of the villages, which is not at the highest altitude - up to 660 m above sea level.
You will have views from above and the property of the Tesseli sanatorium, Cape Sarych and Laspi Bay , and above Foros on the Red Rock rises an amazingly beautiful one.
On this part of the route you can climb Ilyas-Kaya observation deck , and then look into one of the most mysterious corners of Crimea, a place of power and a center of cosmic energy (so they say).
In this territory, meadow belts are replaced by oak and coniferous forests with relict plants.
Depending on the pace you will spend on the hike from 3 to 5 hours.
From the Baydar Gate to the Uzundzha tourist site
The longest and most beautiful section that runs along the slopes and top of the Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla. You will be able to climb to a height of up to 900 m above sea level and enjoy amazing scenery.
The path will have to be taken through the Karadag forest with its lakes, overcome Devil's Staircase pass , and walk "Roman roads" . If desired, you can visit the stalactite equipped for excursions.
Ai-Petri yayla is rich in plant diversity. Trees, shrubs, flowers - more than 600 species!
Among the attractions you will come across are the ruins of an old radio laboratory and medieval fortifications, a monument to the partisans.
The climate here is much fresher, the weather is more capricious. At night, even in summer, temperatures can drop to 0 degrees.
If you are not in the mood for a forced march, the travel time may take until 10 o'clock.
From t/s "Uzundzha" to the village. Advanced
The trekking route passes through the Baydarskaya Valley nature reserve with the Chernorechensky reservoir in the center.
Here you will find mountain ranges, picturesque gorges, descents and ascents, forest paths and refreshing river streams.
In the spring and autumn season you can watch wonderful. The vegetation is dominated by red-listed juniper forests.
The peculiarity of the Baydar Valley is not only in its unique nature and beauty, but also in the accumulation of Taurus boxes or Crimean dolmens - stone tombs of the ancient Tauri people. Many of the tombs were plundered by black archaeologists or destroyed during the war.
This route usually takes tourists 7-8 hours with stops and sightseeing.
From Peredovoe to m/s “Goristy”
Why not take a walk through the mountain beech forest? Although the route involves climbing, it is not difficult - the road will climb smoothly, and tree branches will shelter you from the wind or heat.
The path will pass along the spurs of the Main Ridge. Here you will find mountain rivers and waterfalls, cold springs and baths.
The average journey takes about 4-5 hours.
From m/s "Goristy" to m/s 2nd cordon"
A very interesting section of the Great Sevastopol Trail. On its territory there are two ancient cave monasteries - Shuldan And . Read more about them.
The landscapes around will be changeable - from steep rocky slopes to spacious valleys. The vegetation here is not so lush, mostly drought-resistant plants are present. But you will be able to see the entire southwestern Crimea and
This cave area is a haven for lizards, of which there are a lot. Also here you can find the largest Crimean snake - the yellow-bellied snake up to 2 meters long.
At a brisk pace, the journey will take from 3 hours, and if you are not in a hurry and diligently take photographs, then 6-7 hours.
From the 2nd cordon to Gorny Klyuch
A completely walking route without difficult sections passes through an oak and hornbeam forest. In spring, wild peonies, fragrant lilies of the valley, and amazing orchids bloom here. In summer you can come across fruit and berry trees - dogwood, barberry, wild pear and cherry.
Defense battles for Sevastopol took place on this territory, so here you can stumble upon various items from the war, as well as see the structure - bunker No. 11.
Ancient marks were left here by the Tauri. The dolmens already known to us, or rather their remains, are located in the area of the 2nd cordon. By the way, from this point you can go explore cave cities - and
And don’t forget to get cool and clean water from Gorny Klyuch.
You can walk this part of the Great Sevastopol Trail in 5 hours.
From Gorny Klyuch to Lyubimovka
It is considered the easiest route. It originates in the Nakhimovsky district of Sevastopol, stretches along the beaches, goes out into the valley of the Belbek River, revealing steppe expanses and orchards.
Among the attractions are the fortification structure of the 30th coastal battery, monuments to soldiers, obelisks, ruins of ancient buildings, observation platforms.
Travel time - 5 o'clock at a confident pace.
A little more about the Great Sevastopol Trail
In addition to the main trail, there are auxiliary routes winding around, which you can take, find out what’s there, admire it, and return to the right direction.
