Sunny Path

Sunny path – a Treasury of beautiful landscapes and historical attractions!

Walking along the Sunny path in the shade of southern trees, you can enjoy the picturesque scenery of the Yalta surroundings. Here you can get acquainted with numerous historical sights in the form of palaces, temples and various natural monuments.

The Royals of Russia also liked to walk along the picturesque paths of the Sunny path. Here in the evenings, princes and counts walked slowly, and Nicholas II rode on horseback. That’s why it was called the “Royal path” also.

The trail was founded in 1843, when the territory of the Livadia Palace was owned by count Lev Potocki. At first, the route ran to the village of Oreanda. A little later, the estate was purchased by the Royal family. In 1901, by decree of the Tsar, a path was created from the new residence Livadia Palace, to the existing Royal estate “AI-Todor”.

After the overthrow of the Royal family, in 1917, the health route gets a new name-the Sunny Path.

In Soviet times, several prestigious sanatoriums were built along the trail. The Sunny path become a favorite place for recreation walks by vacationers.

Unfortunately, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, no one took up the trail. It was damaged by rains and landslides.

Today, the Sun trail is a popular tourist route connecting two villages – Livadia and Gaspra. This scenic area is ideal for Hiking.

The sun trail is a smooth road, without difficult ascents and descents. Its length is 6712 meters. The route begins in the Livadia Park at the Palace’s Suite building, where there is a plate with the name of the path stamped on it. The first of the sculptural ornaments that you will meet on the way will be – Stella “Jalita”. It represents the female image of Yalta. After 150-200 meters, there is a sundial and a stone stand with a detailed description of the route. Then you can see another stone sculpture – “Echo”. Then the tourist trail will pass close to the unique tourist attraction – Pokrovsky temple. The Church was built in 1885 in the Greek-Byzantine style. To get to it you will have to go a little off the trail, but it’s worth it.

Approximately in the middle of the route, you can admire the snow-white semi-rotunda-an architectural monument of the 19th century. From here you can enjoy a magnificent view of the sea and a 90-meter cliff topped with a cross. The road leads further to this Cross mountain. Now it is a place for training and competitions in rock climbing. If you leave the trail a little, you will reach the top of the Cross mountain in 15 minutes. Here you can enjoy a beautiful view of Bear mountain, swallow’s nest, and the Yalta coast.

Returning to the route, you will soon be able to see another interesting attraction – the Wine cellar. It was built in 1888 right in the rock for aging and storage of wine produced. Wine is still produced here today, so you can only see this attraction from the outside.

Continuing your journey along the Sunny path, you will cross the Alupkinskoe highway and will be able to admire the picturesque rock AI-Nikola.

Sevastopol highway runs parallel to Alupkinskoe highway. You will definitely need to go to it to see four more attractions: the Monument to brave climbers, the Rotunda-observation platform, the Church of the Archangel Michael and the Church of St. Nicholas. After examining these objects, we return back to the Sunny path.

At the junction of two villages – Kurpaty and Gaspra, you can see another architectural monument-the Kichkine estate. This is a Palace built in the Moorish style at the beginning of the 20th century. To get a closer look at the estate, you will have to get off the road. From the Kichkine Palace, you can walk to the symbol of the Crimean Peninsula – the Swallow’s nest. Now, to finish the route, you will have to return to the trail again.

The next attraction on your way will be the prehistoric dolmens. These are complexes of amazing stone buildings, their origin and purpose have been fully clarified.

The amazing Sunny path ends with the estate “AI-Todor”. Now it is a children’s sanatorium named after R.Luxembourg. Not far from the sanatorium is another popular attraction – the Palace of Golitsyn-Papina. This Gothic castle can only be viewed from the outside.

After visiting the Palace, you can relax and swim in the Black sea. To do this, we reach the Yasnaya Polyana cable car station and descend to the beach area of Gaspra.

Walking along the Sunny path, it is very difficult to get lost. There are tourist signs and benches along the route. There are only a couple of places where the path was washed away as a result of mudslides, and the road has to be clarified. But these areas are gradually being restored.

Visiting the route is absolutely free. But if you want to admire the interior of some of the palaces, you should grab some money for an entrance ticket. In order to walk the entire Solar path, you need to stock up on food and water. Since you will not see a single store or cafe along the entire route. The walk can last more than three hours, so you will need comfortable shoes. The best time to travel is in the early morning of a warm summer, spring or autumn. The route is not illuminated, so you should get out early so that you can walk the Sunny path before dark.

You can get to the beginning of the route from the bus station of Yalta by bus number 11, 100, 108 to the final stop “Livadia”. Then walk 5 minutes to the Livadia Palace. You can come by your own transport, the address of the Livadia Palace is Livadia village, 44 a Baturina street. But it is better to use public transport or taxi, so that you do not have to go back for the car.

The whole way along the Sunny path is full of beautiful landscapes, interesting sights and air filled with the healing aromas of local flora. It is not only interesting to walk here, but also useful. Therefore, you should not miss the opportunity to enjoy this amazing place live!

Author: Alexander Smagin

Location : Sevastopol