Attractions and entertainment in the Goryachy Klyuch

Speaking objectively, then really worth visiting interesting places in a Goryachy Klyuch, consider that there is no. And those that are, attractions can be called with a big stretch. Actually, all the interesting things that are in the city itself, you can easily see in one day during a leisurely walk through the tourist area of the city, as well as through the Mountain and Medical Parks.

Several interesting natural attractions can be visited in the vicinity of the resort. These are waterfalls, caves, grottoes, rocks, or even just easy walking routes through the forest and over the hills. Some of them need to be reached by transport, but in most cases you can do just a one-day walk.

You can go to more remote places of the Krasnodar Territory or to the neighboring Republic of Adygea during your vacation in the Hot Spring, for which you can buy inexpensive group tours on the street from distributors or in hotels. Unfortunately, there is not a wide variety of excursions, as in the beach resorts of the region, but in general the most popular destinations are presented. So, you can go with a group to Guamka and the Guam Gorge (from 2000 rubles/person); visit Gelendzhik and dolmens in its vicinity (from 1500 rubles/person); go swimming at sea with dolphins in Blue Bay (from 700 rubles/person).

And now we tell you about the sights and entertainment of the Goryachy Klyuch and the immediate surroundings, which you can visit yourself, indicating their opening hours, cost, and how to get there:

Alley of a Thousand Pines

This is the main walking street of the Goryachy Klyuch, you can say its tourist heart. The alley is partially pedestrian: cars are allowed to move along its part, but they rarely drive here. In addition, for the convenience of pedestrians, spacious sidewalks are laid along it in the shade of pine trees. There are benches for recreation, iconic monuments, paths decorated with sculptures, vegetation, and in the evening a beautiful illumination is lit. During the peak season, street performers and artists appear in the evenings, street fast food and all sorts of "goodies" are sold. Read more about the Alley of a Thousand Pines here.

Pedestrian "Happy Bridge" or "Bridge of kisses"

This is one of the iconic places in Goryachy Klyuch, from which the acquaintance with the resort of most tourists begins. The fact is that it passes over the Psekups River and connects the tourist center in Goryachy Klyuch with a large parking lot along the M4-Don highway, where tourists traveling to rest on the coast often make a short stop. The bridge offers the best views of the Psekups River, the Petushok Rock and the beach at its base. Read more about the pedestrian "Happy Bridge" or "Bridge of Kisses" here.

Mountain Park

This is another walking area and a center of attraction for vacationers in addition to the Alley of a Thousand Pines. Its territory is a continuation of the Alley of a Thousand Pines, and the border begins with the territory of the sanatorium "Goryachy Klyuch". It is in the park that such famous iconic places of the resort as the Arch with lions, the drinking gallery, the Triumphal Arch, the light and music fountain, etc. are located. There are also several funny sculptures, simple children's attractions, shops with fast food, drinks and souvenirs. Read more about the Mountain Park here.

Drinking gallery or pump room in a Goryachy Klyuch

In the gallery, you can drink local therapeutic mineral water for free, which is used for treatment in local sanatoriums. Inside there are three types of therapeutic water from the wells of the Psekupskoye field No. 21, 58 and 104, each of which differs in composition and purpose. To drink water, it is necessary to use cups, it is forbidden to drink from the tap. If you don't have a cup with you, you can buy disposable ones right there for 2 rubles. You can take water with you, but only in bottles bought here from 15 rubles. Read more about the Drinking Gallery here.

Dante's Gorge

Dante's Gorge is an equipped hiking trail between narrow cliffs with a length of about 100 meters, the main natural attraction in Goryachy Klyuch. It is part of the so-called Therapeutic Park, consisting of a network of trails and terraced paths in the forest part of the resort. Initially, it was only a small trough in the rocks, washed out over millions of years by water. But especially for the organization of the walking route, it was deepened, steps were carved on the ascents, stairs with railings and bridges were installed. On the way through it, you will see a mini waterfall and a stream, traces of work on the walls of stone, and "modern hieroglyphs" left on them by tourists. Read more about Dantovo Gorge here.

National hydrogen sulfide source

Let's say right away that this place is for an amateur, and an extremely fastidious one and a believer in the miraculous power of water with the smell of hydrogen sulfide of unknown origin. The fact is that this source is unofficial, popular, and there is no evidence of its usefulness or at least security. Nevertheless, this place is quite popular, perhaps because it is free, and some vacationers soak in this cramped hole all day. Read more about the National hydrogen sulfide source here.

