Akhshtyrskaya cave in Sochi - my review of a popular attraction

Akhshtyrskaya cave near Adler is one of the most popular and easily accessible sights of Sochi, where you can easily travel with the whole family. There is nothing extreme here, the car can be parked right next to the ticket office, and the cave itself will not allow anyone to get lost and disappear.

If you have not been to the caves, or just love them, then this is the place for you. There is also a second known cave - Vorontsovskaya, but the way there is already more difficult.

The content of the article

Akhshtyrskaya cave in Sochi

On the way to the ticket offices, you will notice a number of posters about the life of primitive people, which for some reason were pushed into the thicket and from the road they are not readable even by people with good eyesight. On the right, in the direction of travel, you come across models of an ancient apiary and posters describing the traditions and culture of beekeeping, and next to the cashier there are stands where tourists can get basic information about the sights.

Then you have two options for the development of events: go left - get into the cave, go right - get into the cave with the icon. If you are with children, then start with the Akhshtyrskaya cave.

It is not long to go to the cave, literally two minutes up the steps, past a good observation deck overlooking the canyon and the Mzymta River, through which the Skypark suspension bridge stretches. The passage to the Akhshtyrskaya cave is located two meters below the observation deck, through a leaky rock. Then there will be steps to the corridor where archaeologists excavated in 2001 - there are also nailed tablets indicating the approximate age of each cultural layer in the earth. The corridor is quite low, adults and children have to walk hunched over at the waist, and it even scares some, and in my presence one girl turned around halfway. The sensations are really not the most pleasant, and even without suffering from claustrophobia, you begin to feel discomfort.

The cave itself consists of two large halls in which you can walk freely in full growth. The floor is clay, champs with moisture with every step, and in some places it was reinforced with wooden flooring - apparently it drips well from the arches during the rains. At the end of the second hall there is a very high bizarre vault with influx of rock and a sharp stench from the bats living there. The mice are not shy, apparently already accustomed to the constant visits of tourists. There is lighting inside, cool, damp, stale earthy air and no one wants to stay here for a long time. If you want and have a tripod, you can take several pictures, but it is better with people in the frame to show the scale of the interior..

Akhshtyrskaya cave in Sochi

Icon of the mother of God Akhtyrskaya

In addition to the cave, in the same location there is another attraction, although it is no longer natural, but of a religious nature - the icon of the mother of God Akhtyrskaya. The icon itself will interest few, but trekking to its cave will be interesting. It is better not to drag children with you, because the path is steep enough and where you will take a step, children will have to climb the stones. The trail takes about ten minutes of your time and goes 500 meters down the slope. Immediately after descending the steps from the ticket office, on the left there will be a dangerous but beautiful viewpoint with exactly the same view as near the cave. After the viewpoint, there will be nothing but ribbons on the trees and the final point of the route.

The last ten meters are along stone steps at the edge of the cliff, but the path is not dangerous - there is a rail. After the bend after the stairs, you come across a small cave, or even a grotto, at the entrance to which there is a stand with an icon printed on glass. Candles, coins, a poster with a description of the shrine, in short - a standard set of such attractions. Probably religious people will go for such a walk with a bang, here you will have a walk and an introduction to the shrine, but as a simple trekking it is not enough. You do not have time to get tired and on the way it is not as spectacular as you would like. You just wander between the trees and look for signs with your eyes.

Icon of the Mother of God Akhtyrskaya

Suspension bridge in Kazachy Brod

According to reviews on the network, I found that the third attraction of this location is the suspension bridge over the Mzymta. I really didn't quite understand which bridge: the one in Skypark, or the one that hangs in Kazachy Brod, so I looked both. I have a separate article about Skypark, but the bridge in Kazachy Brod is worth mentioning additionally - here the hiking trail starts up the mountain, to the Akhshtyrskaya cave. Finding the bridge is easy if you find Trout Street. It is difficult to explain on the fingers, there is a tricky infrastructure in the village, but when you reach the end of the street, you will definitely run into the bridge itself and the signs in the direction of the cave.

Information to visit

Entrance fee - 200 rubles per person.
Opening hours - from 10 to 18 hours.
There is a parking lot, about 10 cars.
To visit the cave, it is better to take something warm, it is cold inside.

The place is quite interesting, it does not take much time for inspection, if you do not go to the icon. Alternatively, visit with a guide - otherwise a lot of information remains behind the scenes.

How to get to the cave

You will have to get there, either with an excursion or by your own car. You can take a car-sharing car (and put it on standby near the cave) or rent it for rent.

On site, the cave can be accessed in two ways. The first one is on foot from the suspension bridge over the Mzymta along the trail passing through the territory of the picnic complex «Akhshtyr canyon». But then you have to go uphill decently, which in the heat very few people will like.

Therefore, it is better to use the second option and drive along the road through the entire village of Kazachiy Brod following the signs to Skypark. The road will twist and go up constantly. I marked the exit to the dirt road to the Akhshtyrskaya cave on the map at the end of the post to make it clearer for you. If you go fast enough, it is easy to pass it. As a reference point, keep in mind the Sukhumsky Dvor restaurant - you can park near it if the car has a very low ground clearance. Across the road from the restaurant, you start down a rocky road to the parking lot next to the cave. In principle, the road is flat and if you drive carefully, any standard passenger car will pass, not packed to capacity with passengers. There is space for ten cars in the lower parking lot.

On the map

Akhshtyr canyon and its sights

Akhshtyrskaya cave:
Ostrich farm Three Sophia:
Suspension bridge:
Grotto with an icon:
Observation deck overlooking the Akhshtyr Canyon:
The beginning of the descent to the grotto:
The beginning of the descent to the cave:
Cashbox:
Parking by the cave:
Parking opposite the dirt road to the cave:

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