The creators of this project wanted to show everyone that Sevastopol is not only a military base.
This part of our peninsula has magnificent nature - the Crimean steppes, mountain ranges, forest reservoirs, and hidden springs with deep rivers and waterfalls.
The route is absolutely free , there are no tour operators or organized excursions here. Gradually, it will all be equipped with navigation and equipped for greater safety and comfort. But even now everything is very clear on the developed map.
1st section of the trail is in great demand
It is worth knowing that this is the most popular section of the Sevastopol trail, where it all began. It is specific, not complicated and very interesting. Many local residents walked along some part of it even without a trail, but now uniting them together is just a song.
It is very convenient to go through the 1st section in the opposite direction if you depend on public transport.
You need to leave early towards Yalta and dismount at the Laspinsky Pass stop. And from there follow the trail all the way to Balaklava, where you can either swim, swim on a boat, or dine at a fish restaurant.
What trekkers themselves and those who hit the trail for the first time say
- The biggest advantage of this hike is the amazing beauty and diversity of the Crimean landscapes. Hikers from the Great Trail return with a lot of unique photos!
- The second significant advantage is that hiking along this route is possible at any time of the year. Of course, if you approach this issue wisely and monitor the weather forecast.
- And the third plus is that there are no garbage dumps on the trail yet, the surrounding area is very clean. The exception is tourist sites, for example near Fig. According to tourists, the shore there is simply dirty, despite the paid services.
In some places, the path becomes very narrow, pressed against the slopes, and on the other side there is a cliff and sharp stones.
Impressionable tourists remember such sections of the path very emotionally, although in fact the trail is quite stable and there is nothing to be afraid of.
Of the minuses– not all difficult-to-pass places are yet equipped with cables, railings and bridges. But, for example, on one of these sections during the Balaklava-Laspi transition, in 2008 a nice bridge appeared, which appears in many photos. A resident of Sevastopol built it with his own funds.
You shouldn’t linger on this bridge - you might get hit with a pebble on your head from above, which is why the bridge has already been reconstructed a couple of times.
Good to know
Carefully! In the spring and summer, you should avoid contact with the burning bush (ash bush) - a tall herbaceous plant with leaves shaped like ash leaves and small inflorescences of white, pink, and reddish shades.
After touching, a burning sensation appears, blisters appear that leave scars, and the temperature may rise.
From March to October, ticks pose a danger. But wild animals, like wild boars, try not to catch the eye of tourists.
In summer, there is a risk of getting heatstroke or sunstroke; changes in altitude and stress in the heat are not easily tolerated by everyone.
In the winter-autumn period, you should not be a hero and overestimate your physical capabilities; hypothermia is fraught with further complications.
If we sum it all up, it’s better to stay at home altogether. But we are not like that))
For extreme sports enthusiasts
A via ferrata climbing route runs along the lower belt of the southern wall of Mount Delikli-Burun.
This route was created in 2018. And from that time on, it was planned to open two more new roads.
We wrote more about via ferrata on the BST.
Just in case!
The organizers of the project advise that before setting off on a trip along the mountain and forest routes of Sevastopol, register on the rescue service website. So that in case of unforeseen and emergency situations you can quickly receive the necessary assistance.
rescue-sev.ru/registraciya-turisticheskih-grupp
Friends, to independently organize a trip along the Great Sevastopol Trail, it is best to use the application maps.mi or download route track on the official site: bst-sev.ru
This way you will have information about where navigation posts are located, how far it is to a particular attraction or observation deck, and what other objects are nearby.
But don’t forget to check out my blog, and best of all subscribe immediately And
Trekking, or, in Russian, hiking with a backpack on your back, was a popular form of tourism and recreation back in Soviet times.
In the USSR, amateur tourism was encouraged and developed: there were tourist clubs at factories where you could rent equipment for free. Tourist routes throughout the country were developed centrally and professionally. Then it partially died out: the factory tourist clubs closed, many routes disappeared into oblivion - the roads became overgrown, the markers became worn out, because the marked trail also needs care.
In recent years, I have been very happy to observe the rise of interest in amateur hiking: trekking and hiking, as it is now fashionable to call it.
For those who are not in the know: trekking - you walk across rough terrain and carry a backpack with a tent and food, hiking - you walk from shelter to shelter or from hotel to hotel, an easier travel option, but loses autonomy - you need to reach your future accommodation before nightfall.
