Psakho river canyons: photos and excursions

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

The Psakho River Canyons is a natural complex of unprecedented beauty, which is definitely worth a visit if you are on vacation in the city of Sochi or somewhere nearby. In addition to the canyons, the complex has something to surprise the tourist. Visiting this wonderful place, you will see a picturesque gorge of a fast-flowing mountain river, a waterfall, the virgin nature of a boxwood forest, tectonic faults in the earth and karst caves.

In such caves, by the way, our ancestors once huddled a long time ago.

Psakho River Canyons: Wet Canyon

Wet Psakho canyon is quite long and wide. Its width can reach ten meters. Rocky cliffs, which inspire awe in tourists, are overgrown with boxwood. If you move down the river, you can see very beautiful karst channels, baths, as well as small waterfalls. Grottoes of fantastic beauty will also amaze tourists. The banks of the canyon are formed from huge layers of limestone, which always impress the guests of this place. And thick andthe lush vegetation of the subtropical forest completes the hitherto unseen picture.

Wet Canyon Passage

The canyons of the Psakho River are nature untouched by human hands, so moving around them is not always easy.

For example, in a wet canyon, the height difference between its beginning and end is quite noticeable. To walk along the canyon means to overcome dozens of stone ledges. From some of them you will need to jump, move down on a special rope (sometimes straight into the water). Yes, the Wet Canyon of the Psakho River can give a lot of extreme sensations to tourists. Tours here are very popular. Some especially extreme tourists make a hike through the canyon right along the river, breaking through the blockages of logs, climbing over sharp stones. If you are a supporter of a calm, but at the same time active recreation, just walk above the canyon along the river bank. Of course, you will not see such beauties as inside the ledge, but you will still be satisfied.

Walk along the coast along the Wet Canyon

Psakho River Canyon, the photo of which adorns this article, offers tourists a quiet walk along the coast. On the right high bank of Psakho you can walk in a real ancient boxwood forest. The branches and trunks of trees are overgrown with moss, which gives the impression that the walk takes place not in Russia, but in some kind of alien forest. It looks incredibly beautiful!

The rays of the sun do not break through the thick canopy of fabulous crownsboxwoods. In the dusk, walking on the soft carpet of the forest, admiring the stumps, deadwood - what could be more romantic?! So, walking and looking at the local beauty, you can get to the Kamensky stream - this is about two kilometers away. This is the left tributary of the Psakho. The path here is divided into two: if you go straight, you will come to a clearing with chairs and tables made of stone and a small waterfall with emerald water. Turning to the right, you will come out on a path leading to a thicket of boxwood. In half an hour you will come out to a picturesque clearing with grazing cows. Turn left - and now the famous tectonic faults appeared before your eyes. This is the famous canyon of the Psakho River. Adler is a city that can offer you a lot of excursions and entertainment, but you should definitely visit this place!

Dry Canyon of the Psakho River

Dry Canyon got its name from the fact that no river flows along its bottom. It is located above the Psakho river bed, half an hour's walk from it. And yet it is an extremely exciting, even mesmerizing place.

Being here, you never cease to be amazed at what Mother Nature can create. The walls of the canyon are so steep that without special equipment it is better not to try to climb them. At the narrowest point of the canyon, they almost meet, leaving just a narrow strip of light overhead. Lush Colchis ivy, winding along the entire wall, dilutes the dumb stone. By the way, the canyons of the Psakho River have long been chosen by athletes and mountaineers, often there are people with equipment, noticeablehanging traces. The dry canyon has now become a Sochi park site, so tourists pay money before climbing the sheer stone walls.

Canyons of the Psakho River: getting there on your own is easy

Psakho is the left tributary of the Kudepsta River. Its total length is approximately 11 kilometers, and the canyons stretch for 1.5 km. It will be easy and convenient to come to local attractions by private car. You must drive along the highway leading from the airport to Krasnaya Polyana.

When you see a turn to the village of Galitsino on the road, turn left. The path leads to the Ashkhtyrskaya cave. Turn off according to the sign and drive another ten kilometers. You will pass the villages of Cossack Brod, Galitsino. When two kilometers remain to the village of Lesnoy, you will see the sign "Psakho Canyon". Turn left and continue for another three kilometers. There will be a ford across the Psakho River. A little further along the left side of the road there is a picnic area with cafes and restaurants. Right here you will see the entrance to the Psakho river canyon and the ticket sales point for Sochi Park.

Is it possible to get to the canyon without personal transport?

Many tourists are attracted by the canyon of the Psakho River. How to get to this fabulous place without a private car?

It's not that hard to do. In Adler, you need to take bus number 131. Get off at the stop "Kamenka-2". From this point, go down to the Psakho River. First, your path will pass throughconvenient asph alt road, then on a less convenient dirt road. The whole journey will take approximately 30 minutes. A reference point for you will be a holiday village, past which you will definitely pass. Keep also close to the high voltage line - you will see the crossing to the other side of the river, the cafe area and the entrance to the canyon itself. Continue along the river. Look carefully ahead. As soon as you see a difficult place, cross to the other side.

Trekking - canyon tour

If you like adventure, nature and lead an active lifestyle, then you will definitely like trekking - an excursion along the Psakho River. You will see stone canyons and Colchis forest. An individual guide will tell you about the geography of the area, the processes of mountain building. Wet Canyon - the northernmost subtropics of the planet Earth. You will be surprised by the diversity of the plant world: ferns, primroses, boxwoods, tropical creepers - all this strikes the eye of a city dweller. After visiting the tectonic fault in the Dry Canyon, the excursion route leads to the Bell Cave, where a large number of bats live. Then you should visit the canyon of the Kudepsta River with its bathing backwaters. On the way back, the tourist can admire the panorama of the Gagra Range.