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In the Central part of Crimea in the Bakhchisarai district there is an attraction that attracts tourists with its unique appearance. This is Kachi-Kalon, an Orthodox medieval cave monastery in a rock, a monument of cultural heritage of federal significance. It is located on the vertical slope of one of the rocks of the inner mountain range of Crimea, above the road leading from Bakhchisarai to the village of Sinapnoye between the villages of Bashtanovka and Preduschelnoe. Here, too, is the hermitage of Anastasia Uzoreshitelnitsa of the male Assumption Cave Monastery or Bead Temple. Usually these two attractions are visited together.
Kachi-Kalon is not the most popular tourist attraction among mass tourists, because it is lost in the shadow of the much more famous and popular Khan's Palace of Bakhchisarai and the cave fortress city Chufut-Kale, where more tourists are brought by buses with excursions. However, this does not detract from its attractiveness for tourists. This place is, in its own way, Unique and definitely worth visiting, and therefore we recommend that you include it and the hermitage of Anastasia Uzoreshitelnitsa in the program of your trip and vacation in Bakhchisarai.
This place is interesting not only for its history, but also for its unusual appearance and scale, even in comparison with other cave temples and monasteries, of which there are many preserved around Bakhchisarai. The rocky rock, like a giant, rises above the road, and when viewed from a close distance, the cells and grottoes cut down in the cave open to the eye.
Kachi-Kalon is full of mysteries, because even the date of its foundation causes controversy among historians. Presumably, the foundation of the monastery was in the VIII century. The proof of this is the Greek crosses cut down in caves. Such drawings are characteristic of the VIII century. Even during the heyday of the Crimean Khanate, which adhered to a different religion, the monastery continued to exist and was not persecuted, but by the end of the XVIII century, it naturally faded away. The monastery was revived again under the Russian Empire in the XIX century, but it did not last long after that - a little more than 80 years and was liquidated with the advent of Soviet power in 1932.
How to visit Kachi-Kalon and practical information
Today, Kachi-Kalon is an important historical and archaeological heritage of the Crimea, a place of religious pilgrimage and a tourist attraction. Entrance to it is paid, since it is one of the objects of the Bakhchisarai museum-reserve. There is a pavilion with a cash register at the entrance for charging fees, but cashiers are not always there, especially outside the high season. If there is no one at the checkout during your visit, you can easily enter the complex, although formally this would be a violation of the rules. And if you want to visit Kachi-Kalon for free in principle, then there is a steep path opposite the fourth grotto, along which you can climb for free, bypassing the ticket office, but it is dangerous for children.
The route through the complex is simple. You will simply walk along the paths cut into the rock along the grottoes with cut cells, and return the same way. There is not much to walk, about a kilometer in both directions, however, at first you will have to overcome a small rise to the ticket office itself. There are information boards along the way with a detailed description of the objects, so a guide is not really needed here.
To visit here is to give yourself the opportunity to get to know the cultural heritage of the peninsula more closely. And although there is practically nothing left of the former greatness of the monastery, 5 grottoes are available for tourists to review. Each of them has its own history and purpose.
- The first grotto is the Hagia Sophia Church and the old wine complex.
- The second grotto and the monastic "dormitory".
- The third grotto.
- The fourth grotto — here is the monastery of St. Anastasia and the mountain spring (almost dried up, you can not drink water from it).
- The fifth grotto is dilapidated and difficult to access, but there is an excellent viewing platform for the surrounding area.
🕐 Working hours: officially, the Kachi-Kalon is open from 09:00 to 18:00, seven days a week. In practice, you can visit it at any time, just passing by a non-working cashier. But be careful when visiting in the dark – it's dangerous.
💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: adults – 100 rubles, children aged 16-18 and students – 50 rubles, pensioners - 50 rubles. Preschoolers are free. A tour guide of 100 rubles /person is also offered. Payment is accepted only in cash!
🚶 How to get there: The Kachi-Kalon Cave monastery is located 8 kilometers from Bakhchisarai on the way to the village of Mashino, Sinapnoye, etc. (Kachi-Kalon on the map). It is convenient that it is located right next to the asphalt road, which means that you will not have to get long and far along the primer. For the same reason, you can get here from Bakhchisarai by regular commuter buses. Here's more details:
To Kachi-Kalon by car
The road to the monastery is good, completely asphalt. It is better to use the navigator to drive towards the villages of Mashino or Shtanovka, and in front of the Shtanovka you will see a landmark sign, and there will be a cluster of parked cars on the side of the road. There is no separate parking here, but you can safely drive off the road away to the side of the road. Further up the trail to the ticket office in the complex. In order to inspect Anastasia Uzoreshitelnitsa's Hermitage after inspecting the Kachi-Kalon, after returning to the ticket office, you need to follow the path even higher, and you will get to the Hermitage. Go back to the car the same way.
There is another way to get there by car – through the hermitage. In this case, you will first arrive by dirt road to the Hermitage of Anastasia Uzoreshitelnitsa, and from it you will need to go down the path to the ticket offices. But keep in mind that the road directly to the hermitage may be blocked by a barrier, and then you will have to leave the car on the side of the road and walk a little. The dirt road to the hermitage starts from the village of Preduschelnoe, you will have to drive three and a half kilometers along the gravel primer.
To Kachi-Kalyon by bus
From the Bakhchisarai bus station to Kachi-Kalyon, you can take a commuter bus following the route to the village of Sinapskoye, departs every 30-60 minutes according to the schedule, it takes 30 minutes to go, see route on the map. The bus makes a stop at the stop point "Kachi-Kalon", from where the trail starts to climb to the ticket office.
In Kachi-Kalon with a guided tour
The monastery is still deprived of the attention of large excursion companies, which means that it is impossible to buy an inexpensive group excursion from Bakhchisarai or other resorts of the Crimea. But you can buy an individual jeep tour from private traders in the tourist area of Bakhchisarai. As a rule, they do not go to Kachi-Kalon separately, but visit several places in the vicinity of the city at once, including the monastery. The price is negotiable, starts from 4 tr. for a car up to 6 people. You can also book an online individual tour to Kachi-Kalon on Sputnik8.ru or Tripster.ru
💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Balaclava with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at online booking options on these proven search and price comparison sites:
- 📷 Search for excursions in Bakhchisarai on Sputnik8.com
- 📷 Search for excursions in Bakhchisarai on Tripster.ru