Ekaterinovskiye Caves

The Ekaterinovskiye Caves (Екатериновские пещеры) are a group of several dozen caves and grottoes in a limestone rock massif on the bank of the Partizanskaya River, in the Partizansky municipal district of Primorsky Krai, next to the village of Ekaterinovka. The massif is a ridge of ancient, heavily eroded and karstified reefs stretching about 8.5 kilometers along the river; its rocks hold roughly 30 caves and grottoes.

History

The massif is part of the larger Ekaterinovsky ridge west of the Partizanskaya valley. The cave that now bears the name of Przhevalsky was first surveyed back in 1871, but only received its current name in 1961. In 1975 a small museum was opened at the foot of the rock.

The cave named after the Geographical Society was explored in 1963, and the finds there turned out to be significant: traces of a Paleolithic cave site, Neolithic tools, and around 55,000 bone remains of Pleistocene-era mammals — mammoth, bison, rhinoceros, horse, hyena and tiger.

What to see

The complex includes at least three well-known caves. The Przhevalsky Cave runs for more than 100 meters; its walls are carved with sculptures of an owl, a tiger, and a she-bear with cubs. A little further up the slope, in the same rock massif, lies Lisya Cave (Fox Cave), 60-70 meters long, with a narrow entrance and a clay floor inside; it got its name for resembling a fox's burrow. The third cave, named after the Geographical Society, is known above all for its archaeological and paleontological finds.

On the ridge crest near the caves there is a via ferrata about 120 meters high — a protected climbing route with a safety cable for those who want to reach the top of the massif.

Getting there

The nearest railway stop is Podstantsiya (platform at kilometer 159) on the Vladivostok-Nakhodka line. A scheduled bus to the village of Ekaterinovka runs along the R-447 highway. By car, drive through the village of Ekaterinovka: right after the bridge over the railway, about 200 meters further, a dirt road turns left and leads to the rock massif with the caves.