Medieval fortress town of Mangup-Kale in Bakhchisarai

What to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting

In the Bakhchisarai district, on the way from Sevastopol to Bakhchisarai, near the village of Khoja Sala, there is Mount Mangup-Kale. And although it is inferior to other mountains in this area in height, its historical value is enormous, since here is one of the most exciting and largest man–made sights of the Crimea - the medieval fortress city of Mangup-Kale. According to many tourists, Mangup-Kale is even much more interesting than the cave city Chufut-Kale in Bakhchisarai, which is why we definitely recommend it for a mandatory visit during a trip to Bakhchisarai or from other resorts of the Crimea.

It is believed that the first settlers lived on the mountain as early as the third millennium BC. In the 5th century, a whole city began to form here, which later became the capital of the principality of Feodoro (the center of the Crimean Gothic) with the historical name Doros. Historians and archaeologists have established that handicrafts, trade, and winemaking flourished in this place. In 1475 Mangup Kale was captured by the troops of the Ottoman Empire. The Turks destroyed many buildings in this area. For the next 300 years there was a Turkish garrison here. The walls and the guard tower testify to the military past of this place. In 1790, Karaites left the city – the last inhabitants to whom Mangup Kale was home.

Tourists come here to see the remains of the ancient Citadel, the ruins of numerous palaces and basilicas. Rock structures and cave structures have been preserved. In addition to interesting architectural monuments, the plateau on which the city is located offers picturesque views of the surrounding area.

How to visit Mangup-Kale

The current historical complex Mangup-Kale is spread over a huge area of about 90 hectares on a plateau at altitudes of more than 500 meters above sea level. Throughout this area, at a fairly large distance from each other, there are its attractions, each of which is interesting and unique in its own way. Most of them are ruins, but there are also well-preserved objects.

A tourist route with a length of 6 to 10 kilometers has been developed to visit the complex. This is a trail with signs from one landmark to another. The most important attractions have information signs with a description of the place. But in fact, you will have to walk more than 6 kilometers, because in addition to the main objects of the route, you will probably want to visit other interesting places along the way. In addition, you can probably get a little lost along the way, which will add a couple more kilometers to your route. In general, we recommend allocating at least 4 hours for a full visit to Mangup-Kale.

For a walk, we recommend installing offline map applications like Organic Maps, OSM, Maps.me , or upload offline maps from the Yandex.maps app. This will help you to navigate the trails more easily (they are marked on maps) and not to miss the most interesting places. There are as many as 18 such places here, that's just some of them:

• The wall of 1503.
• Karaite necropolis.
• Kenassa Synagogue.
• The basilica of the VI-XV centuries.
• The palace of 1425-1475.
• The Church of St. Constantine.
• Rock structures on the southern cliff.
• The citadel of the XIV-XVIII centuries.
• Building on m.Teshkli-Burun.
• Cave structures on theTeshkli-Burun.
• The Church of St. George.

And now more about the route:

Inspection of Mangup-Kale begins in the village of Khoja Sala, where the main entrance to the route and the ticket office are located (how to get to this starting point and the village, see below, but Mangup entrance on the map). The highway ends here, and you can continue on foot (along the route of the complex itself), or along a dirt road for off-road vehicles to bypass the complex to a more convenient entry point, but not along Mangup-Kale itself. A tourist infrastructure has been formed in the village of Khoja Sala: there are many cafes and restaurants of traditional cuisine, the sale of souvenirs, there are even rooms for overnight stays. For independent travelers, it is very convenient to spend the night right here in order to go on the route at first light. By the way, you can also spend the night in a tent by the lake at the entrance to the village.

After buying tickets at the ticket office, you can watch Mangup on your own or with a guide on foot, or with a private guide driver in a jeep. Jeep drivers meet tourists at the entrance to the village, offer trips from 3,000 rubles per car for up to 6 people. In principle, everything is easy and understandable with them: they will take you where you need to go and show you where to go. But keep in mind that in fact you will be taken only a small part of the way from the entrance to the complex, so you still have to walk. In addition, you simply will not be taken to many of the attractions of the complex, since there is no road there.

Do not believe the drivers and barkers on jeeps who will tell you tales about a very difficult and long journey through Mangup. In our practice, we went around the entire park and visited all the sights in 4 hours, and not in 5 hours in one direction, as the drivers say. Therefore, we prefer and recommend a walking tour of Mangup-Kale as more interesting and exciting. However, this should be done with caution, because we have repeatedly met with reviews that after a rude refusal of the services of jeep drivers, they damaged tourists' parked cars. To prevent this from happening, it is better to leave the car in the general parking lot near the lake away from the drivers (then it will take just 5 minutes to get to the entrance and ticket offices), or park near one of the cafes where they will look after your car in anticipation that after the inspection you will order something there. Also, if you arrive here early in the morning (before about 8 o'clock), you will pass all the drivers and touts, since they are not working at this time. And, of course, you should not be rude in response even to the intrusive suggestions of jeep drivers.

