Resort Park, Goryachiy Klyuch

There are different names for this park - “Mountain”, “Healing”, “Sanatorium”

The resort park of the city of Goryachy Klyuch is surrounded by greenery, tall trees everywhere create shade and coolness. Despite the fact that the park is located close to the road, there is clean and fresh air. The park contains several beautiful attractions and a mineral water gallery. A separate advantage is that the Resort Park is located just an hour’s drive from Krasnodar.

Conventionally, the park can be divided into two parts - the one on the right is more calm, the left is full of retail outlets, souvenir shops, children's entertainment and is generally more crowded.

Hot key. How to get there

The resort town of Goryachiy Klyuch is located 50 km from Krasnodar and only 60 km from Dzhubga, and therefore from the sea.
The Goryachiy Klyuch Resort Park, also known as the Mountain Park, is a favorite vacation spot for local residents and guests from Krasnodar. Driving time from Krasnodar to here is only 1 hour. Buses and trains also run regularly, so there are no problems with the arrival and departure of nonresident residents. Here you get an excellent dose of the freshest clean air of the foothills of the Caucasus, warm sun, beautiful landscapes and opportunities to walk along forest paths, both equipped and wild. You can start a walk through the Resort Park either from Lenin Street, the central street that smoothly turns into the central alley of the park, or from the M-4 Don highway from the Old Castle Hotel. If you get there by car, it is more convenient from the M-4 highway - there are quite spacious free parking lots on both sides of the road. The parking lot adjacent to the park and the Psekups River is larger and has more space.

Hot key. Hotel Old Castle. Photo from the parking lot

Hot key. Resort park.

Goryachiy Klyuch is a small town at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, located on the banks of the Psekups River, known for its healing mineral waters far beyond the borders of Krasnodar. It is also a famous balneological resort, which appeared here after the Caucasian War in the second half of the 19th century - Russian officers came here for recovery and recuperation, as well as for treatment for wounds.

The Goryachiy Klyuch resort is considered one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the country. It is located at the very foot of the mountains, in the middle of forests; the proximity of the sea saturates the air with iodine, and the coniferous forests with phytoncides. Hiking here is recommended for people suffering from asthma and other respiratory diseases. And mineral waters are used to treat stomach diseases, and not only. There are sanatoriums where cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the spine and musculoskeletal system are treated, a burn center, etc. The climate here is unique - there is a lot of sun, and thanks to the forest it is not as hot as on the coast.

Resort

The spa park is divided into two parts. The first is a mountain park, there are more natural monuments here, the second part is a sanatorium area or a resort park.

Resort

The entrance to the park opens with an arch installed in honor of the 140th anniversary of the resort, which was installed in 2004. On the arch there is a jug from which water flows - a symbol of the city. There are always crowds of people wanting to take pictures near the arch.

Resort

The resort park, despite its small area, has a lot of interesting things to do. There is rich vegetation here, and everything blooms and turns green in early spring. Along the main alley there are numerous buildings of sanatoriums and hospitals of various profiles. One of the most famous and largest sanatoriums in the city is “Caucasus Foothills,” which offers treatment courses for people both suffering from various chronic diseases and those who want to improve their health, rejuvenate, and generally improve their body health.

Resort

Also along the paths there are a large number of shops, pharmacy stalls, shops that sell herbal teas, beekeeping products, souvenirs and other goods associated with such places. There are a lot of people walking.

Resort

In one place, a group of mothers and children were feeding pigeons. This place is called the Pigeon Restaurant. The pigeons here are practically tame, and there are plenty of people willing to feed them.

Resort

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Further on there is another arch. It was installed in honor of the 40th anniversary of the resort in 1914. At that time, the entrance to the park, called Sanatorium, began here, and already in Soviet times it significantly increased its area, moving towards the city. This arch is traditionally called the "arch of lions" because it is flanked by gilded lion statues. These lions triumphantly hold their paws over the defeated boars, which should symbolize the victory of health over all diseases. This is also one of the business cards of the city, and these lions can be seen on many bottles of Hot Klyuchevskaya mineral water.

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Behind the arch is the main building of the hydropathic clinic and the drinking gallery.

