Sukhaya Balka guamka route

What to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting

This is a difficult tourist route along the gorge of the Sukhaya Balka River, which officially involves passing only with guides and special equipment, independent passage is prohibited. Part of the way passes through the water fording. Along the route you will pass through the canyon of the river up to 70 meters deep, reach the waterfalls Yavorovy (80 meters high), bride and others, see natural pools, grottoes and caves. The gorge of the Suhaya Balka is very beautiful, and it is believed that even more beautiful than Guam, while more wild and well preserved its pristine natural beauty.

Only trained adults will be able to master the route, and only under the guidance of an instructor, although some tourists decide on an independent hike. Children do not belong here at all.

If, despite the locked, you still decide on an independent visit, it is better to take a rope, a helmet, and ideally also a wetsuit. It is better to warn someone about your trip, and get in touch after returning. In Sukhoi Balka, as in the Guam gorge, cellular communication does not work.

How to complete the Route "Sukhaya Balka"

This route can be visited from Guamka farm or village Mezmay. You can also visit it from other nearby resorts of the Krasnodar Territory or Adygea for one day, but for this you yourself will have to get to one of these villages early in the morning.

It is best to pass it as part of a group or individual excursion under the supervision of professional guides who start from Mezmay or Guamka. The tour includes the necessary equipment, instruction, support. You can book such tours directly in the villages, or you can find contacts of guides on the Internet.

And here is information for self-visit:

The entrance to the route is near an old wooden bridge in the Guam Gorge (Bridge on the map). You can get to the Guam gorge, in turn, from guamka farm (2.8 km.) or Mezmaya (5 km.). From Mezmay to the bridge you can easily walk along the railway through the Guam Gorge, but from the side of Guamka the pedestrian passage is closed during the operation of the tourist train. Therefore, you have two options: pass during non-working hours of the train (Monday and Tuesday all day, and before 09:00 and after 18:00 on other days), or take the train for 500 rubles (ticket price in both directions), and from the train stop walk to the bridge another 1100 meters. See more about Guam Gorge and train here.

When you get to the bridge, you can get directly to the Suhaya Balka in two ways:

1. Go down to the water on the tied rope.
2. From the memorial plaque to the right of the bridge, climb up the path along the cant, then along the level path, and down again to the river.

After you get into the gorge, you will have to move along the shore and on the water, climb over the stones, climb the water slides. Here, a special wetsuit, rope, helmet, knee pads and elbow protection will not hurt at all. To get to the waterfall Yavorovy about 1 kilometer, but you will need to go at the fork of the rivers to the left along the tributary Yavorova beam. Usually at the Yavorov waterfall the route ends, and you can go back. But theoretically, you can continue it along any of the tributaries further, and they will lead you to the dirt road back to Guamka and the trails to Mezmay. But we strongly do not recommend to independently pass the route further.