The cave town of Chufut-Kale in Bakhchisarai

🌐 Website: https://handvorec.ru

🕐 Working hours

from 09:00 to 17:00, seven days a week.

💵 Entrance fee / ticket price

Adults – 200 rubles, children aged 16-18 and students - 100 rubles, pensioners - 150 rubles. Excursion service is an additional 100 rubles/person. The ticket is purchased at the entrance to the complex at one of the ticket offices at the Southern or Eastern gates, payment is accepted only in cash.

🚶 How to get there

The Chufut-Kale cave complex is located on the outskirts of Bakhchisarai, a couple of kilometers from its tourist area (Chufut-Kale on the map). By the way, on maps on the Internet you can see such marked places as "Chufut-Kale Museum", "Chufut-Kale Caves" or, for example, "Chufut-Kale Cave City". This is a bit confusing, because these places can be marked on the same map, and in different places. But in fact, it's all the same place, just plotted several times.

So, you can visit Chufut-Kale both from Bakhchisarai and from other resorts of Crimea in the form of an excursion or an independent trip for one day. The complex itself is located among the mountains, and you will have to walk to its caves and ruins, which, however, will not be difficult, because this route is well equipped and accessible even for the elderly and children. Unfortunately, people with disabilities will not be able to see everything here, because in some places they will have to climb steep stone steps and rocks, although part of the complex will still be able to see.

There is an alternative and much easier way to see Chufut-Kale – jeep tours. They are offered in the center of Bakhchisarai, in the parking lot in front of the entrance to Chufut-Kale, or you can buy them online at tripster.ru. Cars will take you almost to the caves, there will be very little left to go. But such pleasure costs from 3000 rubles for a car with a capacity of up to 5 people.

And now let's talk about all the ways in more detail:

Independently from Bakhchisarai

If you come to Bakhchisarai for a few days, then it will not be difficult for you to visit Chufut-Kale on your own, even if you do not have your own transport. To do this, first from the hotel you will need to get to the end of the highway along Lenin Street, Gasprinsky, Basenko. All these streets go along the same road, passing one into another, and end with a large parking lot. To this parking lot from the center of the tourist area and Khan's Palace on foot about 25 minutes and a little less than two kilometers. You can also take a taxi from 100 rubles or by city bus No. 2, which runs every 10-20 minutes, the fare costs 25 rubles in 2023. You need to take the bus to the final stop "Staroselye".

After parking and stopping, the walking part of the route with a length of about two kilometers begins. The asphalt footpath, and then the trail to the caves, go mostly up, but gently, so that it is easily overcome in 15-30 minutes. Approximately in the middle of the way there will be a branch to Assumption Cave Monastery, which can also be visited on the way back, but on the way to the other side you can get water from the holy spring. Eventually you will reach the complex's ticket office (ticket offices on the map), where the ruins and caves of Chufut-Kale begin directly. After payment and passage, you can then inspect the complex by following the signs or using the map. Offline maps apps in your Organic Maps smartphone will help you with the inspection, Maps.Me , Guru Maps and others like that. The complex itself is quite large, and if you look into every iconic place, then you will have to "trample" a couple of kilometers and spend 1-2 hours. Go back the same way.

Independently from other resorts of the Crimea

From nearby resorts Sevastopol, Simferopol, Yevpatoria, Yalta and others in this part of the peninsula, you can visit Chufut-Kale during the day on your own by intercity bus to Bakhchisarai, but from more remote resorts it is better to go with an excursion or by your own transport, otherwise you may not have time to return on the same day.

It is best to go by bus on the first morning flights at 5-7 o'clock. About how to get to Bakhchisarai, including by bus, in more detail here... When you get to the Bakhchisarai bus station, you can take a taxi from 200 rubles from it to the beginning of the walking route to the complex and parking (see above), or take the city bus No. 2, which will take you to the Staroselye stop at this very parking lot in just 25 rubles and 10 minutes. Then follow the route directly to the caves as described above.

If you are traveling by your own or rented car, then simply set a route to the mentioned parking lot at the entrance to the complex (parking on the map). Parking belongs to the monastery, and therefore it is free, there is always enough space on it. But even at the entrance to this parking lot, you will be intercepted by barkers at paid parking lots or free sites at cafes, where I will then expect you to order lunch in the form of encouragement. Therefore, we advise you to skip all the barkers and go first to the monastery parking lot, and if there is no free space there, you can return to one of the cafes or park your car in a paid parking lot.

With excursions from other resorts of the Crimea

In our opinion, this is the best way to visit Chufut-Kale and get acquainted with Bakhchisarai if you are vacationing in other resorts of the Crimea. Such excursions are offered at almost every resort in any corner of the Crimea. Usually these are day trips to Bakhchisarai with a visit to the Khan's Palace and Chufut-Kale, but there are also more interesting programs for several days with visits to other interesting and lesser-known places in the vicinity of the city. You can buy them from distributors on the streets of resorts, or online on the sites tripster.ru or sputnik8.com