When we were preparing for hiking in Crimea in January 2018 , I came across information that a new tourist route called the “Great Sevastopol Trail” is being developed in Crimea. We were happy to include a section of this trail in our trek so that we could look at it and feel it with our feet, so to speak.
The route project was signed by the government of Sevastopol in 2015 and began to be implemented in 2016.
In general, the 130 km long route has an almost radial character - it makes a huge semicircle along the peninsula from Sevastopol to Balaklava - from the shores of the Black Sea through the central part of Crimea. At the moment, only the Balaklava - Laspi Pass section has been completed (cleared, signs installed). And that's exactly where we went.
For more detailed information about the Great Sevastopol Trail project, please visit the website https://bst-sev.ru/ , and I will share photos and impressions with you.
It should be noted that we followed the route during the New Year holidays, when the January nature of Crimea is not as dazzlingly bright as in the summer. But walking in winter also had its advantages: there was no heat, so we walked calmly all daylight hours, without the risk of getting sunstroke. And, of course, we were lucky with the weather - the first week of 2018 was dry, sunny and snowless.
Daytime temperatures ranged from +10 to +15, night temperatures from +5 to -2 C. This information will be useful to those who will select a sleeping bag for a similar trip.
The strong, blowing winds that our experienced comrades used to frighten us were also not noticed. Even on windy evenings we always found an almost windless hollow in the folds of the mountains or a clearing to pitch our tents.
We went to the Great Sevastopol Trail from Foros.
In Foros there is a good canteen, open even in winter, as well as shops where we purchased a supply of pasta and stewed meat, bread and a supply of water.
In order not to gain altitude and not waste several hours of time, climbing the asphalt road on foot, we took a taxi and “rushed” to the church above the city.
The Church of the Ascension of Christ was built in 1892 at the request of Alexander III. An event happened to the king that shocked him: the train carriage in which the royal family was traveling derailed, but he and his children remained alive. Built to commemorate the “miraculous salvation,” the church has been towering above Foros on a cliff ever since.
Here is the kingdom of fog, lying on the ground of clouds and silence.
As well as a huge number of mosses, lichens and other plants unusual in central Russia.
Clouds come and cover the tops of the mountains. Then they lie down on the ground and now there is only fog around.
And then they swim away - and come again.
Another attraction on the route of the Great Sevastopol Trail is Tyshlar or Devil's Fingers.
These are rocks sticking vertically out of the ground, as if someone was trying to break out from under the earth's cover, stuck out his hand - and turned to stone.
This is a popular weekend hiking spot for locals and a “magical power point” where tourists are taken to place a coin and make a wish.
We go to the Laspi pass.
There is a road nearby, there is a cafe there, but we decide not to go down to the road.
The photo shows a view from above, from the trail to the pass, the highway and the cafe.
And here is the first information board of the trail. The photo was taken on a phone, so the quality is not very good, it was already getting dark.
On the boards - and they are found quite often - the distance to the nearest attractions, the distance to the end of the route (Balaklava), emergency phone numbers and the coordinates of the place where we are now are indicated.
We followed the maps.mi navigation program with a pre-planned route, but on the Sevastopol trail you can safely walk without a navigator - you won’t get lost.
The part of the route that we followed, already marked, runs along the yayls and mountain peaks along the sea.
This is a very spectacular trail with many exits to observation platforms.
However, the sun was already setting and it was time to look for a place to spend the night.
Maps.mi shows places where other tourists have set up tents. But in the navigation of the Sevastopol trail this information point is missing.
Either it is assumed that the tourist must walk the entire 130 km non-stop... which is unrealistic. Whether it’s a temporary flaw, I hope this point will be taken into account in the future and corrected.
Indicating on the information board how many kilometers to the nearest camping clearing is a useful help for novice tourists traveling without a navigator.
And the difficulty level of the trail is just for beginners.
After spending the night in a hollow between the mountains near some abandoned building, the next morning we broke up camp and set off.
On this day, our task was to reach Balaklava, to the end of this section of the Sevastopol trail.
Observation deck.
And here the trail passes at the foot of the cliffs. The overhanging stone wall looks very beautiful and large-scale.
One of the plateaus is a giant natural enclosure for wild boars. Here they live in freedom, digging the earth for their own pleasure.
