| Cycling and Mountain Biking in Crimea | | | | Kyz-Kermen ruins. Descent into the Kacha |
| | | | River valley. Kachi-Kalyon Monastery. Camp by |
| Crimea can be a mountain biker's dream come | | | | the river. (14 km) |
| through. A large number of roads make the | | | | |
| mountains easily accessible, and trails and | | | | Day 3 Hike through Crimean oak forest to the |
| dirt roads crisscross the peninsula suitable | | | | Chelter-Koba Monastery. Belbek River |
| for biking. | | | | crossing. Syuiren Fortress. (16 km) |
| | | | |
| Since bikers deal with many of the same | | | | Day 4 Climb to Mangup-Kale plateau. Mangup |
| issues as hikers, read the article about | | | | cave town, capital of the Feodoro princedom. |
| hiking in Crimea for information on water, | | | | Camp next to the ruins of the city walls. (12 |
| climate, transportation, and regulations that | | | | km) |
| may apply to you. | | | | |
| | | | Day 5 Descent to Adim-Chokrak Valley. |
| The main starting points for cyclists are | | | | Shuldan cave monastery. Eski-Kermen cave |
| Simferopol, Bakhchisaray, Sevastopol, and | | | | town. (12 km) |
| Feodosiya - all connected to other major | | | | |
| Ukrainian cities (Lviv, Kiev, Kharkov, | | | | Day 6 Descent to the coast near Inkerman. |
| Donetsk) by train. South Shore towns like | | | | Kalamita tower. Arrival in Balaklava. Camp by |
| Yalta, Alushta, and Sudak are not accessible | | | | the sea cost next to the Golden Beach. (15 |
| by train, so bikers rarely start there unless | | | | km) |
| they are traveling as a large group and get a | | | | |
| van to carry their bikes to their starting | | | | Day 7 Chembalo fortress. Tour of underground |
| point. Read about transporting bikes on | | | | submarine factory. Transfer to Sevastopol. (5 |
| Ukrainian trains. | | | | km) |
| | | | |
| All Crimean automobile roads are suitable for | | | | Canyons of Crimea, a classic hike through |
| road cycling, however, some are best avoided | | | | Crimea's picturesque canyons and mountains. |
| during the tourist season. For example, | | | | |
| traffic is quite heavy on highway M18 from | | | | Day 1 Arrival in Simferopol. Transfer to |
| Sevastopol to Yalta, Alushta, and Simferopol | | | | Sevastopol. City overview. Transfer to |
| during summer months, and moderate at other | | | | Morozovka village. Camp by the Black River. |
| times of year. The views of the sea and | | | | (5 km) |
| mountains are beautiful. Between Foros and | | | | |
| Alupka (25 km) there is an older highway that | | | | Day 2 River crossing. Chernorechenskiy |
| runs parallel to the M18 higher up the slope | | | | Canyon. Hike upstream through the canyon |
| with very little traffic, but there are more | | | | floor. Camp in the canyon. (6 km) |
| ups and downs and in places damage from | | | | |
| landslides (the road is no longer | | | | Day 3 Leaving the canyon. Baidar valley |
| maintained). In one location west of Parkovoe | | | | crossing. Visit Skelska Cave. (16 km) |
| there is a sudden half-meter drop-off in the | | | | |
| road-an unpleasant surprise if you're | | | | Day 4 Ascent to Uzundzha canyon. Hike |
| cruising down the road at 30 km/hr. | | | | through beech forest to the Te?house camp. |
| | | | (15 km) |
| A beautiful route that is unfortunately | | | | |
| closed to the public is the paved road from | | | | Day 5 Descent to Silver Waterfall. Camp by |
| Yalta to Alushta over the highest part of the | | | | the entrance to Crimea's Grand Canyon. (12 |
| Crimean mountains through the Crimean Nature | | | | km) |
| Reserve. It is 77 km long and rises to 1448 m | | | | |
| at Nikitskyy pass, making it the highest | | | | Day 6 Hike through the Grand Canyon. Tthe |
| paved road in Ukraine. Ride at your own risk, | | | | Bath of Youth. Climb to the northern edge of |
| as there is a minor chance of being caught | | | | Ay-Petri Plateau. (15 km) |
| and fined, or made to turn around. Supposedly | | | | |
| the forest patrollers watch the section | | | | Day 7 Ay-Petri Plateau crossing. Descent to |
| between Besedka Vetrov and Chuchelskyy pass | | | | the Uchan-Su waterfall through Taraktash |
| and go home after 6:00 p.m. | | | | Gorge. Transfer to Yalta. Return to |
| | | | Simferopol. (12 km) |
| Southeastern Crimea also has tons of roads | | | | |
| fit for cycling. The Kerch Peninsula is | | | | Above the Sea, a hike along the rim of |
