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The source of St. Anastasia or Nastasinsky is a remarkable natural and man–made landmark in the New World, which, unfortunately, has lost a little of its attractiveness in recent years. The fact is that if earlier there was clean cool water in the spring, which was so pleasant to enjoy after a walk under the scorching sun before it, today the water flows out drop by drop, and its suitability for drinking is questionable. Also next to the spring there is a font filled with water from the spring. But now the water there, if it happens, is stagnant and green, and therefore it is not recommended to swim there. Only sometimes water appears in it and fills the font after heavy rains. Locals say that the source is anhydrous, either because it is not cleaned, or because it has simply dried up.
Nevertheless, it is worth visiting it even under such conditions, because a walk to it passes along an interesting tourist trail, from which you will have views of the village, and besides, you will get acquainted with the local flora, and if you are lucky, then with the fauna. And if you gain strength, you can go further along the same path to get to the top of Sokol Mountain, from where the best views of Sudak and Novy Svet come off from a bird's-eye view. How to get to the source of St. Anastasia we will tell you in detail at the end of the article, and before the hike we advise you to get acquainted with its history a little:
The history of the source of St. Anastasia
The spring is located in the vicinity of the New World on the old road, equipped by Prince Golitsyn for mountain walks of resort guests. According to another version, the prince wanted to build a house for his daughter on the mountain, for which he made this road. Since the upper class preferred to travel by carriage, the road was called "carriage". It runs along the cliffs, and so that the horses harnessed to the carriages would not be frightened, they were put on blinkers restricting the view, through which they saw only the road directly in front of them. Since the road was narrow and there were only a few places where the carriages could miss each other, each carriage was equipped with a bell that warned the coachmen about the approach of oncoming traffic.
At the same time, Prince Golitsyn equipped the water supply of his house (now there is a house museum) and a champagne and wine factory from this source, because the water in it at that time was the purest. The remains of the plumbing have survived to this day, but there is almost nothing left of them, only fragments of pipes that you can see during a walk.
But the source itself appeared here long before the "carriage" road and Prince Golitsyn. Back in the XIV–XV centuries, there was a monastery of St. Anastasia on the mountain. His monks used the spring for water supply and baptized him. There is nothing left of the monastery itself, but the source has been preserved and has become a place of pilgrimage.
🕐 Working hours: around the clock, it is better to visit during the daytime.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price: free.
🚶 How to get there: the source of St. Anastasia is located at the foot of Mount Sokol, two kilometers from the center of the New World (source on the map). You can only get to it on foot, and it's not difficult: the road and the trail are clearly distinguishable, the ascent is smooth, you will have to gain about 200 meters in height. Without long stops, you can climb in 40 minutes in one direction, and with rest stops along the way and at the source itself, the whole walk will take 2-3 hours.
You can start the route from one of three points in the New World. The most gentle and longest trail starts from the Golitsyn House Museum, and the other two are closer to the center (the beginning of the trail on the map and the beginning of the trail on the map). You can choose any point you like, but keep in mind that from the last point on the link to the map, a fairly steep climb begins immediately, which not everyone will overcome. All trails will eventually lead you to the source, it is impossible to get lost here. Take drinking water with you for a walk, because it is not recommended to drink it from a source.
Also the Source of St. Anastasia is easy to visit from Sudak. You can first take a taxi (from 400 USD), bus number 5 (from 27 USD) or a private car (parking in the center of the New World costs 100 rubles / hour), and start walking from one of the above points. But there is another option – through Sokol Mountain. To do this, you need to start a walking route right from the outskirts of Sudak, go through the top of Sokol and then go down to Novy Svet past the source. But on such a road it is worth allocating half a day or even a whole day. For more information we have a separate guide about visiting Mount Sokol.
💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of the New World with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at online booking options on these proven search and price comparison sites: