For the first time, the great Phanagorian cave was described by the Turkish researcher Evliya Celebi, who visited her in the 17th century. In his essays the traveler noted that in the central hall of the cave there is a huge bronze statue, surpassing in size human growth. Modern researchers of the statue, unfortunately, did not find, but definitely found that they faced one of the largest and most mysterious caves in Europe.

The Fanagorian cave is located in the valley of the Ayuk River, 12 km from the village of the same name . The round entrance to the cave with a diameter of about one and a half meters is located on the mountainside at an altitude of 300 m above sea level . The narrow tunnel leading to the central hall of the cave has a length of about 10 m . A And in the hall it is possible to move freely to full height . Here is the main stalagmite of the cave - "Perelaz" . Such uncomplicated name comes from simple verb: to move further along the cave, stalagmite needs to climb . By the way, before that, dozens of magnificent stalactites and stalagmites were graced in the cave, which is why the cave itself is often called Stalactite, but most of them were destroyed . The total length of the cave is almost 1500 m . It ends with a double branching: one turn is overfilled and the second one is too narrow for further research .

It is believed that the Phanagorian cave was already about 25 km long and the underground underground tunnel Igal the Black Sea. But later the size of the cave decreased as a result of the collapse. It is also known that in the past the cave was considered sacred. Here came to pray and the inhabitants of the surrounding area, and pilgrims from all over Russia. Moreover, for the Caucasians, the Fanagorian cave was about the same as Shambhala for Tibetans

It is worth noting that the Phanagoria Cave has also a medical value . The local weakly ionized air is able to treat respiratory diseases, in particular, asthma . This was first discovered by Colonel Kamenev - one of the initiators of the foundation of the resort Goryachy Klyuch . Studies on the healing of the microclimate of the cave are periodically renewed and now . In the cave it is always cool - around +9 ° C, and this mark never changes . Here in the eternal cool e and darkness, inhabited by several species of bats and all sorts of insects .

From the village to the cave Fanagoriyskaya a dirt road, badly battered by time and rain. The first kilometers can be traveled without hindrance, but further without an off-road car can not do: the road literally drowns in slush and does not dry out even in the summer. Therefore, it is better to put on high waterproof shoes for walking.

Fanagorian Cave

Inside the Phanagoria cave