- Count the steps leading from the beginning of the excursion route to the cave church and the top of the hill. Before going on a tour of the Divnogorsk expanses, you need to make a wish. If the number of steps counted on the way up coincides with the result of the count on the way down, then, as experienced tourists say, the wish will come true.
- Go around the cave church along a narrow underground corridor with five turns. At this time, piercing music sounds, you hold a candle in your hands - an atmosphere indescribable in words is created.
- Take a photo against the backdrop of the chalk remains and the Church of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God - the calling card of Divnogorye
- Hear the echo. If you climb the steps (don't forget to count them!) to the top of the mountain and jump a little on the spot, you can hear the echo, since there are many voids in the chalk mountain.
- Do a trick with algae. On the chalk slopes in Divnogorye you can see small dry brown particles - algae. If you put several of these particles on your palm, pour water on them and hold them for a while, they will swell, open and turn green. This is proof that thousands of years ago there was an ocean on the modern territory of Divnogorye.
- Try tea from the collection of Divnogorsk herbs in a local cafe - a very tasty and healthy drink.
- Plunge into the waters of Tikhaya Sosna, a river that flows into the Don a few kilometers downstream.
How long have I wanted to get to Divnogorye, and it has finally happened! I remember I drove past it twice and still didn’t have time to stop by. Therefore, on my last trip, I initially included this point in the route, and now I am incredibly happy about it. We got there at a wonderful time, when the heat had already subsided and autumn had just begun. The yellow expanses of the steppes are something! However, I think that from the top point of the plateau from the chalk divas a beautiful view opens up at any time. I wonder what everything looks like there in winter.
Divnogorye Museum-Reserve
I won’t say that there is a “spectacle” in Divnogorye, although it is the most popular and famous among cave objects. Still, for many the place will not seem super interesting. In my case, if I go to see something not for the sake of the blog, but because of my mood, then I really like it there. It was the same this time. We haven’t left the city for a long time, we left the bad weather in Moscow, but came to summer and nature, we arrived at the moment when we needed it. But okay, let’s skip these points and tell you what good things there are in Divnogorye. Essentially these are chalk divas, a cave temple, a canyon and steppes around. It's best to take the desire to walk with you to make the trip meaningful.
Upon arrival, we specially bought an excursion to get to the cave temple, which is carved out inside the chalk divas (the place is called Big Divas). The excursion route starts almost from the parking lot. You need to climb the high stairs to the temple and the intermediate platform. Pilgrims should definitely visit the temple; you will hear the story about the Sicilian icon of the Mother of God (now there is a copy there) and how it saved many people in the 19th century from cholera. There is even an underground religious procession inside! And although the church itself does not belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, but to a museum-reserve, services are still held there a couple of times a year.
We saw the temple as idle tourists; we were interested in the building itself. It’s not every day that you come across a temple carved out of the chalk outcrops of a bizarre shape, and even two stories in size. By the way, Big Divas reminded me of something, only on a different scale. They say there were much more remains before, but thanks to the builders of the railway.
After visiting the temple, you need to climb even higher up the hill, from where you can see views of the surrounding area. At the top of the plateau is the Mayatsky fortress (Mayatsky archaeological complex), or rather just the rampart, overgrown with grass. You need to really stretch your imagination to imagine what was here before. At this point the tour ends. But we went further into the fields. True, it didn’t happen right away; first we checked into a hotel, and then, closer to sunset, we returned again. We walked in the city alone and, believe me, there is something in it! And what a beautiful canyon it is... It’s a pity that the photos don’t convey the variety of colors at all. I definitely recommend going to it. In about 40-60 minutes you can walk through the temple-fortress-canyon and return back to the parking lot, either the same way or along a dirt road, closing the circle.
By the way, it’s good near the temple and at night in the dark. A special atmosphere... Conducive to thoughts. But not heavy. And if the moon comes out, you can also take some cool photos. True, it didn’t work out for me, I left the tripod at home, and I still can’t install an application on the new camera for taking pictures lasting more than 30 seconds.
Photos of Divnogorye and surrounding areas
Below are some photos of the village itself and the surrounding area along the way to it. To be honest, the villages in the Voronezh region are not in the best condition.
How to get there by car
Under no circumstances should you go, as Yandex Navigator suggests. And it may well be that other navigators are also lying. Apparently one of the roads on the maps is designated as the best, but in fact, it is dead, so many who travel to Divnogorye curse afterwards (several of these people were on the excursion). I looked at the map in advance and immediately figured out the best way to go.
So, we turn off the M4 towards Liski, here the navigator shows everything correctly. But then we go through Kovalevo (Kolomytsevo-Popasnoe-Pukhovo-Kovalevo), because Yandex suggested that I go in a completely different way. Or if you go from Voronezh through Ostrogozhsk, then you need to go in the same way through Kovalevo, and not through Korotoyak or Dolzhik-Krinitsa on dirt roads.
