Water route “Speya – Bendery – Tiraspol”
Dip your paddle and let the Dniester carry you through one of the most scenic and memorable water journeys in Pridnestrovie — the Water Route “Speya – Bendery – Tiraspol” — a two-day, 45 km kayaking adventure designed for beginners and experienced paddlers alike. From the island of love to the Bychok rocks and tunnels, from a fortress seen from the water to a riverside lunch where two rivers meet — this route offers a perspective on Pridnestrovie that simply cannot be experienced any other way.
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Accommodation: Tent on the riverbank in Parkany Meals: Cooked on an open fire at the most picturesque spots along the route
Day 1 — Speya to Parkany: The Island of Love, Bychok Rocks and a Riverside Camp
The journey begins at the village of Speya — a gentle launch into the Dniester that eases paddlers into the rhythm of the river before the scenery begins to unfold in earnest.
The first 200 meters bring the first great visual reward — the View of the Dniester River between Bychok and Krasnogorka villages (Grigoriopol district) — a sweeping river panorama that sets the tone for everything that follows. From the water, this landscape takes on a scale and intimacy simultaneously — the banks close enough to touch, the horizon wide enough to breathe in.
After a lunch stop in the village of Bychok, the route passes one of the day’s most intriguing highlights — the Tunnels of Mines near Bychok village (Grigoriopol district), 17 km into the journey. These mysterious passages carved into the rocky riverbank create a striking encounter between the natural and the man-made — especially atmospheric when seen from a kayak on the water below, the dark tunnel openings framed by the cliff face above.
In the area of Krasnogorka village, the river reveals one of its most romantic secrets — the Island of Love — a small, lush island in the middle of the Dniester where paddlers can pull ashore, stretch their legs and walk the island’s perimeter with the river flowing on all sides. While dinner is cooked on the fire, the Bychok rocks and tunnels provide a dramatic natural backdrop — cliffs glowing in the late afternoon light, their reflections rippling in the current below.
The first night is spent in Parkany — tent pitched on the riverbank, fire crackling, the Dniester moving quietly past in the darkness.
Day 2 — Parkany to Tiraspol: A Fortress From the Water and Where Two Rivers Meet
The second day begins with an early morning on the river from Parkany — the water calm, the air fresh and the paddle strokes carrying the group downstream toward one of the most dramatic sights of the entire journey.
After 15 km, the Bendery Fortress (2/3 Petra Panina Str., Bendery) appears on the riverbank — and from the water, the view is unlike anything seen from land. The ancient Ottoman walls rising directly from the Dniester bank, reflected in the current, create one of the most extraordinary visual moments of the entire route. Few places in Pridnestrovie can be approached quite like this.
Continuing 14 km downstream, the Kitskansky Forest (Slobodzeya district) lines the riverbank with cool green shade — a beautiful natural stretch that provides a peaceful transition between the drama of the fortress and the urban approach to the final destinations.
The lunch stop arrives 12 km further at the beach of Ternovka village, opposite the mouth of the Botna River — one of the most picturesque spots in the entire region, where the tributary river flows into the Dniester in a confluence of waters framed by lush vegetation. This is the kind of place that makes a river journey feel genuinely special: a natural landmark that most people never see because it can only be fully appreciated from the water.
After lunch, the Bendery Embankment slides past on the left bank — the city’s riverside promenade offering a final farewell from the fortress town before the Dniester carries the group on toward Tiraspol.
The two-day adventure concludes at the Embankment of the Dniester in Tiraspol — the city beach where the kayaks are pulled ashore and the journey officially ends. Standing on the Tiraspol embankment after 45 km of river, having seen the Dniester from angles and at moments that no road or path could ever offer, the city feels both familiar and entirely new.