So, to see everything in Mangup-Kale on foot and on your own, you can first study the route map near the ticket office, from where, in fact, your journey will begin. Then, from the ticket office, go into the forest along the trail and signs, and follow from one point to another. After the walk, you will return here, having completed a full circle around the complex along the ring route. Of course, it is circular only in theory, but in practice you will have to zigzag in some places, go back to the branches, and decide which way to go at the fork. It is for this that the above-mentioned application cards in a smartphone will be very useful.

The trail along the route is flat and well marked almost everywhere, there are a minimum of sharp ascents and descents, rocky areas. So the route is calmly passed by both children and the elderly. You just need to stock up on time, strength, good shoes and drinking water. Without drinking water, we strongly advise you not to go on the route, otherwise you will have to interrupt it ahead of time. In hot weather, protect your head and exposed skin from the sun with a hat and sunscreen. In general, the most comfortable time to visit in the summer is earlier in the morning.

And by the way, if you get on the route in the early morning, you will be able to walk to Mangup-Kale past non-working ticket offices for free, although formally this will be considered a violation of the rules of visiting.

🕐 Working hours

from 09:00 to 18:00, seven days a week, the ticket office closes at 17:00.

💵Entrance fee / ticket 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.

🚶 How to get there

Mangup-Kale is located 20 kilometers from Bakhchisarai and 40 from the center of Sevastopol (Mangup-Kale on the map). You can visit the cave city in one day from almost anywhere in the Crimea by private transport or with an excursion, but it will not be easy to get here by public transport. The main entry point to Mangup-Kale and the ticket office is located in the village of Khoja Sala (entrance to Mangup on the map), and you will need to get to it.

We will tell you more about all the ways to get here, and about how to inspect the complex after passing the ticket office, it is written above.:

By private or rented transport

If there is such an opportunity, we recommend that you go here in this way. The road leads almost to the complex itself is good, so theoretically you can come here during the day from anywhere in the Crimea, and come back the same day. However, from distant places such as Feodosia, Sudak or Kerch, for example, it will take at least 3 hours to travel only one way, so you will have to leave very early in the morning, and even better at night. Well, we generally advise you to come to Bakhchisarai from distant places with an overnight stay for a couple of days, or to spend the night before walking around the complex right next to it in the village of Khoja Sala in guest houses or in a tent in the lake area.

The village of Khoja Sala is quite small, consists of only one short street. There are plenty of places to park a car here. There is a large parking lot near the tourist market at the entrance, and next to the lake, everything is free. It will take 5 minutes from these parking lots to the ticket offices and the entrance. If you want to park your car closer to the entrance and ticket offices, you can drive further down the street to the village, but there you will have to park your car at one of the cafes or restaurants of local cuisine, where they will look after your car for free, but upon returning from the route they will expect an order from you. In this case, show courtesy and respect, and make at least a small order, especially since the food here is not bad: everything is very fresh, and traditional dishes for Bakhchisarai are served. You can park the car very close to the ticket offices if there are empty seats on the side of the road.

As we have already warned above, there are reviews that drivers of sightseeing jeeps damage tourists' cars if they refuse to travel with them, so be careful and attentive: do not leave the car in a place hidden from people and unattended, and do not be rude to drivers if you refuse their services, even if you do not like their pressure.

With excursions

So far, Mangup-Kale is not a mass tourist destination, and tourists with excursions are mostly taken directly to Bakhchisarai to Khan's Palace and to the cave city of Chufut-Kale. Therefore, group excursions by bus from the resorts of the Crimea cannot be found here, at least we have not met. But you can always arrange an individual trip by taxi or tourist minibus, the price in this case will be negotiable and you can bargain. If you rest for a few days in Bakhchisarai, then here you will be offered a jeep ride to several cave towns and temples at once. For example, you can visit chufut-Kale and Tepe-Kermen, Eski-Kermen and Mangup-Kale from 5t.p. per car. Just keep in mind that with such a busy trip you won't really look at anything, because you won't have enough time and energy. Therefore, Mangup-Kale is best visited separately at all. You can also book an individual tour to Mangup-Kale on Sputnik8.ru or Tripster.ru.

To Mangup-Kale by public transport

Unfortunately, the village of Khoja-Sala is located on the road, where there is a minimum of public transport, and therefore it seems unlikely to visit Mangup-Kale by bus during the day. But if you are ready to spend the night here in a guest house or tent, then this is quite real.

You can get to Khoja-Sala only by commuter buses No. 6 from Bakhchisarai (run twice a day from the bus station), or by passing intercity buses on the route Yalta-Foros-Bakhchisarai (once or twice a day). Their schedule often changes seasonally, so you will have to check it on the spot. In the village, all buses make a stop on the main road, there is a bus stop there. From it to the entrance and ticket offices on foot a little less than a kilometer.

💥 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