An enclosure with an area of several square kilometers, no less, is fenced with a metal fence with gates.
There are no locks - you just need to close the door behind you so that your grunting friends don’t run away all over the peninsula.
We didn’t come face to face with wild boars, but we came across traces of them all the time.
In search of food, wild boars dig the ground like electric plows - they loosen the soil like real summer residents.
Gradually, the trail begins to lose altitude - we descend along it closer and closer to the sea, but do not go ashore, the trail continues to wind towards Balaklava, just no longer along the highlands.
In some places the trail is wide, suitable for driving by car - apparently, there is a lot of ATV riding there. Narrow in places, but trampled and cleared.
No debris, branches, or stones were found.
Often the navigator would tell us a shorter route and then we would shorten the mileage a little through wilder terrain.
By the evening of the second day of walking along the trail we reached the finish line, in Balaklava.
It took two days of leisurely walking and one overnight stay to cover the section from Foros to Balaklava (28 km).
The Foros-Laspi section has not yet been marked; it is approximately 8 km. The Laspi-Balaklava section is marked, 20 km.
A trained person can walk lightly, without tents, in one day.
Conclusion:
The Great Sevastopol Trail is an incredibly interesting and necessary project.
Of the 130 km of the route, 20 have now been cleared and marked. Information boards have been put up.
I was pleased with the well-information-filled site - for example, the Attractions section - https://bst-sev.ru/points?page=1
Of course, not all the attractions of the route are listed there - but there is already something to start from, to become interested in - and to come and go through.
With proper development and information support, the Great Sevastopol Trail has a chance to become as popular as the famous Lycian Way . The fame of the Lycian Way began with a book by a single tourist, and now it is one of the best trekking routes in the world, for which thousands of tourists fly to Turkey every year.
The idea of intensively developing and promoting tourism with tents, as it does not require large financial costs or special physical preparation (in the case of prepared routes), seems very correct to me.
A start has been made - the route is being marked.
And how to popularize it - LJ, social networks, publications in the media to help.
I personally would love to walk the entire route, all 130 km.
I hope this project will have a great future.
On a hot May day, while the sea was still cool, we decided to walk through the mountains from Balaklava to the Laspinsky Pass. Moreover, we saw a lot of information about the improvement of the walking trail. The trail was given its own name - the Great Sevastopol Trail.
On the first of May, there was a concert on the square near the embankment, we couldn’t park there, so we drove a little higher and admired Balaklava Bay. The beginning of our route is a little higher than the Chembalo fortress.
The trail begins from the former military unit. This is the right place for the Epic Stone: to the right are the beaches, straight ahead is the Barrel of Death, to the left is a steeper climb
We rise higher, there, in the distance, is the wonderful Vasili beach
At the end of the twentieth century, the city of Sevastopol was closed, entry was only with passes. And Balaklava was even more closed. You could get here with a second pass. And today much remains of Balaklava’s militarized past.
The entrance to Balaklava Bay is closed by mountains, and only by getting as close as possible by boat can you see it. Here we remembered Homer, his myth about the Laestrygonians, who lived on a high mountain, on which there was a spring with the purest water. And Odysseus’s ship entered a bay that was almost invisible from the sea. In a word, one of the options for returning from the Trojan War is Balaklava.
The day turned out to be warm, or even hot, many people went out to walk along the paths by the sea 
And below us is the path to Figs
Popular rumor claims that the Red Commissars were shot in this barrel and thrown down, which is why it got its ominous name. Later, the Nazis also allegedly threw our prisoners down. 
The sea was calm, so a lot of boats came out of the bay for a walk. We also saw a group of kayaks 
We have already climbed to the South Fort - an unfinished complex of military buildings. We are almost at the top of the mountain of Asceti (Spilia). In 1941, the defense line of Sevastopol passed along this height. The South Fort was built in the 19th century. British allied forces first began building fortifications in the mountains near Balaklava in the mid-19th century. With the beginning of the Second World War, this section was updated and improved by engineer Polyansky. The territory is quite large, casemates, a moat, walls with loopholes.
Barrel of Death. The “barrel” had special slots in the walls and floor for installing an artillery rangefinder. Initially there were two such “barrels”. One of them was either shot down by artillery fire during the Great Patriotic War, or cut down for metal in the post-war period. 