Map of the Divnogorye Museum-Reserve (clickable)
Divnogorye is a natural architectural and archaeological open-air museum-reserve. Often this place is simply called "Divas". The most interesting thing here is the picturesque chalk columns (divas) and mysterious 17th century chalk cave churches. As well as the remains of the Mayatsky settlement of the 9-10th centuries, beautiful views, an impressive canyon and beautiful landscapes, endemic plants and insects. Well, besides, here you can feel incredible freedom, there is so much space here and civilization seems so far away. Plateaus, valleys, fields, rivers somewhere below, silence and winds! Lots of winds! And miracles also happen here. I'm serious)) I'll tell you about them below.
Necessarily wear comfortable shoes (girls, comfortable high-heeled shoes will not work) and take warm clothes, because in the depths of the cave church the temperature is about +11 degrees all year round.
How to get to Divnogorye
By car from Voronezh your journey will take 2 - 2.5 hours. I recommend driving through the town of Liski, along the M4 Don highway. It will take longer to get there along the Ostrogozhskaya highway: the road there is worse. If you find “Khutor Divnogorye” in the navigator and put a dot there, it will lead you where you need it.
Look at the official website of Divnogorye for directions.
You can also get there by train from Voronezh to the Liski railway station, and then to the 143 km platform.
Tour of the museum-reserve
You simply cannot get to the cave churches without a tour.
Excursions start at 10.00, 12.00, 14.00 and 16.00. On Saturdays there is also a tour at 18.00.
Groups from 7 people. The cost of the sightseeing tour is 250 rubles.
It is possible to visit the museum-reserve without a guided tour - it is free.
We arrived in Divnogorye at the beginning of November, on one of the last days. We drove by 12 o'clock, we were sure that the group would be full. It turned out that we were alone, and there were no more people willing. We were sent to wait a little in the souvenir shop - maybe someone else would arrive. Nobody arrived. There was already an idea to pay extra for the remaining 5 people, but the thought was not particularly pleasing. And then the first miracle happened. A female guide came out to us, smiling welcomingly, and said: “Are you ready? Let’s go!” Lo and behold, they agreed to conduct a two-hour excursion in November, in the cold, for the sake of two people! Although they had every reason to refuse us.
When the story had already begun, and we walked further from the first point, the guide received a call and asked to wait for two more people. In the end there were four of us.
Map of the Divnogorye Museum-Reserve
- Divnogorsk Holy Dormition Monastery.
- Cave Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Malye Divy, 17th century.
- Selyavinskaya kurgan group, Bronze Age.
- Mayatsky pottery complex, IX - mid-X century.
- Mayatskoe selishche (settlement), IX - mid. X century.
- Mayatskaya fortress, IX - mid. X century.
- Mayatsky burial ground, IX - mid-X century.
- Cave complex in Big Diva with the Church of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God, 17th century.
- Cretaceous remains - Divas.
- A source near the Tikhaya Sosna River.
- Hotel.
- Divnogorsk courtyard.
- Divnogorskoe bone mound (12-14 thousand years ago)
- Archaeological Park "From Nomads to Cities".
- Divnogorsk Canyon.
- Geological and paleontological exhibition.
- Beam "Naked".
- Miracle shed.
- Administration.
- Cafe.
- Toilet.
Chalk Mountains
Once upon a time there was a sea in these places. Somewhere around 137 million years ago. According to official data) And at the bottom of the ancient sea, chalk deposits arose - what remains of them now are picturesque chalk white pillars weirdly shaped, so-called remnants - Divas ("remnants" - emphasis on the last syllable).
Before there were chalk pillars - there were more divas. When the Kharkov-Balashov railway line was built here, most of the pillars were, alas, destroyed for the safety of train traffic.
Temple of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God - cave church in Big Diva
Here you will hear from the guide a story about how in the 16th century the pious elders Xenophon and Joasaph, Orthodox Greeks, arrived in these places from Sicily and brought with them the icon of the Sicilian Mother of God. It is possible that it was Xenophon and Joasaph who carved this church into a chalk pillar, where, according to legend, the icon ascended itself, indicating the place that it would protect. Or maybe Russian monks already cut down this church in the 17th century.
The glorification of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God began in the mid-19th century, after thanks to it, nearby settlements were saved from cholera.
This unique temple has a truly unusual, reverent atmosphere of asceticism and reverent, ringing silence.
The church has several tiers; on the second floor there are utility rooms, cells, a kitchen, and a refectory. Around the altar there is a narrow passage carved into the chalk rock for the religious procession.
Divine services take place here once a year: July 14 - the day of the discovery of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God.
Mayatskaya fortress IX-X centuries. - outpost of the Khazar Kaganate
The appearance of this fortress was slightly disappointing - now there is almost nothing here. Once upon a time, in the first half of the 9th - 10th centuries, Alans and Bulgarians lived here. The Mayatskoye settlement is a fortress that once defended the northwestern outskirts of the powerful Khazar Khaganate. There was also a settlement with a pottery production center and a cemetery.
Canyon
The depth of the canyon is approximately the size of a five-story building. They say that here you can see how the formation of the cretaceous remains that we now see on the other side of the plateau took place.