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We were interested in the Wind Rose on the square in front of the hydropathic clinic. Here are the directions and distances to the most famous cities and resorts in the world. There is a sign that if you stand in the center, close your eyes tightly and spin around yourself, and then go in any direction, you will come to the designation of the city where you will go next time. Whether it’s a coincidence or not, we were actually going to Bulgaria this summer, and wow, I “came” straight to Golden Sands. Almost didn't make it to Baden-Baden. So now there’s nowhere to go, we’ll have to go to Golden Sands.

Resort

And of course, the main object in the resort park is the drinking gallery. Water from the mineral clearing comes here through pipes. The gallery is aesthetically designed, there are information stands everywhere telling about the hot spring waters and their composition. On one side there are pump rooms with warm water, on the other - with cold water. Next to the pump room with cold water there is a statue of an ancient nymph holding out a vessel of water to visitors.

Resort

There are several nuances. You can drink water from your own glasses, cups, and drinking bottles, but you cannot take it out in your own bottles. Bottles can be purchased here in the gallery. You need to go to the counter and indicate what kind of water you need. A one and a half liter bottle costs 15 rubles (there are also half-liter and five-liter plastic bottles). There is a label on it that contains recommendations for drinking water from this particular well, its composition and other information.

Resort

You can also take a booklet that tells you which pump room contains which water and under which number. The most popular is “stomach” water from well No. 58. It is brackish, but pleasant. This is what is sold as medicinal in our stores. It should be noted that the water collected here does not contain any preservatives and can only be stored for three days. That is, it retains its beneficial properties only for three days, so there is no point in stocking up on huge quantities for future use.

Resort

There is also spring drinking water here, which tastes no different from regular water. And there is also hydrogen sulfide. I really sympathize with those people who are prescribed a course of treatment with this water. Its smell alone can scare away anyone, but it takes special courage to drink it. We mustered up that courage and took a few sips. I will not describe the extremely unpleasant taste and olfactory sensations that remain after it, but a lot has been said about its healing properties. So, for the sake of your health, you will drink this. There are always a lot of people here. There is even a queue at some pump rooms.

Resort

We took two drinking bottles and two gastric bottles (from well No. 58). They paid 60 rubles for 4 one and a half liter bottles. In other words, the water here is free of charge, although if you come with a glass, you don’t have to pay anything.

This ended our tour of the Goryachiy Klyuch Park, but our friends suggested that we also go to the Bogatyrsky Caves. They are located a few kilometers from the city, on a mountainside in the forest. There is no sign, so only a knowledgeable person can show the place. You need to get to them through a mountain forest. The first spring flowers are already blooming here. I really love walks through the mountain forest at any time of the year. In spring it is especially pleasant to see the first greenery, the first flowers. Along the way we came across very unusual flowers in the form of bells. They said that people mistakenly call this plant mandrake.

Resort

The path leading to the caves is well trampled by tourists; there are notes on the trees - blue and red arrows. Orienteering competitions are held here annually. The caves themselves are small. They are narrow passages in the rock. Not every adult will be able to squeeze in there. Why they are called heroic is not clear. Here we were expected to meet another school group. The children entered the caves with great joy and came out impressed. We also climbed there, although it was difficult along the slippery path. The impression from the caves is very ambivalent - on the one hand, an interesting natural object, on the other, our fellow citizens managed to leave a good legacy here too. The inscriptions on the walls indicate that tourists from all the cities of our Motherland visited here - “from Moscow to the very outskirts.” The caves are not guarded, so the walls are all covered with inscriptions, and there is a lot of garbage on the floor. That's it, it's a shame. I would like to appeal to all tourists and travelers with a request not to leave behind such disgrace (I did not take photographs of it).

Resort

This was a small fly in the ointment in the huge ointment that was our trip. It is not by chance that I am writing about honey. Just before leaving home, we went to the store “Beekeeper's Shop.rf”.

Resort

There is a huge selection of beekeeping products here, you can try everything. The owner of the shop treats everyone over 18 years old to mead, after which they want to buy more of everything. We tried whipped honey here with different berry flavors. We bought a small jar of whipped honey with blueberries (100 rubles), a small one with raspberries (100 rubles) and a slightly larger one - white whipped honey with royal jelly (350 rubles). At home we ate it all very quickly, now we order our friends who are passing by to bring us more. I advise you too.

Park in front of the bridge

On the territory next to the hotel, before the bridge, there is a small park area with a fountain, sculptural compositions, green flower arches and plantings. There are places to grab a bite to eat and have a good lunch.