In the period from 1921 to 1925, the ground defenses of Balaklava constituted the twelfth section of the fortifications of the main fortress of the city of Sevastopol. These fortifications, called “Southern Balaklava”, were a fort consisting of stone rooms and platforms for gunfire, surrounded by a chain of ditches, inside of which there were stairs. These fortifications were not completed, as the leadership came to the conclusion that such structures would be ineffective against new types of weapons.
Here we tried to clarify with the people who were meeting us halfway - where to go next? It was not possible to clarify; they told us that at some point they got off the bus and started walking. But where it was is unclear. And we hoped that the trail was marked (and I didn’t see any markings there at all), there were signs. Yes, there are pillars along the trail, but it is not always clear where they point in the direction, and there is some kind of leapfrog with the distances on the pillars. Such that we even remembered Alice in Wonderland:
- With us, when you run for a long time, you certainly end up in another place.
- Well, here, you know, you have to run as fast as you can just to stay in the same place, and to get to another place, you need to run twice as fast. 
And somewhere around this beauty we lost our way. We met people in an UAZ at a picnic and asked how to get to Aya, where the Great Sevastopol Trail is. The answer is bewilderment: - we don’t know anything. Then we met a group of tourists with rugs and sleeping bags, they confirmed to us that we were going correctly, we would go to the Laspinsky Pass. This was a mistake. 
Here we walked for a long time through the forest, on asphalt, along a dirt road, we met some guys on motorcycles (they weren’t local, they were just driving through the mountains, they couldn’t tell us where we were)
Moreover, part of the way we walked along a path marked with blue paint and came across a red mark. A little earlier there was still a connection; I went to the Great Sevastopol Trail website from my phone, downloaded the track, but couldn’t open it. The track map on my phone was very tiny, I couldn’t enlarge it. In short, for two or three hours we tried to understand where we were and where we were going. There was no connection, they saw on Google map that we were very far from the sea, but it was unclear where to go
Peonies bloomed all around. Not one, not two, but a lot. Unfortunately, I didn’t really want to take pictures... we were looking for a way out 
Our joy was immeasurable when we reached the hill near the village of Oboronnoye. Andrei suggested abandoning the search for the Great Sevastopol Trail, going to the village and returning home.
A village with a rich history. The medieval fortress, isar, was built in the 5th century to defend the eastern borders of Byzantine Chersonese. In the 13th century, there was a castle of a local feudal lord, a vassal of the Principality of Theodoro, on the site of the modern Defense Castle. Then the Genezians lived here, then the Ottoman Turks came.
There is a legend that it is next to Oboronny that the treasures of the Theodorites are kept, which were never found by the Turks who broke into the city. The defenders of the city managed to take them out and hide them somewhere in the Crimean mountains. The former castle near the present village of Oboronnoye is indicated by the fact that the word “Kamara” from the name of the ruins of the Kamara-Isar castle in the vicinity of the village, according to one version, is translated as “treasury”.
During the Crimean War, a detachment of French cavalry was located in the vicinity of the village of Kamara. In 1941, this territory was part of the 1st sector of the Sevastopol defensive region. In the spring of 1944, during the liberation of the city, an observation post of the Maritime Army was located in the ruins of Kamara-Isar.
We walked a little towards the sea. There are magnificent views from here. And we already assume that we are on the route 
We assume that we should go somewhere here.
But then we realize that the path goes much lower, closer to the sea 
The sun has already begun to move towards sunset, turning the foam from the boat into silver colors 
As we later realized, the path goes through the forest below. We reached a large car picnic. There were several cars parked there, people were barbecuing, we also met a group who were walking the right way along the path, and they told us that to return to the path we need to go down the path, there will be a fork, a spring and a signpost. The path down is loose, we were also warned to really assess our strength: whether we could get through there.
There are no photos on the path; I put the camera in my backpack. We reached the signpost of the Great Sevastopol Trail. And they became confused: where is the spring? Everyone told us that there was a spring there. We waited for people passing nearby, they told us that we need to go back a little towards Balaklava. For some reason, those who installed the pillars decided that it was only possible to walk along the path in one direction. There are no signs for tourists from the Laspinsky Pass. 
After resting for about 10 minutes at the spring, collecting water, we decided to continue moving towards Yalta. 
Sunset, views of the sea, mountains and bays open up one more beautiful than the other. But there are almost no boats in the sea; they have already returned home. And from this point, according to the signs on the poles, we have to walk 11 kilometers. 
