Divnogorye in the Voronezh region - a cave temple and the vastness of the steppes
How long have I wanted to get to Divnogorie, and it finally happened! I remember that I drove by 2 times and still did not have time to call. Therefore, on the last trip, I initially put this point in the route, and now I am incredibly happy about it. We still got there at a wonderful time, when the heat had already subsided, and autumn had just begun. The yellow expanses of the steppes are something! However, I think, from the top of the plateau from the Cretaceous divas at any time, a beautiful view opens up. I wonder how everything looks like there in winter.
The content of the article
Divnogorie
Museum-reserve Divnogorie
I will not say that there is «spectacle», although it is the most popular and famous among the cave objects. Still, for many, the place will not seem super interesting. In my case, if I go to see something not for the sake of a blog, but for my mood, then I really like it there. So it was this time. We haven’t got out of the city for a long time, left the bad weather in Moscow, and arrived in the summer and into nature, arrived at the moment when we needed it. But okay, let's skip these moments, I'll tell you what is good in Divnogorye. In fact, these are chalk divas, a cave temple, a canyon and steppes around. It is best to take the urge to walk with you so that the trip makes sense.
Upon arrival, we specially bought an excursion to get to the cave temple, which is carved inside the chalk divas (the place is called Big Divas). The excursion route starts practically from the parking lot. You need to climb the high stairs to the temple and the intermediate platform. Pilgrims should definitely visit the temple, hear the story about the Sicilian icon of the Mother of God (now there is a copy) and how it saved many people from cholera in the 19th century. There is even an underground religious procession inside! And the church itself, although it does not belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, but to a museum-reserve, but still, services are held in it a couple of times a year..
Ticket office of the Divnogorie Museum-Reserve
The beginning of the excursion route
View from the stairs
Big Divas and the church inside
We go inside the church of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God
A copy of the icon can be seen under thick glass
List of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God
Very humid, all icons are moldy
Underground procession
The kitchen is the brightest, as with a window
View from the monastic kitchen on the second floor
The wall is covered in mold
We saw the temple as idle tourists, we were interested in the building itself. It is not every day that you come across a temple carved out of bizarrely shaped chalk outcrops, and even two stories in size. By the way, the Big Divas reminded me of something Cappadocia, only the scale is different. They say there were much more outliers before, but thanks to the builders of the railway.
View of the divas from the hotel, very beautiful!
After visiting the temple, you need to climb even higher up the hill, from where views of the surroundings open. Upstairs on the plateau is the Mayatskaya fortress (Mayatskiy archaeological complex), or rather only the rampart overgrown with grass. You need to strain your imagination very strongly in order to imagine what happened here before. The tour ends at this point. But we went further into the fields. It was not immediately true, at first we checked into the hotel, and then, closer to sunset, returned again. We walked in the city alone and in this, believe me, there is something! And what a beautiful canyon there ... It's a pity the photos do not convey the variety of colors at all. I recommend that you definitely get to it. In about 40-60 minutes you can go through the temple-fortress-canyon and go back to the parking lot, both in the same way and along a dirt road, closing the circle.
We go up the stairs
From here the view is even more beautiful
The entire reserve in tablets
The path leading to the Mayatsky fortress
Scheme of the Mayack Fortress
Family
A panorama of the surroundings opens from above
Going further - geological exposition
Geological exposition
Grand Canyon in Divnogorie
By the way, it is good near the temple and at night in the dark. A special atmosphere ... Disposable to thoughts. But not heavy. And if the moon comes out, then you can also take cool photos. True, I didn't succeed, I left the tripod at home, but I still can't install an application for shooting more than 30 seconds on the new camera..
Wonderful Mountains at night
Railroad sketches
Photos Divnogorya and surroundings
Below are some photos of the village itself and the surroundings on the way to it. To be honest, the villages in the Voronezh region are not in the best condition..
Temple on the way
Perfect illustration of what can be neatly small forces
And the next house is like this, as if for contrast
We are almost approaching Divnogorye
We are almost approaching Divnogorye
Shop in Divnogorie
See what a beauty, as if from an assembly line
In the village of Divnogorye
A strange design with a spinning and mooing wheel
Village sketch
Video
I didn't think to photograph Divnogorye itself, so just a sketch from the hotel, if anyone is interested.
Information to visit
Cost and other nuances
Hotel in Divnogorye one, read the post about him on the link.
A visit to the reserve is free and at any time, even at night (and there is something in this). But if you want to take a tour, then they are strictly every 2 hours, starting at 10 am and the last at 16 hours. The cost of the excursion is 250 rubles per person, small children are free. Actually, one could not take the excursion, but without it, one would not get into the cave temple. In addition, it is interesting to listen to what the guide has to say..
You should not take a stroller with you on an excursion, you will have to drag it up the high stairs. But if you then continue to the canyon, then there you can and with a stroller. Only the road is uneven, a stroller with larger wheels is better suited.
There are no problems with parking. You stop at the ticket office, buy a ticket and, or you can leave the car near it, or drive another 100 meters and get up at the very end of the parking lot, where it is closest to the beginning of the route.
Official site
How to get there by car
In no case should you go, as Yandex-Navigator suggests. And it may well be that other navigators are also lying. Apparently one of the roads in the maps is marked as the best, but in fact, it is killed, so many who travel to Divnogorye curse afterwards (several of these were on the excursion). I looked at the map in advance and immediately figured out how best to go.
So, we turn from M4 to Liski, here the navigator shows everything correctly. But then we go through Kovalevo (Kolomytsevo-Popasnoe-Pukhovo-Kovalevo), because Yandex offered me to go in a completely different way. Or if you go from Voronezh through Ostrogozhsk, then you must go exactly the same way through Kovalevo, and not through Korotoyak or Dolzhik-Krinitsa on dirt roads.
There will be signs along the way, if any, you are on the right track
On the map
Map of the Divnogorie Museum-Reserve (clickable)
Museum-reserve Divnogorie
Museum-reserve Divnogorie
It is worth going to Divnogorie. There is a cave temple, carved in limestone, and views from above, and steppes indented by canyons.
It is worth going to Divnogorie. There is a cave temple, carved in limestone, and views from above, and steppes indented by canyons.