Kuchuk Karasu river canyon. Canyon Kuchuk-Karasu (Kok-Asan)

Canyon Kok - Asan, or as it is also called - Kuchuk - Karasu, is one of the five most beautiful canyons Crimean peninsula.

Geographic coordinates of Kok-Asan on the map of Crimea GPS N 44.946056 E 34.720510

Kok Asan today begins to gain popularity among tourists of the Crimean peninsula. Its remoteness from the main attractions of Crimea and geographical position, in the center of the peninsula, played a positive role. The route through the canyon is environmentally friendly. There is no mass gathering of tourists here, silence reigns in the canyon all the time, and the sounds of the waterfall enchant and erase problems, city bustle and stress from memory. A visit to the Kok-Asan or Kuchuk-Karasu canyon is free of charge. It is worth paying only for the guide, because following the path, you will certainly see Beautiful places, but the guide will show inaccessible or invisible at first glance, cascades, waterfalls and places of "power".


The formation of the canyon began several tens of thousands of years ago, under the influence of the mountain river Kuchuk-Karasu. Over the years, the river washed out a small canyon, the formation of which continues to this day. The length of the canyon is about 3 km, the height of the mountains is from 10 to 30 meters, the width is from 300 to 500 meters. Throughout the route there are water cascades, waterfalls and a large number of bathtubs washed by a mountain river.


The most famous attraction of the canon Kok-Asan are Cheremisovskie waterfalls, which form a bath of Love, Youth and Health. Waterfalls are active all year round but seasonality still plays a big role. At the end of winter and at the beginning of spring, due to the melting of snow and heavy rainfall, the waterfalls are full-flowing and noisy, but in the summer they turn into small streams, with bizarre zigzags and turns.

Route along the Kok-Asan canyon


Route along the Kok-Asan canyon you can start from the side of the Sudak-Alushta highway, from the village of Zelenogorye, through the Panagia tract. But the most common route, nevertheless, starts from the village of Povorotnoye, Belogorsky district. In order to get out a tourist route along the Kok-Asan canyon, it is necessary to drive through the village of Povorotnoye and leave the car on its outskirts. Then there will be a signpost - the Kuchuk-Karasu River and the Kok-Asan Canyon, in fact, this is the beginning of the hiking trail. But before the beginning of the canyon, about 400 meters from the beginning of the route, you will be met by the first waterfall - Cheremisovsky. And after 300 meters - the canyon itself will begin.


The road along the Kok-Asan canyon, marked with markers and goes along the riverbed. On average, the tourist route lasts 3 km, but the route can be continued to the Panagia Tract, get to the Arpat Canyon and get off at the village of Povorotnoe. This route takes an average of 3-5 hours. The road, relatively, is not difficult, you can safely go with the whole family.

How to get to the canyon Kok - Asan


Canyon Kok-Asan on the map of Crimea

Location: The eastern region of the Crimean Mountains, the northern slopes of the Main mountain range, the Kuchuk-Karasu river.

River Kuchuk-Karasu It originates in the area of ​​the Arpat Yayla, at the Goruch Pass at an altitude of 725 meters, and flows into the Biyuk-Karasu River at a distance of 25 kilometers from the mouth. Drainage basin area 255 square kilometers located in the upper part on the northern slopes of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains, in the middle part - in the Foothills region, in the lower part - in the Plain Crimea. The southern upper part of the basin has a mountainous, strongly rugged relief. The slopes of the mountains are steep, steep, covered with dense forest.

In the foothills of the river Kuchuk-Karasu crosses the first longitudinal valley, the second and third mountain ranges, where the terrain is hilly. When crossing the Inner mountain range, a picturesque Prolom gorge is formed between the Ailyanchik-Kaya and Burunduk-Kaya mountains. Here the river network is poorly developed and is represented only by gullies and ravines that carry water during rains or snowmelt, so the river dries up in the summer-autumn period.

From the upper reaches, to the village of Povorotnoe, the valley of the Kuchuk-Karasu River has the appearance of a canyon with picturesque waterfalls and numerous "baths of youth" (the code name for evorsion boilers), which are formed by falling water and are completed by stones carried by the river during floods. The result is a small area, but rather deep baths with clean water having a shade of blue.

sent here excursion route known as In the Kokasan Gorge or Cheremisovskie waterfalls. Below the valley takes on a box-like shape and is occupied by gardens. It has been inhabited since ancient times. Remains of Neolithic and Copper Age settlements have been found here. There were also burial mounds from the Bronze Age.

Pass the canyon Kuchuk-Karasu you can in

Location: The eastern region of the Crimean Mountains, the northern slopes of the Main mountain range, the Kuchuk-Karasu river.

River Kuchuk-Karasu It originates in the area of ​​the Arpat Yayla, at the Goruch Pass at an altitude of 725 meters, and flows into the Biyuk-Karasu River at a distance of 25 kilometers from the mouth. The drainage basin with an area of ​​255 square kilometers is located in the upper part on the northern slopes of the Main Range of the Crimean Mountains, in the middle part - in the Foothills area, in the lower part - in the Plain Crimea. The southern upper part of the basin has a mountainous, strongly rugged relief. The slopes of the mountains are steep, steep, covered with dense forest.

In the foothills of the river Kuchuk-Karasu crosses the first longitudinal valley, the second and third mountain ranges, where the terrain is hilly. When crossing the Inner mountain range, a picturesque Prolom gorge is formed between the Ailyanchik-Kaya and Burunduk-Kaya mountains. Here the river network is poorly developed and is represented only by gullies and ravines that carry water during rains or snowmelt, so the river dries up in the summer-autumn period.