From this side of the river (orographically the left bank) you can clearly see the Cockerel rock against the background of the turquoise water of Psekups - this is a good location for photography.

Rock Cockerel, Hot Spring

Prices in Goryachiy Klyuch 2022

Prices depend on the chosen health resort complex, the level of comfort of living and the duration of treatment.

The cost of a sanatorium package usually includes accommodation, treatment for the underlying disease, 3 meals a day, leisure activities, a drinking gallery and therapeutic baths. Laboratory tests and leisure activities are paid separately. On average, prices in a sanatorium start from 2,000 rubles per day per person.

Accommodation in guest houses, small hotels, hotels starts from literally 1000 rubles per day per room, but they usually only include the accommodation itself.

For detailed information on the cost and included services, please check with the specific accommodation facility.

Sources for swimming: as a rule, for swimming at bases and sanatoriums, special pools or baths are equipped, which are available to guests living in them, or to anyone for an additional fee. Most beaches on natural bodies of water - lakes and rivers located in the city are free, but there are also paid ones with more comfortable conditions. Near bodies of water there are signs allowing or prohibiting swimming in this area.

Natural bath on the river bank. Psekups, © Anastasia Buyanova

Happy Bridge

From this side of the river, you can only cross the main part of the sanatorium area and the Resort Park via a 70-meter suspension bridge (Bridge of Hope, also known as the Happy Bridge). At night, the bridge and the rock are illuminated, so it’s beautiful not only during the day.

Bridge of Hope (Happy Bridge). Hot key

From the bridge there is a good view of the Psekups River and the Cockerel Rock. The view in a southerly direction (against the flow of the river) is more interesting.

River Psekups. South view

River Psekups.

On the right bank of the river there is a small bathtub with a hydrogen sulfide healing spring. Here in the warm season there are always people who want to improve their health.

Hot tub with hydrogen sulfide source

Left side of the Resort Park

All trade, children's entertainment, a mineral water gallery, as well as numerous sanatoriums are concentrated along this part.

In the center of the park there is a Mineral Glade with wells of local sources of drinking mineral water. In the center of the clearing there is a unique obelisk - a monument to mineral water, they say that this is the only monument in the world in honor of healing “living” water.

Water from the wells flows into the Drinking Gallery, where everyone can drink healing water free of charge and without restrictions. There are taps with warm/cold and salty/unsalted mineral water. Having drunk enough water, you can move on.

You can go down to Psekups and have a picnic on the shore or just take a break after a walk. Those who wish can take a catamaran ride along the river; some even swim here in the warm season.

The park is fully equipped, there are benches, shops, souvenir shops, toilets, kiosks with food and drinks. You can spend a few hours or the whole day here. See all the sights, drink water from the springs, walk along numerous alleys - take a break from the bustle of the city and enjoy nature.

Healing Park

Having crossed into the park area, you can turn right along the paths and climb the Cockerel rock, walk through Dante’s Gorge, go to the Iverskaya Chapel or go deep into the cool forest. But it’s better to first take a walk through the landscaped park area. At first, there were children's attractions, cafes, shooting galleries and other standard park entertainment. The Pillar of Memory, an ancient Adyghe archaeological monument, is very popular. They say that if you rub it and stand next to it for a while, all your cherished wishes will come true. It might be worth a try.)

Memory Pillar

At the beginning of the alley there is a descent to the river, where you can rent a catamaran or boat and sail along the river. You won’t be able to swim far, especially in summer, when the water becomes less and in some places the catamaran runs aground even in the middle of the river. But the strand is behind a rock, so there’s plenty of room to swim.

Psekups. Catamarans

Beautiful flower beds, sculptural compositions, and monuments are harmoniously located throughout the resort area.

Approximately in the middle of the alley there is a monumental arch with the inscription at the top “Mountain Park” - it divides the entire territory of the Healing Park into the Lower Park with sanatoriums and a hydropathic clinic and the Mountain Park with Dante’s Gorge, the Cockerel rock, a chapel and a mineral glade.

