Golitsyn trail: history, sights, travel

The Crimean Peninsula is one of the most popular holiday destinations. The area attracts tourists not only for its well-groomed and cozy beaches, but also for other interesting sights: landscapes of unimaginable beauty, historical monuments and many others.

One of the most popular attractions of Crimea is the Golitsyn Trail. Millions of tourists annually come to this place. What are the features of this tourist route, what to see and how to get to the Golitsyn trail, we will consider in more detail in the article.

If we talk about the geographical coordinates of the attraction, it should be noted that Golitsyna trail is located on the Crimean peninsula, near the village of Novyi Svit. But also the trail can be quickly reached from the city of Sudak. The total length of the route is about three kilometers.

Despite the fact that this tourist route bears its name in honor of Lev Golitsyn, as a natural phenomenon, the trail existed before. For example, in more ancient times, the Crimean Tatars called this path the "path of the infidels." The history of the origin of such a name is not known for certain, but there are two main theories. The first of them says that the passage along this path was a kind of punishment - it was expensive rather dangerous, and when passing it could die.

The second version is fundamentally different from the first. So, it is believed that at that time there was a Christian monastery in the mountains, and pilgrims - representatives of the Orthodox faith, that is, unfaithful according to the Crimean Tatars professing the Muslim religion, went up to it.

However, during his life, Prince Lev Golitsyn equipped the trail with all the necessary safety elements (stairs, viewing platforms and so on), turning it into a road that is now not only easy, but also pleasant to walk.

If you delve into history, you can find out that by his occupation Lev Golitsyn was the founder of the winery. And he did the work to improve the Golitsyn Trail in honor of the visit of Emperor Nicholas II, who came to the Crimea in 1912. During this visit, Lev Golitsyn not only treated the head of state with the best wines, but also showed him all the beauty of the Crimean peninsula. The Golitsyn Trail, arranged along the Oryol Mountain, was a great place to get acquainted with breathtaking Crimean landscapes.

In addition, one cannot fail to say that due to its rather long existence, the Golitsyn Trail, as a well-known Crimean attraction, “has grown” with a huge number of legends, myths and fairy tales. So, the most popular legend is a story related to the famous grotto of Golitsyn. So, it is believed that the grotto became the place where the prince's friends decided to play a trick on the latter and staged a small rally. The fact is that Lev Golitsyn was well versed in champagne and claimed that at the moment when a bottle of a truly high-quality sparkling drink was opened, the cork itself popped, but the champagne did not pour out, and only a characteristic white haze appeared.

In order to refute the words of a professional, friends shook a bottle of champagne all day, and then invited Lev Golitsyn to open sparkling wine. The prince not only doused himself with the drink, but also wetted the walls of the grotto with it. At that moment, when the liquid washed the walls and began to leave them, the eyes of the whole honest company appeared ancient murals.

However, to date, these images cannot be seen, as they have disappeared over time. That is why it is impossible to say for certain whether this story is true or simply interesting and in its own way amusing fiction.

A milestone in the history of the Golitsyn Trail was the earthquake that occurred in 1927. This natural phenomenon had a strong negative impact on the arrangement of the trail. However, even in spite of such a cataclysm, the Golitsyn Trail remains passable, so the famous attraction receives a huge number of tourists and vacationers annually.

Golitsyn Trail - one of the most famous attractions of the Crimean peninsula. In general, you can sign up for a tour of it from anywhere in the Republic of Crimea, however, the closest way to get to the trail will be from the city of Sudak or the village of Novyi Svet (a detailed path can be traced on the map). The path itself stretches along Mount Eagle or Koba-Kaya, skirting the cape. Most often, tourists visit this attraction in the summer, spring and early autumn, excursions in winter are quite rare and are possible only if there is favorable weather.

One of the most popular attractions that is located on this route is the Golitsyn Grotto (the second name is Chaliapin Grotto). It was in this place that the sparkling wines of Prince Lev Golitsyn, famous throughout Russia, were aged. In addition, this grotto is known for informal concerts of singer Fedor Chaliapin were often held there. This place attracted the musician with the presence of good acoustics.

Generally speaking, the grotto itself was dug in stone. However, this process was not carried out through human labor, but created by nature itself - the grotto was dug with water.In some places, its height reaches unprecedented levels of 30 meters.

Another amazing place you will meet on your way is the Through Grotto. While Chaliapin's grotto was formed by the forces of water, this attraction was created thanks to geological processes that changed the location of several limestone plateaus. It is believed that the Through Grotto is an ideal place for photo shoots, which is why it is here that huge lines of tourists line up to make the same memorable shot.

In addition to the grottoes, The Golitsyn trail is famous for another unusual place, namely: the cliff of the Koba-Kaya mountain. There are piles of rocks in this place. If you attach a little imagination, they will remind you of a fantastic and magical kingdom. It is not known for sure whether this phenomenon is natural, or whether it is a product of human activity. Often you can meet the speculation of scientists that this rocky piling appeared due to the works of the Tauri.

In the process of how you will move along the trail, you will exit at Cape Kapchik. At this point, your path will pass over an underwater cave called Legend. Excursion along the Golitsyn Trail does not provide for descent into it. However, some daredevils often arrange independent descents and excursions to this underwater cave. And also it is impossible not to notice that on Mount Oryol (where the Golitsyn Trail is located) a huge number of unusual Crimean plants and trees (for example, junipers) grow. Therefore, after the tour you can go down to the grove and admire the vegetative landscapes of the peninsula.

As mentioned above, the Golitsyn Trail is located near the village of New World. Therefore, if you are here, then getting to the sights will be quite simple - you just need to walk, because the trail is a few kilometers from the bus station.

Another nearest town is Sudak. From here, you can get to the Golitsyn Trail by minibus or own car. The distance from Sudak is about 9 km.

Tourists and vacationers who have already managed to visit the Golitsyn Trail respond positively about their trip. They are ready not only to give historical information about this place (professional guides working on the route can impress with their stories that remain in everyone’s memory for a long time), but also share beautiful pictures of the attraction. Extraordinary beauty of landscapes we will share with you.

• Here, for example, the general top view of the Golitsyn Trail looks like this.

• And here is Golitsyn’s grotto (or Chaliapin’s grotto), which kept the prince’s sparkling wines known throughout the country, as well as unofficial musical concerts of the famous singer.

• In this photo you can observe Cape Kapchik, next to which there is an underwater cave, closed for mass excursions.

• Here you see the Through Grotto - an amazing place created by the forces of nature and which has become a favorite location for photo shoots among tourists and vacationers.

• This is how mass excursions along the Golitsyn Trail look like, which are held in the high season. As you can see, there are a lot of people who want to know more about the Crimean peninsula. Moreover, on such excursions you can meet not only visiting tourists, but also the local population, who get acquainted with the culture of their peninsula.

• Stairs and steps are an integral part of overcoming the trail route. Make sure in advance of your physical strengths and abilities, since such a long walk may not be possible for everyone, especially in the hot season (this is especially true for older people and young children).

Our country is an amazing, but, unfortunately, poorly explored by us place.Many of us have not only not been, but even not aware of the existence of a huge number of amazing places with their history and beauty. A special part of our state is the Crimean peninsula. This territory is rich not only with a huge number of historical monuments (which date back to Antiquity, the Great Patriotic War and so on) and beaches, but also incredibly beautiful and literally breathtaking natural landscapes.

Sometimes in everyday life and daily worries we forget about the beauty that surrounds us. However, just look around and you will notice in what a wonderful world we live in.

In the next video you will find a beautiful shot of the trail from a quadrocopter.