From the upper reaches, to the village of Povorotnoe, the valley of the Kuchuk-Karasu River has the appearance of a canyon with picturesque waterfalls and numerous "baths of youth" (the code name for evorsion boilers), which are formed by falling water and are completed by stones carried by the river during floods. The result is small, but rather deep baths with clear water that has a blue tint.

The excursion route known as In the Kokasan Gorge or Cheremisovskie waterfalls. Below the valley takes on a box-like shape and is occupied by gardens. It has been inhabited since ancient times. Remains of Neolithic and Copper Age settlements have been found here. There were also burial mounds from the Bronze Age.

Pass the canyon Kuchuk-Karasu you can in

Behind the fifth waterfall, the sun-drenched slopes of the canyon beckoned us into their beautiful mysterious distances. But the time is up, our driver must
be in Simferopol at 15 o'clock. Therefore, the need to return became inevitable - it was necessary to overcome 4 km of a rocky channel in an hour.


The Kuchuk-Karasu gorge on the way back appeared to us differently, it showed
us our other side.

So always in Crimean mountains- if you go forward for a long time without looking back, then
returning, you will see completely new pictures of nature.

Among the purple-red splendor of the autumn shores, only
lakes with green pieces of the passing summer reflected in them.

I noticed an amazing thing. My legs didn't feel at all this time.
fatigue compared to last year's trip to the Kuchuk-Karasu canyon.

Then, towards the end, I could hardly plod along, the joints of my feet ached as if beaten, and my knees were trembling.
Probably, today the canyon received me as an old acquaintance, hospitably
energizing.

They say in the summer here after heavy rain the water level in the river for an hour
rose by a metre. So you can’t joke with the Kuchuk-Karasu river, otherwise
you will save yourself :)

I imagined something like this, so I studied the weather forecast in advance
across multiple sites.

And today nothing prevented us from enjoying the peaceful beauty of the gorge,
quietly slumbering in anticipation of future upheavals.

The fact that at times the elements here show their violent temper does not cause any
doubt. Fallen trunks, broken branches literally cover the bottom of the canyon.

In the dry season, the river is slightly fed by springs that make their way along
shores. One of them caught our attention with the quiet music of the water, invisibly
pouring under a heap of stones...

This is one of the most noticeable outcrops of blue clay on the slope surface.
I know cases when compresses from it helped with joint diseases.

My companions have already climbed high on the shore, and I'm trying to get to the beginning
bottom of the canyon. Smaragdovye lakes framed by lapis lazuli rocks do not let go...

Nature in autumn is full of bright treasures that enrich the soul, help it
survive the long cold winter with its monotonous greyish-white colors.

You just need not to miss these short moments of the most beautiful time of the year.

Everything started as usual. There were four days off in connection with the holiday on March 8 and we decided to go hiking. And we decided to go to the Kuchuk-Karasu canyon, which is beyond Belogorsk, from the village of Povorotnoye begins.

The first thing I would like to note is that you book a car in advance, because when you arrive at Belogorsk at 6 am on March 8 (not yet at the bus station, but on the highway outside the city - the “kind” driver of the regular bus dropped off, although we asked at the bus station, but he didn’t stop at the bus station and that’s all ...) we found that life is not observed here , we were lucky - we met a local whose friend was taxiing, we got this friend out of bed and for a small amount we drove to rotary. And the car is still worth taking because Shuttle Buses in principle, they don’t go to Povorotnoe)))
And here we are at the beginning of the trail.
More precisely, not trails, but still a machine track, a step to the side and knee-deep, or even above the snow. The machine track quickly ends and the trail begins. The speed is very low, we change the leader so as not to be very tired

At the same time, the canyon itself looks very, very cool, you don’t often see beauty of the Crimea in such snowy attire.

The ascent through the canyon takes half a day.

The day is drawing to a close and we are parking Upper Kok-Asan.

We trample down the parking lot for a very long time, we were still lucky to take an avalanche shovel, otherwise ...

In the evening, after talking over a cup of tea, we decide not to break upstairs as we were going, but to go to Zelenogorye- watch tract Panagia. And here's a sunny morning.

We cheerfully begin our journey, but with each fall to the thigh, joy and lightness disappear.

Out on the ridge above Panagia we see the most beautiful snow picture.


Have a snack and start descending. Our descent is unusual, because under 30 centimeters of snow the path is not visible, so we go down “by touch”. And here is the reward of waterfalls, and not those that lead people from Zelenogorye, but the upper ones, which are on steep slopes in the middle of the forest and to which there are no paths.
To be honest, I wouldn't go there either if it wasn't for the snow. And so one step, two steps ... and here is a waterfall.

After admiring the waterfalls, we go out into the valley

but the days are short and we camp for the night.

There is already much less snow here, in some places there is no snow at all.

Sleep, early rise and the cultivated part of the canyon Panagia- you can’t say anything beautiful, but sometimes the metal railings that fit into the frame are simply brought to a white heat.

AT Zelenogorye It's good, it's warm, but you need to get out, but there is no bus - it's not the season. No, of course there is, but once every few days and in the early morning at 6. We go to Hello, the sun warms, there is no snow grace ...

In Privetnoye we are more lucky and we are leaving for Alushta, and on the way we think of what else to do with ourselves for one day and came up with - to call on Angarsk pass and run through the lower plateaus Chatyr-Daga.

There are always a lot of people there - you won’t have to trail. And the truth is there are trails, before cold couloir in general, they ran the road - there are competitions. We leave, the path, though narrow, but very good, enjoy the beauty of the winter forest.
But our plans were not destined to come true, the trail ended in a parking lot. And attempts to trail ended with the fact that at every step we fell through almost to the waist. Well, that means not this time. Goodbye Crimea we will definitely be back.