There are beautiful rocks on the right, there is a path, but it’s impossible to walk quickly, in places the path is loose. On two sections of the trail there is a safety rope, in one place there are steps made of metal rods. There is one difficult section with wet ground, mud, a steep slope towards a cliff, although the cliff there is not high - two meters, but there is a great danger of slipping. There is no safety rope; it ends literally before this section. 
Next, the trail goes through the forest with its smells. We met a hare. The hare was sitting literally 50 meters from us, watching us and chewing grass. 
Entrance. The gate was open. But we still don’t understand more precisely what it is. It looks like some kind of place for VIP hunting. I don't know anything for sure. Because of these hunters, The Lost World was (or was also closed in 2017?) closed? And you can’t even get close on boats, let alone stop with tents.
Much later we met a man and a woman who told us that it was difficult to get out of here, and if we turned off the path somewhere in the wrong place, there would be a fence everywhere, and only one or two gates.
We didn’t get further to the viewpoint of the “Lost World”; we turned along the sign “Exit. Goncharnoe”. It was already dark, we met a group of tourists with a guide. We were lucky, the instructor told us how to get out of here. It was difficult to find your way around the forest. The Google map showed that Goncharnoye was much further than the viewpoint on Laspi and we planned to go closer to the sea. 
There we also met a large family of wild boars, which calmly crossed the dirt road along which we were walking. Next there was an exit from the enclosure (yes! we were in some kind of enclosure) through two gates and a fence of 3-3.5 meters.
To exit the enclosure, we were recommended to walk along the fence. And we reached almost the top of Kush-Kai. We met tourists who were watching the sunset on Kush-Kai (many thanks to them, they took us to Balaklava), and right there there was a post of the Great Sevastopol Trail indicating that there were only 2.2 km left - 1 hour. The guys said that it took them 1 hour to go up, but it took us 50 minutes to go down. We went down to Laspi at 22 o'clock and left at 12. + return to the car by car and ascent to the parking lot - a total of 13 hours route. 
And another video of our hike along the Great Sevastopol Trail.
It was wonderful, beautiful, interesting. We didn’t see a lot, we definitely need to come back.
There are many picturesque hiking routes in Crimea. Some trails run along the slopes of ancient volcanoes, others at the very edge of the sea, and still others lead to the peaks of the peninsula. The Crimean mountains are densely dotted with trails, but among all the diversity there are special routes - roads that unite hundreds of attractions and natural wonders, such emotions for which you can come from the other side of the world. And if in Turkey the most famous hiking route is the Lycian Trail, and in Europe - Santiago de Compostela, then in Crimea - the Great Sevastopol Trail.
The Great Sevastopol Trail was founded in 2015. To be more precise, it existed before, but in 1515 they simply combined many routes into one, after which a tourist attraction 130 km long appeared. The trail starts in Balaklava and ends in Lyubimovka. The path lies through forests and mountains, passes and gorges, runs along the Black Sea coast, forcing you to walk along wide roads and wind through narrow paths, revealing amazing pictures and showing historical monuments.
The total length of the route is more than 100 kilometers, which cannot be covered in one day. To walk along the trail, you can choose one of its sections or take a tent with you. In total, the Great Sevastopol Trail is divided into eight segments:
- Balaklava – Laspinsky pass (18 km).
- Laspi pass – Baydar Gate pass (11 km).
- Baydar Gate pass – tourist stop “Uzundzha” (23 km).
- “Uzundzha” – village of Peredovoe (15 km).
- S. Peredovoe – tourist camp “Goristoe” (13.3 km).
- “Goristoe” – tourist stop “2nd cordon” (14.4 km).
- “2nd cordon” – Gorny Klyuch tract (11 km).
- Gorny Klyuch tract - Lyubimovka (12 km).
From Balaklava to Laspi pass
The trail starts at the ruins of a medieval fortress and ends at one of the most picturesque viewing platforms of the peninsula - Laspi. Along the route you will encounter Inzhir beach, Cape Aya itself and magical pictures of the Crimean coast.
The route is quite simple, but in summer you need to take plenty of water with you, since there is only one spring along the way. And besides this, it is important to know that the trail passes through a nature reserve, so do not be surprised to meet deer, roe deer or wild boars.
