Those who like to travel to beautiful places with a backpack behind them are familiar with the place in the Crimea, which is called Chernorechensky Canyon. It is a deep gorge in the mountains. Its height reaches several tens of meters, its length is 12 kilometers. The Black River with clean and clear water flows along the bottom of the gorge.
About Canyon
The canyon has earned popularity among tourists due to its beauty and picturesqueness. It is located near Sevastopol, on the western edge of the Central ridge of the Crimean mountains. It starts at the rock of Kizil-Kaya, located on the very edge of the Baydar Valley. It ends near the outskirts of the village of Chernorechye. The river, starting on the territory of the Baydar Valley, then continues its journey along the Inkerman Valley and flows into the Sevastopol Bay of the Black Sea.
The Chernorechensky canyon is the longest in the Crimean mountains, it is considered impassable not because of complexity, but because of the length of the route, the total length of which is 16 km. The canyon itself stretches for 12 km. Someone goes here with an overnight stay, others cross it during the day, starting the trip in the morning to catch the last bus, which leaves at 18.30 from the village of Chernorechye to Sevastopol.
You can go into the canyon from the village of Broad, the path there is closer. But from 9 o’clock at the entrance to it there is usually a water protection post. Having passed this section before the beginning of the working day, you can avoid an unwanted meeting. To avoid incidents, you can start the journey from the village of Rodnoy by making a small detour, or from the village of Chernorechye and go upstream against the current. But the vast majority of tourists go down.
Nature reserve
Chernorechensky Canyon is a natural monument, its territory is declared a reserve. In addition, the conservation zone of the Chernorechensky reservoir begins from the Baydar Valley , the water of which is the main source for supplying the city of Sevastopol with it.
A shield hangs at the entrance to the canyon, an inscription on which warns that entry to the reserve is prohibited, but go safely. On the way, you may meet foresters who charge you entry fees.
For those who want to pass the Chernorechensky Canyon for the first time, the route may seem quite complicated. Do not be afraid. The impressions received are worth the effort that will have to be made. You just need to understand that this is not a pleasure walk or a picnic. We'll have to climb the rocks, wade the river, go along the crumbling mountain paths, overcome the rubble.
The most difficult thing you have to face is the so-called clamps, where the water comes close to the rocks, and to pass them, you need to climb up or pass through the trunks of trees that lie above the water itself.
In this case, it is necessary to refuse to cross the river, since it is here that the flow can be quite strong, and the water is quite cold. The best way to get around obstacles is to climb a mountain and walk along a gentle peak. But bold and confident free pass difficult areas.
How to get there
The first question for those who decided to pass the Chernorechensky Canyon for the first time: how to get to the starting point of the route? From Sevastopol you need to get to the village of Rodnoy. Before him from the 7th kilometer, where the main Sevastopol bus station is located, there is a bus. Before reaching the village a bit, you need to go out and go along the dirt road to the hills visible in the distance. You will have to go a few kilometers along the road, then reach the forest elevation above the river. The route starts from the rock of Kizil-Kaya.
Then go down to the river, where the left bank will be the most passable. To do this, you will have to wade it and walk some distance to the glade called Partizanskaya, where you can stay for the night. However, the paths go on both sides of the river. Not far from the meadow are the remains of the destroyed bridge that the Germans built here during the war. It is called Tank.
Canyon passage
The first part of the Chernorechensky canyon will go through the forest, which is located between the mountains along the river bank. Then along the way clamps begin to come across. They appear in those places where the river abuts against hard rocks of the coast, such as granite or basalt, resulting in a sharp turn, called the "loop".
Clips can be passed along logs laid along the coast, more likely logs half a foot wide, but rather strong, holding onto rocks, or try to get around them, climbing along the loose paths into the mountains. The difficulty of the hike is that there is no path from above, and you have to wander, resting on the rocks or wander into the thicket of the forest, going down to the river.
Black River
Despite its name - Black - the river has an amazing color, which changes depending on the illumination and water depth. It can be silver-turquoise, bright blue, any shades of green, but not black. They say that she got her name from the old name of the river - Cher-Su, which translates from Turkic as "woeful water." The water in the river is of crystal purity and of unusual taste.
Carrying its waters through the canyon in wide places where the mountains part before it, it is smooth and majestic. And when it is compressed from two sides by granite rocks, it rages and beats about them. The nature here is beautiful. Giant trees grow in the canyon, which tend to rise, trying to reach the sun. It is especially good here in spring when nature blooms. The air is saturated with the smell of thyme and juniper.
Having reached two steep cliffs, which seem to tend to connect arcs with a friend, the water begins to seethe and beat against them. Climbing the mountain, you can go to the natural observation deck, which offers an indescribable beauty view of the canyon. It is called the "Gate."
After that, you need to climb a little along the slope and walk a couple of kilometers to the highway. On the way you will see an old tower of the XIV century. Behind remains Chernorechensky Canyon (Crimea). How to get to Sevastopol from the village of Chernorechye? A bus departs from him to Balaclava. If you didn’t have time for it, you will have to walk a few more kilometers or catch a ride and get to the Yalta highway.