Tickets
Hotels
Tours
Insurance
Trains
RussiaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
Shelter Marmara Cave Rock Monastery is one of the most interesting and intriguing cave monasteries in Crimea. It is an archaeological monument and an object of cultural heritage of federal significance. According to various estimates, it dates back to the VIII—XV centuries, but there is no exact information. Located on Chelter-Kaya Mountain at an altitude of about 380 meters, its caves are cut right into the steep slope of this rocky mountain. And what's cool, while it is little known among mass tourists. Group excursions rarely get here, so the place retains an atmosphere of privacy and tranquility.
Since large tourist groups are not carried here, you will have to get there on your own or with an individual excursion in their Bakhchisarai jeeps. By the way, precisely because Chelter-Marmara is easier and more convenient to visit from Bakhchisarai, we have placed it in our guide to Bakhchisarai, although administratively it is the territory of Sevastopol. A dirt road to the monastery leads almost to the very top of the mountain, from where you can go down the stairs to the caves through a through grotto. There are no problems getting here by car or even by public transport, but if you don't have a serious SUV and don't have experience driving on difficult dirt roads, you'll have to walk a little more. But we'll talk about this in detail below in the section How to get there.
By the way, not far away in the same region there is another cave monastery Shuldan, to which there is not even a normal dirt road and it is even more inaccessible. But if you have enough time, we advise you to visit both. How to get to the Shuldan cave monastery, told in a separate guide.
What to see in Chelter Marmara
The monastery consists of more than 50 caves arranged in four tiers. Among them are cells, a refectory, utility rooms and four temples. Stairs and passages are laid along the rocky part, allowing you to move freely between caves. Several caves with icons and shrines are available for tourists, but monastic cells cannot be entered.
A staircase leads from the cave complex to the top of the mountain through a through grotto. A cross has been installed at the top and a new chapel has been built, and from there you can enjoy gorgeous views of the surroundings.
On the way up the stairs through the grotto there will be an entrance to one interesting cave "Krestovaya", be sure to look into it. It is 40 meters deep, and in ancient times was used for prayers and solitude. Now there is nothing inside, but the interesting thing is that it is cool even in the fiercest heat. The cold seems to come from somewhere deep, although the cave is a dead end.
A little history of the monastery
The exact time of the foundation of the monastery is unknown: according to various estimates, it could have appeared in the VIII—IX or XI—XV centuries. Archaeological investigations were carried out here many times and established that it operated from the XII—XIII centuries to the end of the XV century, and then was abandoned. It was restored only in 2007, and now it is an active monastery.
🕐 Working hours
Around the clock, it is better to visit during the day.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
Free of charge, donations are welcome.
🚶 How to get there
Chelter-Marmara Monastery officially belongs to the territory of Sevastopol and is located 33 kilometers from its center (Chelter-Marmara Cave Monastery on the map). It is located 26 kilometers from Bakhchisarai, and therefore it is more often visited during a trip to this city and to the Bakhchisarai cave complex Mangup Kale, and that is why we have assigned it to attractions of Bakhchisarai. Nevertheless, you can visit it yourself during the day from Sevastopol, Bakhchisarai, Balaklava, Yalta, Yevpatoria and other cities in this part of the peninsula.
However, it is not easy to visit it. Inexpensive group tours by bus are not made here (at least, we have not met such), and therefore you will have to go on your own by car or by local buses, or hire an off-road guide in Bakhchisarai. At the same time, no matter which option you choose to get here, you will still have to walk part of the way. Now we will tell you everything in detail:
However, it is not easy to visit it. Inexpensive group tours by bus are not made here (at least, we have not met such), and therefore you will have to go on your own by car or by local buses, or hire an off-road guide in Bakhchisarai.
To begin with, information for a general understanding of how to get directly to the monastery. There are two options:
From the bottom of the base of the mountain, a simple path leads to it, which is easily overcome on foot in 10-15 minutes. The beginning of the trail is here on the map. From this point you first get to the cave monastery itself, and then you can go through it and through the grotto up the stairs to the top of the mountain, where the cross and the chapel are located, the views open.
The other way passes from the top of the mountain. This is the very place where the chapel and the cross are located, there is even a parking lot there. From there, on the contrary, you go down to the caves through a through grotto by stairs. To get to this upper platform, you need to go or take a more gentle route to bypass the mountain from the east (on the right on the map). A rocky primer leads here, you can get there by car, bike, motorcycle. But if you have a regular sedan and no experience of driving on steep roads, we advise you not to take risks and walk from below.
And now more about each method:
-
By yourself in your own car
Before the trip, install Yandex maps and offline maps apps Organic Maps on your smartphone or Maps.me . The last two apps have dirt roads and paths, so don't get lost with them.
The point of entry to the monastery is the village of Ternovka. It is reached by an excellent road from Bakhchisarai, and from Sevastopol.
At the turn in Ternovka, you need to turn onto a secondary road (turn on the map). After the turn, there will be old broken asphalt first, and then a primer. You need to go to this point or wherever you can get there. There is a lot of space where you can park your car, and then walk.
Such a primer leads to the monastery from Ternovka 
And further up there is such a road, there are even signs From the beginning of the hiking trail to the very top of the mountain through the monastery you need to walk a little more than half a kilometer with a height of 150 meters, it is easily overcome in 20-30 minutes. The trail is on Organic maps. If you do not want to go steeply up, then you can bypass the dirt road for cars to get directly to the top of the mountain, but you will have to walk several times more distance.
The hiking trail to the monastery starts like this 
Then you will go out into the open area, and the monastery will be in front of you If you have a powerful off-road vehicle, then from the point indicated above you can drive further along the signs or the navigator up to the highest platform on the mountain, but you can already see for yourself according to the circumstances. If you reach it, then you will have to go down the stairs to the monastery through the through grotto.
You can get to this site on the mountain -
From Sevastopol by bus
From any district of Sevastopol, you can get to Ternovka by city buses. There are two routes here:
- №40. It is coming from Sevastopol from the stop "5th kilometer of Balaklava highway" near "Cucumber". This is a well-known stop for transfers, which in turn can be reached by city buses and trolleybuses from any district of Sevastopol.
- №129. It comes from Balaklava from the stop "May 1 Square", which is located in the very center of the tourist area of Balaklava.
When you arrive at the bus stop in Ternovka, you can walk about 3 kilometers from it to the monastery and climb more than 200 meters. To have to walk less, ask the driver to drop you off at the turn at the Pump Station stop. Just specify exactly what Chelter-Marmara monastery is needed, since there is also Shuldan monastery here, and there is another road leading to it.
-
From Bakhchisarai, Yalta and Foros by bus
The Yalta-Foros-Bakhchisarai bus departs from Yalta several times a day according to the schedule, it goes through Ternovka. Then get to the monastery, as we wrote in detail above.
💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Balaklava with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at online booking options on these proven search and price comparison sites: