TRAVEL FORMAT
We will spend three days traveling along the river on a comfortable catamaran. Numerous caves, grottos, rock monasteries on the steep banks of the Dniester River create a unique landscape of the river lane.
Unique views can be seen only from the river!
The overnight will be organized in a cozy mobile campsite with a shower, toilet, camping furniture, and comfortable sleeping places. You can learn more about our camp here.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
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transfer by a comfortable mini-bus
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meals
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common first aid kit
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comfortable catamaran with engine
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excursion program, including entrance tickets
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accommodation in a comfortable mobile campsite (shower, toilet, furniture, special beds for sleeping, tents)
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instructor and guide services
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE TRAVELING?
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children under the age of 16 are allowed only when accompanied by parents.
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children under the age of 10 are given a 50% discount if they do not take a passenger seat. Comfortable additional seats will be prepared on the catamaran for children
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children under the age of 5 can be taken aboard only if the crew are members of one family or close relatives
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menu is negotiated at the preparation stage, before the departure
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED
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insurance
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hotel accommodation
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drinks
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personal gear (rental is available)
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tips (optional)
REQUIRED GEAR
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clothing for trekking and swimming
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shoes for trekking and swimming
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sunscreen, cap, sunglasses
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other personal gear (sleeping bag, headlamp)
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individual first aid kit
TRAVEL ITINERARY
Day 1. Kishinev — Cunichea — Japca
We are having an intense day today. In the morning, we leave by minibus from Kishinevto the north of the country. On the way, the guide will tell you about what we are going to visit and see in the next three days. Two hours later we will find ourselves in the first unique place — Cunichea, the oldest village of Old Believers in Moldova. The appearance and dialect spoken by the Cuniceans stand out strongly not only in the district but also among other communities of the Old Believers of Bessarabia. Here we will briefly stop for a traditional Russian tea party with the writer and local historian Semyon Pridorozhnov. We will have tea from a samovar, pancakes with sweets, an interesting story about Cunichea and the Moldovan Old Believers, about the life and habits of the local residents.
Then we head on to Japca. Here we will stop on a rocky promontory, a height that opens a picturesque panorama of the Dniester Valley. Japca Rock is a natural site, one of the bright reef massifs of the ancient Sarmatian Sea, towering 143 meters above the river. Reef rocks create splendid landscapes throughout the north of Moldova.
At the foot of the rock, on the terrace above the floodplain, there is the Ascension Monastery with its 18th-century main church. This is the only church in Moldova that was not shut down during the Soviet era. We will walk around the monastery, see numerous grottos and visit the debris of a 17th-century rock church, carved into the limestone hill above the monastery.
After the excursion, we will return to the Dniester bank, to the campfire, dinner, wine, and quiet pleasant conversations.
Day 2. Japca — Socola
In the morning, we start our journey on the water. Every meander of the river opens new views, ever-changing landscapes, and the striking beauty of the wildlife. Along the way, we will see unique places that reveal the amazing and colorful history of Moldova.
After an hour of travel, we will sail to the village of Rashkov, known as a major border marketplace since the end of the 14th century. For three centuries, it was the southern outpost of Lithuania, and then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on the border with the Ottoman Empire, which included the Principality of Moldavia and the Tatar khanates.
In 1923, about 10 thousand people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds lived here: Russians, Ukrainians, Moldovans, Poles, Jews, Greeks, Germans, Armenians. Today, on the left bank, you can see a church built for Armenian Catholics, a functioning Orthodox church, as well as debris of a Uniate church and a synagogue.
On the right bank, Vadul lui Rashkov used to be a satellite of Rashkov. A huge Jewish cemetery of the 18th – 20th centuries has been preserved here, the size of which gives us an idea of the size of the local Jewish population and the scale of the catastrophe that completely changed the appearance of the once significant town.
In a short walk through the village, the guide will tell you more about the history of these places.
From Vadul lui Rashkov, we will continue to the village of Socola, where we will camp at the foot of the high rocky banks of the river.
A few hours before sunset, we will go hiking to the rocks, from the top of which there is a beautiful view of the meander.
Here, in Socola, there are some rare artificial grottos, untouched by modern monks. They are little studied and many of the niches in the rock are almost inaccessible. We will see only a few small halls carved into the limestone, which offers a breathtaking view.
Then we will return to the camp for an overnight stay.
Day 3. Socola — Saharna — Kishinev
If we travel in spring or autumn, we have the opportunity to witness a stunning sunrise in Socola from a high rocky promontory above the Dniester River. We will find ourselves above a thick layer of fog that creeps along the bend of the riverbed. The river canyon is especially beautiful here.
On this day, we will make some forty kilometers down the river. From Socola downstream, you get the feeling that you are floating through a rock city stretching along the river. There are numerous grottos, niches, carved in limestone, and small rock temples. The integrity of the unique landscape of this river lane can only be seen and felt from the river. Its length is about ten kilometers.
In the afternoon we arrive in the village of Saharna. Here, in a beautiful gorge, there is an active monastery of the 18th century. In its neighborhood, we will find debris of an earlier rock complex of the 13th century nearby and an ancient Getian hillfort: the Getae were the people who lived on this land more than two thousand years ago. The banks of the Middle Dniester were densely populated by these tribes long before Christ. Their fortified settlements were mostly located on the headlands of rocky gorges. Only on a small section of the Dniester, from Japca to Tsipova, there are more than twenty fortified Getian settlements in such places. Today we will visit one of them, and then go down to a fresh and chill gorge. Grottos weathered in soft limestone, artificial caves, murmuring waterfalls — all this offers a special kind of primeval energy. While choosing a place to live, the Getae were real aesthetes.
Our travel ends in Saharna and we return to Kishinev. You can discuss our travel over a farewell dinner and wine tasting in Itzik Oxinoit’s wine cellar. This will be a perfect finale to the expedition along the mysterious banks of the Dniester.
You can always join other Dniester adventures from the travel section on our website.