Previously, on the lands where the city of Goryachiy Klyuch is located today, the Circassian tribe lived. One day they were awakened by a strange sound. People went outside and saw a fountain gushing out of the ground. The water was hot and smelled like rotten eggs. The tribe's inhabitants were frightened and decided to flee to the mountains.
In the panic and confusion, they forgot about the old man, who could not move independently due to rheumatism. Therefore, he lay in this water for several hours, after which he felt the strength to get up. The old man reached his fellow tribesmen and told them that the water was healing. People decided that this was a gift from God and, in gratitude, began to bring jewelry and coins to the source.
Until the 19th century, the village of Psyfab was located here, which means “hot water” in Adyghe. But as a result of the hostilities that unfolded in this territory, the locals were resettled from their native lands, and the village was named Alekseevsky Goryachiy Klyuch.
If you decide to visit Goryachy Klyuch on your way to the Black Sea coast, an overview of all the Black Sea resorts may be useful to you. Dzhubga will meet you first on the coast - find out if it’s worth spending a few hours exploring this village.
Historical sites and museums
City Historical Museum
Address: st. Lenina, 34 Phone: 8(6159) 3-52-43 Website: museum.ru/M3197 Opening hours: Mon-Sun 09:00-18:00, Thu 09:00-21:00, Fri 09:00 -17:00 Cost: children - 30 rubles, adults - 50 rubles, excursion - 100 rubles.
The decision to create a museum came in 1998, at which time the collection of exhibits began. Two years later the grand opening took place.
Today his collection amounts to 6 thousand items and is housed in three halls:
- “Archaeology”: materials from ancient and medieval times are presented, the history of the region is told.
- “Kuban Life”: the exhibition is dedicated to the Psekupsky mineral waters and their influence on the formation of the settlement.
- “Military History”: the exhibition covers war times, introduces the personality of intelligence officer Alexander Ivanovich Kozlov, a resident of the city, whose story formed the basis of the films “The Path to Saturn” and “The End of Saturn”.
Drinking Gallery
Address: st. Psekupskaya, 2 Opening hours: Mon-Sun 07:00-19:00, break 14:00-15:00
On the territory of the sanatorium in the city center there is a Drinking Gallery. Water is supplied here from three mineral springs.
Water from the 21st spring is useful for patients with gastritis, as it is saturated with hydrogen sulfide. In the other two - 58th and 104th - it is salty and hot (38-45˚С).
It is recommended to drink it here, but if desired, any visitor can take 0.5 liters with them for free.
Psyfabe Fortress
Coordinates: 44.622145, 39.091691 How to get there: to the restaurant “Old Castle” by car or bus to the stop “Sanatorium Goryachiy Klyuch”, then on foot; travel time - 30 minutes.
In the valley of the Psekuls River there were at one time several fortresses, the most famous of which was Psyfabe. This is one of the most ancient buildings in Russia.
The citadel is located on the top of a cliff - the highest point in the area. Once it had a stone fence, observation towers and shelters for people.
Today, only ruins remain of the fortress.
Parks and monuments, streets, natural sites
Rock "Cockerel"
Coordinates: 44.622114, 39.091680 How to get there: to the restaurant “Old Castle” by car or by public transport to the stop “Sanatorium Goryachiy Klyuch”, then on foot; travel time - 30 minutes.
The rock got its name from its top, which looks like a cockscomb. But it is also called the Rock of Salvation, because at the top there is the Psyfabe fortress, where the inhabitants of the settlement hid from enemies.
According to another version, the rock was the last chance for criminals: if they climbed its slope, they were given life.
According to one legend, the “Cockerel” acquired its bizarre shape thanks to an evil magician who, long ago, caught the last unicorn on Earth and chained it between two rocks. But this was not enough for the sorcerer, and he moved the rocks so close to each other that they squeezed like an accordion, trapping the unicorn inside forever.
Dante's Gorge
Coordinates: 44.620588, 39.094105 How to get there: to the “Old Castle” restaurant by car or by public transport to the “Goryachiy Klyuch” Sanatorium stop, then on foot; travel time - 30 minutes.
In its original appearance, the gorge was a narrow fissure in the rocks. But in the 1870s, the territory was improved, a staircase was made, and the swampy clearing was drained. After the work was carried out, the place began to be compared to heaven on earth.
But a path leads to it along the bottom of a damp gorge, which people call the hellish road. Thanks to this opposition, an association arose with Dante, who wrote the Divine Comedy, and the gorge was named after him.
