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RussiaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
Skelskaya cave is an amazing natural creation, as well as the largest in Crimea after The Red Cavein terms of the number of flora and fauna found here. Calcite layers have formed bizarre shapes over many millennia. Using his imagination, the figures of animals and people are guessed in the stone formations, and stalactites and stalagmites, combining into a single form, turn into a single stalagmate.
It was opened in 1904 by a teacher from the village of Skelya (now Rodnikovoe), from where it got its name. Since 2003 it has become a popular excursion route.
The length of the explored part of the Skelskaya cave is 687 meters, but only a part is available for inspection, namely 270 meters. The height of the vault is 25 meters.
Visiting the cave is possible only accompanied by a guide, it is impossible to walk around it on your own. But do not be surprised by this, such visiting conditions are set for almost all Crimean caves in order to protect this unique underground from the actions of tourists, and to protect them themselves. The accessible route includes a tour of 5 halls and three view platforms. The whole way through the cave is well lit, equipped with paths, stairs and railings. The tour lasts 40-50 minutes by time.
Recommendations for visiting:
- Inside there is a constant temperature of about + 10 degrees and high humidity, so be sure to dress warmer and wear comfortable shoes.
- Before visiting, be sure to go to the toilet, as it will not be possible to do this during a walk through the cave, and you will have to leave the tour.
- Payment is made only in cash (due to inaccessibility and lack of communication, there is no terminal).
- From the parking lot to the entrance to the cave, you will have to walk 300 meters along a well-marked path through the forest following the sign.
- From the cave (300 meters to the south) you can climb to the site of the ancient Roman road, which was built by Roman soldiers in the war against the Scythians in the second half of the 1st century BC and walk along it, walk to the Roman bridge.
🌐 Website: www.skele.su
🕐 Working hours
daily, from 09:00 to 20:00; from October 1 to April 30 from 10:00 to 18:00, the ticket office closes in 45 minutes.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
adult – 500 rubles, children from 5 to 12 years – 400 rubles, children under 5 years – free of charge. The tour starts as the group is recruited, in high season it is usually every 20-30 minutes. Photo and video shooting without a tripod is free, with a tripod is prohibited.
🚶 How to get there
Skelskaya cave is located in the Balaklava district of Sevastopol near the village of Rodnikovskoye/Rodnikovoe (Skelskaya cave on the map). It is 40 kilometers from the center of Sevastopol, 32 kilometers from Balaklava, and 25 kilometers from Foros.
Almost to the very entrance to the cave can be reached by your own transport, from the parking lot it will take only a few minutes to walk. The road is quite acceptable, asphalt everywhere.
Unfortunately, public transport to the village of Rodnikovoe is poorly developed, but you can get there with transfers by buses from Sevastopol. Transfers from the center of Sevastopol and other areas should be made at the important transfer stop "5th km of Balaklava highway" at Seamall shopping center (stop on the map). A large number of buses and trolleybuses from different districts of Sevastopol go to this stop. Here you will need to transfer to one of the buses No. 182, 41 or 37. These routes don't run often, so you'll have to be patient to wait, or you can check the schedule in advance by calling the ticket office +7 8692 673195, +7 8692 448195. Read more about Sevastopol transport and how to use it here.... When you finally get to Rodnikovsky by bus, you will have to walk another one and a half kilometers to the entrance to the cave.
To get to the Skelskaya Cave from Balaklava, you don't have to go to the stop "5th km of Balaklava Highway", but take bus No. 182 from Balaklava right away, it runs according to the schedule several times a day. If you want to get to the cave from Foros and other Yalta resorts, then you need to take any bus to Sevastopol, but not go to the bus station, but get off again at the stop "5th km of Balaklava highway" at Seamall shopping center, and there transfer to the flights listed above.
💥 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: