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