From the Laspi Pass to the Baydar Gate
This section is considered easier than the route described above. It passes through almost open terrain at an altitude of up to 660 m above sea level.
From the top there are breathtaking views of Foros, and along the way you can admire the beautiful one, located on the cliff of the Red Rock. In addition, the trail goes out to an observation deck, and then to one of the most mysterious places on the peninsula.
From the Baydar Gate to the Uzundzha tourist site
This is the longest and most beautiful section, which runs along the slopes and top of the Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla at an altitude of up to 900 m above sea level. The path passes through the Karadag forest with its lakes, an ancient mountain, and also goes to one of the most beautiful caves of Taurida - to.
The route takes up to 10 hours.
From t/s "Uzundzha" to the village. Advanced
The route passes through the Baydarskaya Valley nature reserve with the Chernorechensky reservoir in the center. Along the way there are mountain ranges, juniper forests, picturesque gorges, descents and ascents, forest paths and refreshing river streams. In spring, you can see the wonderful Kozyrek waterfall here. And one of the most unusual sights on the route are the Taurus boxes - stone tombs of the ancient Tauri people.
The route takes up to 8 hours.
From Peredovoe to m/s “Goristy”
The trail is interesting because it passes through a mountain beech forest, gradually climbs up, leads to waterfalls, cold springs and baths, and tree branches provide shelter from the wind or summer heat.
The route takes up to 5 hours.
From m/s "Goristy" to m/s 2nd cordon"
This section of the Great Sevastopol Trail passes through two ancient cave monasteries: Shuldan and Chelter-Marmara. Along the way, picturesque scenes await you from rocky slopes to spacious plains. The vegetation here is not particularly lush, mostly drought-resistant plants are found, but it offers views of the entire southwestern Crimea and Sevastopol.
The route takes up to 7 hours.
From the 2nd cordon to Gorny Klyuch
This route does not have difficult sections and passes through an oak and hornbeam forest. In the spring, wild peonies, fragrant lilies of the valley, and amazing orchids bloom here, and in the summer you can come across fruit trees - dogwood, barberry, wild pear and cherry.
Along the way you can find ancient Taurus boxes, and if you turn a little to the side, you will come to the cave cities of Kalamita and Eski-Kermen.
The route takes up to 5 hours.
From Gorny Klyuch to Lyubimovka
This route is considered the easiest section of the Great Sevastopol Trail. It originates in the Nakhimovsky district of Sevastopol, stretches along the beaches, goes out into the valley of the Belbek River, revealing steppe expanses and orchards. Among the attractions are the fortification structure of the 30th coastal battery, monuments to soldiers, obelisks, ruins of ancient buildings and observation platforms.
The route takes up to 5 hours.
A little more about the Great Sevastopol Trail
In addition, to walk along the main part of the Great Sevastopol Trail, you can explore its auxiliary routes and return to the desired direction. The entire trail is completely free to visit, and many of the dangerous sections are equipped with auxiliary ropes and steps. Good luck!
Write your comments with your impressions of the trail!
Trekking, or, in Russian, hiking with a backpack on your back, was a popular form of tourism and recreation back in Soviet times.
In the USSR, amateur tourism was encouraged and developed: there were tourist clubs at factories where you could rent equipment for free. Tourist routes throughout the country were developed centrally and professionally. Then it partially died out: the factory tourist clubs closed, many routes disappeared into oblivion - the roads became overgrown, the markers became worn out, because the marked trail also needs care.
In recent years, I have been very happy to observe the rise of interest in amateur hiking: trekking and hiking, as it is now fashionable to call it.
For those who are not in the know: trekking- you walk across rough terrain and carry a backpack with a tent and food, hiking- you walk from shelter to shelter or from hotel to hotel, an easier travel option, but loses autonomy - you need to reach your future accommodation before nightfall.
With proper development and information support, the Great Sevastopol Trail has a chance to become as popular as the famous Lycian Trail. The fame of the Lycian Way began with a book by a single tourist, and now it is one of the best trekking routes in the world, for which thousands of tourists fly to Turkey every year.
The idea of intensively developing and promoting tourism with tents, as it does not require large financial costs or special physical preparation (in the case of prepared routes), seems very correct to me.
A start has been made - the route is being marked.
And how to popularize it - LJ, social networks, publications in the media to help.
I personally would love to walk the entire route, all 130 km.
I hope this project will have a great future.