| almost completely flat, but there are many | | | | Crimea's highest mountains with the Black Sea |
| roads and relatively little traffic. As | | | | ever in view below. |
| strong winds can be an issue, check wind | | | | |
| direction before finalizing the direction of | | | | Day 1 Arrival in Simferopol. Transfer to |
| travel. West of Feodosiya begin the Crimean | | | | Angarskiy Pass. Climb upper plateau of |
| Mountains with their great and varied | | | | Chatyrdag. Rest at the top of Eklizi-Burun |
| scenery. In the eastern section of the | | | | Mt. Descent to Saurgan Meadow. (5 km) |
| mountains there are numerous paved roads up | | | | |
| these long valleys to remote small towns and | | | | Day 2 Cross the Safun-Uzen River valley. |
| villages, as well as endless kilometers of | | | | Ascent to Babugan Plateau. Camp next to |
| dirt and rocky roads suitable for mountain | | | | forbidden deer-forest. (10 km) |
| biking. | | | | |
| | | | Day 3 Hike along edge of Babugan Plateau. |
| NICE ROADS FOR CYCLING by yourself. | | | | Roman-Kosh Mt. (highest in Crimea at 1545 m). |
| | | | Gurzuf Pass and Arbour of the Winds. Camp at |
| Bakhchisaray to Yalta (86 km), Beautiful ride | | | | treeline. (12 km) |
| with few cars through foothills and mountains | | | | |
| with a strenuous 1000 m climb up switchbacks | | | | Day 4 Hike along plateau above Yalta. |
| (over 12 km) to the stunning Ay-Petri | | | | Taraktash Gorge. (12 km) |
| plateau, then a steep descent into Yalta with | | | | |
| switchbacks and more traffic. Descend into | | | | Day 5 Ascent to the Ay-Petri Mt. Visit |
| Yalta either early morning or late in the day | | | | oriental bazaar. Tour of Three Eye Cave. |
| when people are returning from Ay-Petri to | | | | Descent to Besh-Tekne Hollow. (12 km) |
| Yalta and there is no oncoming traffic. | | | | |
| | | | Day 6 Walk through the Guerrilla Forest. |
| Orlinoe to Golubinka (25 km), Kholmovka to | | | | Climb old Roman road to Shaytan-Merdven Pass. |
| Shturmovoe (25 km), Bakhchisaray to Aromat | | | | (15 km) |
| through Schastlivoe (50 km), and Skalistoe | | | | |
| to Nauchnyy (14 km) | | | | Day 7 Hiking along Foros mountain ridge. |
| | | | Tour of Foros church. Baidarskiy Pass. |
| These roads all run through the foothills (up | | | | Descent to Laspi Bay. Rest at the seashore. |
| to 500 m in elevation) southwest of | | | | Transfer to Sevastopol. (40 km) |
| Simferopol and have great views, varied | | | | |
| scenery, and light automobile traffic. These | | | | Crimea Mountain Bike Tour, see the Cave Towns |
| routes can easily be connected to make a loop | | | | and South Shore of Crimea. This is a |
| or set of loops. | | | | non-technical mountain bike tour around some |
| | | | of southwest Crimea's most interesting |
| Crimea's terrain is hilly and mountainous and | | | | sights. |
| covered with trails and dirt roads. Grades | | | | |
| range from flat to very steep. Once during a | | | | Day 1 Arrival in Simferopol. Transfer to |
| ride I met a Ukrainian guy from Donetsk who | | | | Crimean Observatory. Lunch. Briefing, safety |
| had marked on his topographical map all the | | | | equipment. Uphill and downhill training. Bike |
| places he had ridden; the map was literally | | | | trip in vicinity of observatory. Dinner. Tour |
| covered in ink. He traveled alone and took a | | | | of observatory and telescope viewing. Camp. |
| sleeping bag with him just in case night | | | | (8km) |
| caught him on the road. | | | | |
| | | | Day 2 Breakfast. Trip across Sel-Buhra to |
| I won't list routes here because there are | | | | Tepe-Kermen cave town. Visit Kyz-Kermen cave |
| hundreds of them. Any trail or dirt road can | | | | town. Set up camp. Dinner. (18km) |
| be biked if it's not fenced off! The | | | | |
| high-detail topographical maps show most of | | | | Day 3 Breakfast. Transfer to Bakhchisaray. |
| these trails. The easier rides, of course, | | | | Tour of Bahchisaray Palace and Uspenskiy |
| are in the hills below about 500 m. Most of | | | | Monastery. Journey to the Kacha River valley |
| the "extreme" routes are above this altitude. | | | | and Tash-Air - an ancient campground with |
| | | | rock paintings (4000 B.C.). Set up camp. |
| A good idea is to pick a destination, say, | | | | Dinner. (25 km) |
| Bakhchisaray, buy topographical maps when you | | | | |