According to another version, the place got its name from the evil witch Danta who lived here. She threatened to destroy the whole world, then the Great Goddesses killed her. But at the moment of the witch's death, lightning struck and split the rock. A stream of blood ran from the rift. The gates to the world of the dead have opened. Then one of the goddesses sacrificed herself, changing the spell: instead of blood, healing water flowed, and the gate was sealed by the chapel. They say that several souls remain in our world, and every night they wander through the gorge.
Sounding Cave
Coordinates: 44.622114, 39.091680 How to get there: to the restaurant “Old Castle” by car or by public transport to the stop “Sanatorium Goryachiy Klyuch”, then on foot; travel time - 30 minutes.
The cave got its name for its acoustics: you can hear everything that is said on the other side of the river.
At the entrance there is a stone ledge, which tourists nicknamed “the bench.” Sitting on it, you can feel how the sound is reflected from the arches.
Avenue of a Thousand Pines
Address: st. Lenin
The Alley of a Thousand Pines is considered a kind of border of the Goryachy Klyuch resort area. Rare Pitsunda pines were planted by the city's youth in 1958.
Today the number of trees on it is much greater, but the name was not changed because of this. The first 500 meters of the alley are crossed by a road, but then there is a 1.5 km pedestrian zone, which is wider than the largest street in the city.
Churches and Temples
Chapel in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God
Coordinates: 44.62074, 39.093816 How to get there: to the restaurant “Old Castle” by car or by public transport to the stop “Sanatorium Goryachiy Klyuch”, then on foot; travel time - 30 minutes.
The Iverskaya Chapel was built in honor of the consecration of the source, which after some time disappeared due to the shift of ground rocks. Residents of the city say that on the site of the chapel there used to be an entrance to an underground labyrinth that led to the sea.
The Kuban Cossacks wanted to take out carts of gold through this tunnel, but disappeared into it. The same fate awaited everyone who later went in search of their treasures.
According to another version, the entrance is indicated by a stone in the shape of a lamb, which is located to the right of the chapel.
Spring of Panteleimon the Healer
Coordinates: 44.620588, 39.094105 How to get there: to the “Old Castle” restaurant by car or by public transport to the “Goryachiy Klyuch” Sanatorium stop, then on foot; travel time - 30 minutes.
A spring with rejuvenating healing water is located on the Mineral Glade of Goryachy Klyuch. In 2011, it was reconstructed and decorated with an icon of a healer, cast in bronze using donations.
It is customary here to ask for health for yourself and your loved ones.
Holy Trinity Church
Address: st. Sovetskaya, 100 Phone: 8(6159) 4-20-69 Website: pravkuban-15.cerkov.ru Opening hours: Mon-Fri 07:00-19:00
The history of Trinity Church begins with the construction of a church with a bell tower in 1867. But it did not survive Soviet times: it was looted and abandoned.
Divine services were restored in 1992, but they were held not in the church, but in the building of the former parish school. After 2 years, a new building dedicated to the Holy Trinity was laid. Work on it was completed only in 2009.
Today the following are stored here:
- icon of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom with particles of relics;
- Icon of the Mother of God “Quick to Hear”.
How to get to Goryachiy Klyuch
We were driving along the M4-Don highway, which leads to the Black Sea, a landmark on the roadside signs “Dzhubga”. Route: Rostov-on-Don – Pavlovskaya – Krasnodar – Goryachy Klyuch. The whole journey took approximately 3.5 hours. You can also get to Goryachiy Klyuch by train, train, or bus.
Attractions and activities in the surrounding area
Big Kaverzinsky waterfall
Coordinates: 44.498060, 38.954690 How to get there: by taxi or your own car to the farm (1 hour), then walk about 6 km; The nearest settlement is the village. Khrebtovoye, 20 km from Goryachiy Klyuch.
The height of the largest of the five Kaverzin waterfalls is about 11 m.
A walk here will require effort: the route at times requires crossing a mountain river over rocks.
For tourists, there is an observation deck and a picnic area nearby.
Beer Baths
Address: Goryachy Klyuch, village. Bezymyanoye, “Old Castle” Phone: 8(6159) 3−73−37 Website: st-zamok.ru Opening hours: Mon-Sun around the clock Cost: from 1500 rub./hour How to get there: by car along M-4 Don, 1390th km + 570 m, from Goryachiy Klyuch by bus or minibus.
Beer baths are an effective means of prolonging youth, increasing immunity and restoring tone. Moreover, the drink is produced in its own brewery using special technologies from the Middle Ages.
For bathing it is used warm, unfiltered and unpasteurized. In addition, the baths are equipped with air massage, which allows you to get the maximum effect from the procedure.
Beer baths in Goryachy Klyuch are branches of the European Center for Natural Beer Baths, located in the Czech Republic.