Arch in Goryachy Klyuch Park

Psyfabe Fortress

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Presumably, it was on the mountain above the mineral clearing that the ancient fortress of Psyfabe (translated as “warm water”) was located. Until our time, nothing remains of it. There is an unusual small stone structure here, which many take to be the remains of a fortress, but in fact, it is an old water reservoir that has nothing to do with the fortress. However, this building often appears in photographs and is presented as part of the fortress.

fortress&&

The fortress, indeed, was once here, and a legend is associated with it about a beautiful princess, the daughter of a local prince who lived in this fortress, and a villain in love with her, who wooed the princess, but was refused. Then, in revenge, he bewitched the princess, because of which she was covered with terrible disfiguring ulcers. The frightened father turned to the wizard, who advised the princess to take baths with local spring water, and a miraculous healing occurred. The villain, as punishment, was imprisoned underground, where he was forever doomed to light fires and heat huge cauldrons of water, which is why hot springs flow here.

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After walking a few more meters, you will come to the so-called Royal Pavilions. In fact, nothing remains of the royal pavilions built in the 19th century, but the modern pavilions still have the same name. The largest gazebo is located at the highest point, the next one is right at the place where the “ridge” of the Cockerel rock or Salvation rock is located.

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Here once stood a gazebo, built for the arrival of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (brother of Emperor Alexander II) in 1864, but under the influence of the river, part of the rock collapsed, and with it the gazebo, and at the site of the collapse a “ridge” formed - almost vertical part of the rock.

Hydrotherapy and drinking gallery

Immediately behind the arch, in the Lower Park, there is a hydropathic clinic, and opposite it is the Drinking Gallery. Entrance to the gallery is free - here you can drink and take with you mineral water from different sources and with different tastes. If you don’t have a container with you, you can immediately buy a glass or bottle. Also in the Drinking Gallery building you can improve your health with herbal tea and oxygen cocktail.

Hot key. Hydrotherapy

Attractions

There are many natural monuments in Goryachiy Klyuch. The main attractions include:

Drinking gallery

where you can taste healing water from three different sources. You are also allowed to take water with you for free. However, you need to be careful when trying water number 21. It contains a high percentage of hydrogen sulfide, which is why you should not drink it without a doctor’s prescription. And to put it mildly, it has such a specific smell of very “rotten eggs” that you can’t drink a lot of it, but other options taste quite worthy;

Dante's Gorge

about 100 meters long. The gorge reminds especially impressionable tourists of the entrance to the underworld. It is quite cool and damp inside, which tourists really like in the summer and invigorates them quite well in the winter;

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rock "Cockerel"

This cliff has such a name for a reason, because if you look closely, the top of the rock really resembles the comb of a rooster. This is especially noticeable from the bank of the Psekups River;

Sanatorium Foothills of the Caucasus

After the Drinking Gallery, the green park alley continues and here is the Caucasus Foothills sanatorium, and behind it is the recognizable arch with a jug, symbolizing the city. Behind the arch begins the alley of a thousand pines (Pitsunda pine), which turns into Lenin Street.

Sanatorium "Caucasus Foothills". Hot key

Dante's Gorge. Hot key

If you turn right after the Bridge of Hope, you can get into Dante’s Gorge, located at the foot of the Abadzekh Key Mountain.
The gorge is a natural monument, but it was not without human hands, which ennobled it, cut steps and cleared streams. Local residents gave the name to the gorge in memory of the famous playwright of the Renaissance, Dante Alighieri. In The Divine Comedy, the author describes the hero’s wanderings through the Kingdom of the Dead. The gorge resembles the structure of the World described in Dante's Divine Comedy. The lower part of the gorge is a dark and eternally damp Hell, and the upper part is Paradise - it’s so bright, light and beautiful here. The picturesque views of Dante's Gorge are very attractive to tourists.

Iveron Chapel

At the foot of the Abadzekh Key Mountain, near the entrance to Dante’s Gorge, the Iverskaya Chapel is located. Its full name is the chapel in honor of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God. This building appeared in the second half of the 19th century. The place for the construction of the chapel was not chosen by chance. Since ancient times, there has been a spring with healing mineral water.

Iverskaya Chapel. Hot Spring Iverskaya Chapel

Forest trails

Also in the park there are a large number of paths going up to the Cockerel rock, Abadzekh mountain, into the forest zone, walking along which is a pleasure. From here you can also walk to the Mirror rock and the Devil's Mouth waterfall (Psechiako).

And if after a walk along Goryachiy Klyuch you suddenly want to go to the sea, then it is only 60 km from here. Along the way, you will cross a pass through the Main Caucasus Range with beautiful views and get to the nearest settlement on the sea - Dzhubga.

GKH. Pass

Dzhubga. Mount Hedgehog