There is a lot of talk and stories about Chernorechensky Canyon. They say in different ways. Someone recalls the narrow paths, on which is enough one wrong step to fly down, about steep rock holds, seemingly insurmountable, someone, on the contrary, disdainfully snorts, they say, met there pensioners about 80 years old with a backpack on the pebbles jumping. And according to some opinion the only difficulty of Chernorechenskiy canyon is its length. It is not a simple task to cover 16 kilometers of cross-country terrain during the daylight hours and not to miss the bus. As for everything else, the pressure is not as bad as it is portrayed. You can draw your own conclusions.
In a word, if to know the taste of pudding you should try it, then to estimate the complexity of Chernorechensk canyon you should pass it.
In the lower and middle reaches, up to the first clip, the canyon is very easy to follow. On the right bank there is a wide path, a kind of «Black River Avenue». The river here is beautiful, full-flowing and majestically calm. In some places, the river will burble on the rapids and then flow again with a mirror-like smoothness.
Sometimes they think that the river is named Black River for the color of the water and are very surprised to find that its color is very far from the expected. In fact, the name has nothing to do with the color of the water. In the lower reaches of the river there is a large village Chernorechye. And the water in the Black River has a completely different, special and quite unusual color. You won’t find such water anywhere else. You can’t even find a name for it! The closest would be «smoky turquoise». The water is not transparent, but it’s not cloudy. It’s smoky. And when lit by the sun, it starts to give off a sort of pearlescent tint. Still, the water in the Black River is stunningly beautiful. It is home to trout, a fish that lives only in cold and crystal clear water. Also, wild water irises — delightfully beautiful yellow flowers — bloom along the banks of the river in spring.
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The Chernaya is the second fullest river in Crimea, its average annual flow rate is 1.94 m3/s (here it is inferior to Belbek flow rate of 2.75 m3/s), and in terms of hydropower reserves it has no equal on the peninsula. In the early XX century, it was even going to build a small hydroelectric power plant. The length of the river is 41 km. It starts in the Baidar Valley. The small river Uzundzha, having received reinforcement from the springs near the village Rodnikovoye, gets a new name. Right behind the village, the former Uzundzha is already called Black. Before the construction of the Chernorechenskoye reservoir, it crossed the valley, taking in the waters of all rivers and streams flowing down from the mountains. In 1956 the Chernaya riverbed was blocked by a dam and a large artificial lake was formed. In 1979-84 its volume was doubled. Now all rivers flow into this huge reservoir, and the Chernaya as if crosses it by transit — it flows in at Rodnikovoye and flows out at Shirokoye.
Punching its way to the sea, the river «gnawed out» in the mountains a deep picturesque gorge, the very Chernorechensky Canyon, which is so loved by tourists. In the lower reaches of the canyon, its sides open wide. Here along the river banks there are wide floodplain meadows covered with lush green grass. Especially picturesque is the so-called Mill Glade, covered with a white carpet of wild daisies in early spring. From the left bank above it rises a sharp cliff of Isar-Kaya mountain, on the top of which there was a small medieval fortification. Another wide glade is called Partizanskaya. There is a small monument on it.
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Above Partizanskaya glade the comfortable way ends, and soon the trail leads to the first squeeze — a steep rock, a smooth wall that breaks off into a deep pool. You can overcome this obstacle either by swimming (which would be very unwise), or by going around the top, as all thinking people do.
Where the bypass path comes to the maximum point of its ascent, there is a tiny but very cozy lookout. You should definitely stay here for at least 5 minutes and look at the canyon from above. Then the trail goes down again. Further small sections of normal trail will alternate with the obstacle course, where you will have to climb up the rocks like a lizard, or like a tightrope walker walk on the logs thrown along the bank. The speed of movement on this section will be noticeably reduced. However, the obstacles cannot be called dangerous. «Rock-climbing» sections, can rather amuse travelers, but scare — hardly. Of course, the heavier the backpack, the harder it will be to move. It is very bad if it rains — the rocks become slippery and the ground swells. Then the real extreme begins, and the risk is not insignificant.
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The higher up the slope the trails go, the safer they are. The river with its rapids, cascades and pools remains below. But you get a view of the mountainsides clenching the canyon.
The place called the Gate is very picturesque. It is located at the first bend along the river — a loop. Here the stream squeezes between the steep walls of the banks, foaming on several high rapids. It is useless to try to convey the magic of this place with the help of photos. You should see it live, hear the noise of rushing water, feel the aroma of thyme and juniper. When climbing from below, everyone usually comes here already exhausted and tired. But the last trees part and the path leaves the forest to the observation point. What beauty! What strength and power! And it is as if nature gives a part of this power to you. The weight of kilometers passed disappears somewhere, fatigue is replaced by delight on the verge of euphoria.
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A little farther from the gate, the tributary Yaltauz flows in from the right bank. At the time of high water it forms a lot of foam cascades. Behind it — the last obstacle — a slope piled with stones of different sizes. It is very inconvenient to wade through them. Further, up to the exit from the canyon, there will be no adventures.