Ostrich Ranch
Address: Molkino village Telephone: 8-800-350-29-39, Opening hours: Mon-Sun 09:00-17:00 Cost: children - 70 rubles, adults - 150 rubles. How to get there: by private car along M-4, by train or bus (30 min.)
Recently, tourists can visit one of the largest ostrich farms in Russia. Visitors here will be given a tour of the ranch, shown incubators, small ostriches, and told about the life of birds.
The farm currently houses eight ostrich families, each consisting of a male and three to four females.
It is best to come in spring or summer: there is a chance to see the chicks being born.
In addition to ostriches, the ranch has pheasants, peacocks, ornamental chickens and ducks.
Bogatyrsky caves
Coordinates: 44.592778, 39.085556 How to get there: by car you need to go along the M-4 Don to the village of Fanagoriyskaya, after the Charming Polyanka tourist center there will be a path into the forest, along it 15 minutes. walk up. You can get to the camp site from Goryachiy Klyuch by train and bus (1-1.5 hours).
The caves were created by human hands in the 18th century.
Some claim that they were dug by fugitives from the Circassian tribes, others are sure that an ordinary person would not have been able to do this and the caves were the work of heroes.
During the Great Patriotic War, they housed strongholds for Soviet army soldiers, so a monument was later erected above the caves in memory of the events of that time.
Abadzekh Key Mountain
Coordinates: 44.622114, 39.091680 How to get there: to the restaurant “Old Castle” by car or by public transport to the stop “Sanatorium Goryachiy Klyuch”, then on foot; travel time - 30 minutes.
Since ancient times, healing mineral springs have attracted people, so we can say that Goryachy Klyuch owes its existence to the mountain on which they are located.
Then there were many fortresses and shelters, and there was a trade route to the Black Sea coast.
Inside the Abadzekh Mountain, at a depth of 100 meters, there is an underground lake from which the Blue Spring originates. Its waters bring rejuvenation.
Ayuk waterfall
Coordinates: 44.474916, 39.020969 How to get there: by car from Goryachiy Klyuch to the place (25 min.); by bus to the river Chepsi, then walk 6 km (1.5-2 hours)
The waterfall is located in the Ayuko valley, which means “evil” in the Adyghe dialect. The reason for this name is unknown.
It has two cascades - 5 m and 4 m, falling into a 10-meter bath, the water in which is milky white due to foam.
Hell's Falls
Coordinates: 44.41834, 39.01551 How to get there: by personal transport, or by bus from Goryachiy Klyuch; the nearest settlement is the village of Fanagoriyskoye; travel time 1 hour 15 minutes.
According to legend, not far from this place there was a palace in which a beautiful princess lived. Suitors from all over the area approached her, but she refused everyone - she was waiting for true love. One day a prince came to ask for her hand, but he did not accept her decision and cursed the girl.
Then she lost her beauty: her body was covered with ulcers. No treatment helped, the princess cried for a long time, and the spirits took pity. They imprisoned the prince in a dungeon and forced him to heat the springs over a sulfur fire, which made the water healing. The princess washed herself with it and became beautiful again. Since then, the water here has been considered rejuvenating.
There is also a legend that the waterfall hides the gate to the afterlife. Ancient tribes avoided this place and did not collect water for cooking here.
Phanagorian Cave
Coordinates: 44.469187, 38.977697 How to get there: from Goryachiy Klyuch you can take a bus or private transport to the village of Fanagoriyskoye, after 14 km on foot or by SUV, 2.5-3.5 hours.
Phanagorian Cave is the largest in the vicinity of Krasnodar. The entrance to it is located 300 m above sea level.
Now its depth is 1.5 km, but before the collapse it reached 25 km. The main of the four halls is located 10 m from the entrance.
A stream flows along the bottom of the cave, and its walls are covered with clay of different colors. Various insects and bats live here.
The air inside is healing: it treats respiratory diseases.
Goryachiy Klyuch walking routes
Mirror Rock is another of the attractions of Goryachiy Klyuch, located near the city center. The mirror rock is a section of rock, smooth and even, stretched 32 m upward. The unusual soft rocks and mountains in the vicinity of Goryachiy Klyuch, mostly sandy, make it possible to leave your mark on the rock.
On the northern slopes of the Kotkh Goryachy Klyuch ridge, the Erik Maltseva stream originates, and the Devil’s Mouth Waterfall is located there. The waterfall consists of 4 cascades, the height of which is 23 meters . Residents of Goryachiy Klyuch, as well as tourists, have trampled a forest path that runs along Maltsev Stream and leads travelers to the waterfall. The duration of the walking route is 1.5-2 hours one way .
- Valley of Enchantment
- Avenue of a Thousand Pines