City Historical Museum

This small museum of local lore tells about the history of the region and the appearance of the resort here, the exploits of local residents during the Second World War are described in detail. It consists of three halls containing modest paleontological, archaeological, ethnographic and military collections. Temporary exhibitions of local artists are held in a separate room, their visit is included in the price. Given the modesty of the collection, we recommend visiting it with an excursion service, which is offered when buying tickets. Read more about the City Historical Museum here.

Rock Cockerel or Rescue

This is one of the most recognizable natural attractions in Goryachy Kolyuch. However, it is objectively worth saying that it is not particularly beautiful and spectacular, and it owes its popularity only to its location. The fact is that the view of it opens from the famous pedestrian bridge, and accordingly catches the eye of vacationers and tourists in the first place. The height of the cliff is 28 meters, which approximately corresponds to the height of nine floors of an apartment building. You can climb up the safe "Ladder of Life" to take good photos there with a view of the river, or relax in the gazebo on the benches. Read more about the rock Cockerel here.

Holy Trinity Church or the Church of the Holy Trinity

Initially, the church on the site of the current temple was built and consecrated in the name of the holy Martyr Longinus the Centurion in 1867. It did not survive the years of Soviet power and was restored today at the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. Today, the shrine of the icon in honor of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom with fragments of their relics and the icon of the Mother of God of the Quick-Hearer are kept in the temple.

The Adyghe pillar of Hapacha Lakshuka

This iconic and one of the most unusual cultural attractions is located almost in the center of the resort in a very passable place, but is almost not noticed by tourists walking right next to it. This pillar-monument is made of a fragment of a Byzantine column, on which the remains of inscriptions in Arabic have been preserved. Grave grave is a cenotaph (a stone without a grave), installed by Prince Atech Hadji in 1717 over an empty grave in memory of the nobleman Hapach Lakshuka. The grave is empty, because Hapach Lakshuk died far from his native places in Damascus while returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Terrancours

Terencures are therapeutic and health-improving procedures involving physical activity in the form of hiking, or in other words, these are walking routes. In relation to the Hot Spring, in the old days, a lot of terrenkurs were laid here through the surrounding forests and mountain slopes, but now there is not a single specially equipped one, except, perhaps, only the route to the Dante Gorge. There are a lot of unnamed trails and paths that you can walk along and improve your health in between sanatorium procedures, but there are no signs and route diagrams.

Amusement Park

As such, there is no full-fledged amusement park in Goryachy Klyuch, but in the Mountain Park there are several uncomplicated children's attractions that will allow you to entertain younger and middle-aged children at least a little. These are different carousels and swings, prize shooting galleries, children's fishing, mini-electric car rental, riding children's quad bikes, etc. The price for these entertainments starts from 150 rubles.

Beach holidays

You may be surprised, but there is a beach holiday in Goryachy Klyuch. They swim and relax here on the banks of the Psekups River and on the city's Krugloye Lake. There are beaches both there, but the rest on them is very different. So, on the Psekups River, there are places for swimming and relaxing in the area of the Petushok rock and on the other bank opposite it, but there is no full-fledged beach. And on the city's Krugloe Lake there is a full-fledged sandy beach with umbrellas from the sun and a lifeguard tower. Read more about beach holidays in the Goryachy Klyuch here.

Catamaran rental

One of the few entertainments in Goryachy Klyuch is riding on the Psekups River on rented catamarans. You can rent a catamaran at the station near the bridge, and swim in the fast waters of the river to your heart's content. However, it will not be possible to swim far away, since the depth is small, and stones dangerous for the catamaran stick out of the water.

Attractions in the vicinity of the Goryachy Klyuch

In the list above, we have included interesting places, sights and entertainment that you can see at the resort and near it yourself during a simple walk. But in addition to this, there are still many interesting places in the vicinity of the city that you can visit, but you will have to get to them by transport or on time for a long walk. Here's what you can see next to the Goryachy Klyuch:

• Ferruginous spring

  

  There is no shortage of free drinking springs in the city part of the Hot Spring, and you can drink or collect water from the ferruginous spring of St. Panteleimon at any time, or visit a free drinking pump room according to the schedule. But if you want to find something unusual for yourself, you can take a walk through the forest to this wild ferruginous spring. It will not be difficult to reach it along the path that leads to the Mirror Rock and the Devil's Mouth waterfall, but to find it, you will have to use a navigator and the exact coordinates that are indicated on our map. More about the ferruginous spring here.

  Practical Information

  🕐 Working hours: around the clock.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: free.