Impressive! You didn’t regret finishing it!
Divnogorsk Holy Dormition Monastery. Cave complex in Malye Divy - Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist
According to legend, the same wandering monks Xenophon and Joasaph founded the monastery here. Here the holy elders found their final resting place.
To go here with a guide from the Divnogorye Museum-Reserve, frankly speaking, is a bit far. Therefore, if you want to get to this cave temple, you need to go down to the Holy Dormition Monastery, to the person on duty at the temple, you can’t go here without a tour. Tours are available at 11.00, 13.00 and 15.00. For a group of more than 10 people, the excursion will be held at any time from 9.00 to 19.00.
The Small Divas themselves are generally no less impressive than the Big Divas. Therefore, I recommend getting here too (we took a detour by car), although we did not get into the cave temple itself.
And the last miracle happened the next day. Although we were terribly cold while we stood and listened to the excursion on the top of the plateau, blown by all the winds, we were so frozen that we couldn’t get a bite, and then after a two-hour excursion we still went to see on our own the canyon and the archaeological park “From Nomads to Cities” and the geological paleontological expedition, none of us got sick. And it's just a miracle!
You might also be interested in:
- If you love rocks and Orthodox monasteries, you will probably be interested in getting to know the monasteries of Saints Meteora in Greece.
- Rocks, water and forest - in the Mon Repos landscape park in Vyborg.
- A natural attraction and at the same time an open-air mining museum -
Divas - chalk pillars Divnogorye is one of the unique places in Russia. In the snow-white chalk mountains at the confluence of Tikhaya Sosna and the Don, you can visit a rock monastery and an architectural and archaeological museum-reserve.
The most attractive attraction of Divnogorye is the Church of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God, carved into the chalk rock. You can get inside on a guided tour (it’s very cool there!), but you are not allowed to take photos inside.
Also in the museum-reserve you can see chalk pillars up to 180 meters high, which are called “divas” (“divo” = miracle).
The first written evidence is the records of Ignatius Smolyanin, who accompanied Metropolitan Pimen in 1389: “I sailed to Quiet Pine and saw the pillars of a white stone, marvelously and redly standing side by side, like the pillars were small, white and bright, above the river above Pine.”
This place is also interesting from a climatic point of view. Due to the large difference in altitude between the river floodplains and the plateau, Divnogorye quickly heats up in the summer. As Wikipedia writes:
rising currents of hot air drive away the forming thunderclouds towards low floodplain lands. As a result, the already small average annual precipitation in the region (an average of 480 mm per year) over the plateau is reduced by 1.5-2 times. The summer period is especially dry. This slows down the process of water erosion and also reduces the likelihood of karst failures. There are voids inside the chalk layer and are detected as follows: when walking along its surface, human steps emit a peculiar hum. The top layer consists of 15-20% chalk. Below 80 meters there is a layer of pure chalk. The top layer is subject to wind erosion (weathering).
Model of the Mayatskaya Fortress 
In addition to exploring the chalk mountains, it is also interesting to walk along the plateau. Especially with a guide. It will show you rare plants, many of which are endemic, and will also lead you to a place where you can safely (?) jump across the voids, producing a characteristic hum from under the surface of the earth.
Judging by the map, you can see many impressive sights around Divnogorye: Divnogorsk Holy Dormition Monastery (№1) , cave church in “Small Divas”(XVII century) (№2) , Kurgan burial ground near the “Small Divas”(Bronze Age) (№3) , Mayatsky pottery complex(IX-X centuries) (№4) , Mayatskoe settlement(IX-X centuries) (№5) , Mayatskaya fortress(IX-X centuries) (№6) , cave church of Our Lady of Sicily in “Big Divas”(XVII century) (№7) , Mayatsky necropolis with ancient burials(IX-X centuries) (№8) , Cretaceous remains of “Diva” (№9) , source near the Tikhaya Sosna river (№10) , farmstead of Ukrainian immigrants (№14) , Upper Paleolithic monument(age - 13 thousand years) (№15) , settlement "Golaya Balka"(Bronze Age) (№16) . In the nearby village of Divnogorye you can find parking lot (№11) , hotel (№13) And administration of the museum-reserve (№12) .
Where is Divnogorye located?
Divnogorye is located in the Liskinsky district of the Voronezh region of Russia, on the right bank of the Don River, 80 km south of Voronezh. The Liski-Valuiki railway line runs at the foot of Divnogorye.
How to get to Divnogorye
Voronezh is the closest large city to Divnogorye. Past the O.P.143 km platform. Electric trains run along the routes "Liski - Alekseevka" and "Liski - Ostrogozhsk". Nearby there is also a platform “O.P. Divnogorskaya".
If you are traveling on your own, then the most popular route is by train from Voronezh to Liski, and then change to the Liski-Alekseevka train to the O.P.143 km station.
If you are traveling by car, then from Voronezh you need to travel south along the Don M-4 highway. After the village of Ilyich, drive a few kilometers and turn right towards Liski, and then to Dinogorye. The distance from Voronezh is 140 km, travel time is about 2 hours.