| get there, and begin exploring areas you find | | | | Day 4 Breakfast. Journey to the Belbek |
| interesting. Or, you can take the maps to the | | | | valley. Lunch. Ride to Khodzhi-Sala village. |
| local Mountain Rescue Service post and get | | | | Rest at lake. Climb to Mangup-Kale plateau. |
| their advice on the routes you have chosen | | | | Visit the capital of Feodoro princedom - |
| (if you speak at least some Russian | | | | Mangup cave town. Set up camp near the ruins |
| Ukrainian). See the "lodgings" section on our | | | | of the city walls. Dinner. (35 km) |
| hiking page for tips on finding a place to | | | | |
| stay. | | | | Day 5 Breakfast. Passage to Ternovka |
| | | | village. Cave monastery Shuldan and |
| Guided tours | | | | Cholter-Marmara lookout. Passage to Black |
| | | | River. Visit 16th century fortress. Lunch. |
| Kirill Yasko, an experienced mountain guide | | | | Black River Canyon. Swimming in lake. Set up |
| living in Kyiv. He speaks English, German, | | | | camp near the river. Dinner. (35 km) |
| Russian, and Ukrainian and has led a large | | | | |
| number of hiking groups in the mountains of | | | | Day 6 Breakfast. Passage to Morozovka |
| Ukraine, including several groups of | | | | village. Lunch. Journey to Cape Aya. Descent |
| foreigners. Each trek is 7 days long. | | | | to the Black Sea. Set up camp by the shore. |
| Participants will need to arrange travel to | | | | Dinner. (30 km) |
| Simferopol themselves (train is most | | | | |
| convenient), where they will be picked up at | | | | Day 7 Breakfast. Pass above Golden Beach to |
| the train station and taken into the | | | | Chembalo fortress. Descent into Balaklava. |
| mountains. In the trek itineraries below, | | | | Lunch. Transfer to Sevastopol. End of tour. |
| each day's hiking mileage is indicated in | | | | (6km) |
| parentheses. | | | | |
| | | | All tours cost around 220 Euros apart from |
| Valley of the Ghosts, a hike through some of | | | | the last one, which costs around 290 Euros |
| the most mysterious mountains of Crimea. | | | | with rental of bike and around 250 Euros |
| | | | without. |
| Day 1 Arrival in Simferopol. Transfer to | | | | |
| Perevalnoe village. Ascent to Chatyr-Dag | | | | Payment is at the end of each tour. Prices |
| Plateau. Visit equipped caves - Marble Cave | | | | are indicated in each trek description below. |
| and Emine-Bair-Hosar. | | | | You will see that they are very reasonable, |
| | | | as they include all meals, transfers, and |
| Day 2 Climb Mt. Eklizi-Burun. Descent to | | | | guide services. For the bike tour, a car |
| Kutuzov Lake. | | | | escort is also included in the cost. Prices |
| | | | can change depending on changes made to |
| Day 3 Angarskyy Pass, Funa fortress. | | | | itineraries and any additional services or |
| | | | activities participants choose to add to the |
| Day 4 Ascent to South Demerdzhi through | | | | tour. |
| Valley of the Ghosts. | | | | |
| | | | All hikes are intended for normal people in |
| Day 5 Dzhurla and Dzhur-Dzhur waterfalls. | | | | good condition without special training. |
| Haphal Gorge. | | | | Average walking time per day is 6 hours. |
| | | | Participants live in tents and are expected |
| Day 6 Tyrke plateau. Karabi plateau. | | | | to bring all necessary gear with them. |
| | | | However, equipment rental can be arranged if |
| Day 7 Descent to Black Sea at Rybachye | | | | given prior notice. Meals are cooked on a |
| village. Return to Simferopol. | | | | fire. Food for three meals a day is included |
| | | | in the cost of each tour. Tour members carry |
| Cave Towns, a hike through the ancient cave | | | | their own belongings, carry water, and are |
| settlements of Crimea's hilly inland with a | | | | expected to help gather firewood and tend the |
| descent to the coast. | | | | fire. Conveniences such as toilets and |
| | | | showers will be nonexistent. When you order a |
| Day 1 Arrival in Simferopol. Transfer to | | | | tour Kirill will take into account your |
| Bahchisaray. Tour of Bahchisaray Palace and | | | | preferences for routes, food, and service. |
| Uspensky Monastery. Chufut-Kale cave town. | | | | You may go alone, with family (including |
| Camp by Beshik-Tau Mt. (10 km) | | | | children), or with friends. You can also take |
| | | | pets along. The usual group size is 6 to 15 |
| Day 2 Tepe-Kermen cave town. Visit | | | | people. |