  🚶 How to get there: The ferruginous spring is located in the forest south of the city and three kilometers from the center (spring on the map). There are no pointers to it, you will have to search using a navigator or a smartphone with installed maps at the exact coordinates. We recommend using downloaded offline maps Organic Maps, OSM, etc. with trails marked on them. You need to go from the center of the resort along the path to the Mirror Rock, and at the confluence of the two streams, do not follow the main path, but go to the right along the stream along a narrow path littered with trees. Next, look carefully with your eyes for a spring on the steep right bank of the stream along the course of the current, focusing on the orange-rusty color of the rock around it.

• Rock Mirror

  

  This is an amazing natural attraction, a smooth sheer cliff up to 32 meters high and stretching, according to various estimates, from one to three kilometers. The most interesting and impressive part of it has a length of a couple of hundred meters, and it is worth looking at first, and not going all three kilometers along. It is believed that at certain times of the day, when the sun shines vertically on it, it reflects the light of quartz rocks like a mirror. Read more about the Mirror rock and how to get to it here.

  Practical Information

  🕐 Working hours: around the clock.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: free.

  🚶 How to get there: The Mirror Rock is located south of the tourist area, three and a half kilometers from its center (rock Mirror on the map). There are no signs to the attraction, you need to use a navigator or a map application on your smartphone. For more information on how to get there, see the link with a full description of the attraction.

• Psechiaco Waterfall or Devil's Mouth

  

  This is the closest and most accessible full-fledged waterfall to the Hot Spring, not counting the mini-waterfall in the Dante Gorge. To get to it, you need to go on an easy one-day walk through the surrounding forests and mountains along the route, during which you will simultaneously be able to visit the Mirror Rock, a ferruginous spring, an observation deck and several other notable places. But objectively it is worth noting that this is still not a waterfall, but a water slide, since the water does not break from a height, but flows down inclined rocks. In addition, in summer and autumn, the stream becomes very shallow, and the waterfall is far from as impressive as in the full-flowing spring season. Read more about Psechiako Waterfall or Devil's Mouth here.

  Practical Information

  🕐 Working hours: visit during the daytime, best in spring or early summer after heavy rains.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: free.

  🚶 How to get there: Psechiako or the Devil's Mouth is located in the forest part south of the tourist area of the Goryachy Klyuch, five kilometers from its center (Psechiaco or Devil's Mouth on the map). You can reach it by one of the many trails laid through the forest, but there are no signs here. For more information on how to get there, see the link with a full description of the attraction.

• Bogatyr caves

  

  These are two caves on the slopes at the foot of Mount Lysaya, a dozen kilometers from the Hot Spring. These are the most easily accessible caves that you can visit while relaxing in Goryachy Klyuch, but do not expect anything special from them. This is the case when the way to the attraction is more interesting than the attraction itself. The fact is that the caves are small, rather even grottoes, and in them you will not see any unusual cave formations like stalactites or stalagmites. All the walls and ceiling are smooth, and covered with visitors. Read more about the Bogatyr caves and how to visit them here.

  Practical Information

  🕐 Working hours: visit during the day in good dry weather.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: free.

  🚶 How to get there: The Bogatyr caves are located about 10 kilometers along the road from the Goryachy Klyuch near the railway station "Valley of Charm" and on the way to the villages of Nameless and Fanagoriyskoye (bogatyr caves on the map). It is best to get there by car, but you can take the train or even walk the entire route. For more information on how to get there, see the link with a full description of the attraction.

• Kaverzinsky waterfalls

  

  This is a chain of several waterfalls on the Tambov Gap River. The largest of them are Maly Kaverzinsky and Bolshoy Kaverzinsky, and they can be confidently called the most beautiful in the vicinity of the Hot Spring, provided, of course, that you see them at full water. And full water happens here in the spring or at the beginning of the years. The remaining waterfalls and water slides are located on the river between Bolshoy and Maly for about 800 meters. But to see all this beauty, be prepared for a one-day mini-hike through the forest on rocks and rocks, and through fallen trees and wading through a stream. Read more about the Kaverzinsky waterfalls and how to visit them here.

  Practical Information

  🕐 Working hours: visit during the day in good dry weather.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: free.

  🚶 How to get there: The Kaverzinsky waterfalls are located in the forest near the village of Hrebtovo, almost 40 kilometers from the Goryachy Klyuch (Kaverzinsky waterfalls on the map). You can get to the starting point of the entrance to the hiking route by car or bus, and from there on foot through the forest along the trail 6 kilometers in one direction, which will take at least two hours at a good speed without stopping. For more information on how to get there, see the link with a full description of the attraction.