Attractions of Krym AR region

Karadag (Kara-Dag, Black Mountain) is the oldest volcano in Ukraine (150-170 million years).

It is unique with rare specimens of flora and fauna (10,000 species of plants, 1,632 species of butterflies, 199 species of birds), as well as fantastic relief (rocks Devil's Finger, Gingerbread Horse, Falcon, Pyramid, King, World and others).

The Karadaz nature reserve is one of the cleanest and most inaccessible reserves in Crimea (guarded by the military, entrance only with a tour from the Biostation in the village of Kurortne).

During a sea excursion, you can visit numerous bays, grottoes and the basalt rock "Golden Gate" - one of the symbols of Crimea. There is a legend about the "Karadag monster" that lives in the sea at the foot of the massif.

The picturesque Mount Karaul-Oba protects the bays and juniper groves of the Novyi Svit from the west.

The name is translated from Crimean Tatar as "watchman's mountain" - from here you can see the entire coast from Cape Meganom to Mount Ayu-Dag. At the top, the famous "Holitsyn's chair" is cut out of stone, sitting in it you can admire the views of the Novyi Svit amphitheater and three colorful bays: Rozbiynytska, Blue and Green.

The ancient Tavr sanctuary can be reached by spiral stairs cut in the stone through the "Adam's bed" gorge. At the western end are the remains of the walls and the houses of the ancient fortress built by the Bosporan king Asander.

At the foot of Mount Karaul-Oba is the "Royal Beach" with crystal-clear transparent blue water.

The ruins of the ancient Roman fortress Kharaks on Cape Ai-Todor are located on the territory of the "Dnipro" sanatorium in Haspra.

It was one of the fortified points of the Roman troops that appeared in Tavria in 63-66. The fortress controlled navigation near the coast of Crimea, where the sea route from Bosporus and Chersonesus to Sinope and Trebizond passed.

In 244, after the attack of the Goths, the Roman troops were evacuated from Kharaks, and the fortress was destroyed. Archaeological research began in the 19th century at the initiative of Grand Duke Heorhiy Mykhaylovych Romanov, who owned the Ai-Todor estate.

Currently, the object is open for visits by organized groups of tourists.

Kizil-Koba Cave in Crimea (from Crimean Tatar - Red Cave) is one of the largest limestone cave complexes in Europe (17.6 kilometers, 6 levels of labyrinths).

The research was started in 1914. Traces of primitive people were found, an ancient sanctuary. In the 3rd-4th centuries, wine was stored in the cave, and there was a Scythian manor house on the lawn near the entrance.

The underground river Su-Ukhan flows through the bottom of the Kizil-Koba cave, divided by six karst siphons. The vault of the Red Cave is decorated with carbonate drips, stalactites, stalagmites, columns, draperies, and carlites.

Improvement works of the Kizil-Koba cave have been carried out since 1990. Excursion time 1 hour, route length 500 meters. Extreme tours of the underground river are available by prior arrangement.

The Kobalar stream flows through the Kobalar-Dere stream and flows into Nizhne Lake in the northern part of the Baydary valley.

Water falls from a height of about 14 meters to a small clear lake, creating a water curtain under the rock.

The Kobalar waterfall (Kozyrok) belongs to the so-called ephemeral waterfalls. You can admire the amazing sight of the rapidly falling stream only in spring and winter. In summer, both the stream and the waterfall are usually exhausted. Their occurrence is associated with the rapid melting of snow on the mountains.

The Kobalar waterfall is known among tourists under the name Kozyrok. This name was given to it by the unusual shape of the ledge from which the water falls. As for the toponym "Kobalar", the name of the stream translated from Turkic means "cave ravine", which is true.

The Kozyrok waterfall is almost unknown among vacationers on the Southern coast of Crimea, but it is popular among residents of Baydary Valley and Sevastopol. There is a rest area with indoor tables. Visiting the waterfall is paid.

The picturesque Kok-Asan canyon is formed by the Kuchuk-Karasu River (Mala Chorna) and its tributaries.

The gorge is narrow and rocky in places. Mountain streams form four significant waterfalls and "baths of youth" (small lakes with clean water at a temperature of 8-10 degrees). The upper waterfall "Russian Hills" is especially grandiose, where water flows in zigzags from a height of 20 meters.

You need to make your way to the baths and waterfalls both on dry paths and on water.

The ruins of the ancient Kutlak fortress, also known as the Asandra or Afineon fortress, are located on the western edge of Mount Karaul-Oba, which has the appearance of a high promontory with steep slopes above the Kutlak Bay.

The fortification was built in the 1st century BC by the Bosporan king Asander, the son of Mithridates VI Eupator. It was probably the westernmost outpost of the Bosporan kingdom, which controlled the surrounding Tauro-Scythians and opposed sea piracy of the barbarians.

The pentagonal fortress with an area of 0.25 hectares had rectangular towers at the corners, and the northwestern tower was three-walled, and the eastern, the largest (10.7 by 8.25 meters) - two-chambered. The garrison, numbering about 100 people, was housed in barracks along the northeastern and southeastern curtains. The fortress had its own forge.

About 500 stone cores for slings and throwing machines, large iron arrowheads, axes and ceramics stand out among the archaeological finds.

The mound of the early medieval settlement of Kyz-Kermen ("maiden fortress") on the flat top of the table mountain of the same name above the village of Mashyne, next to the ruins of Tepe-Kermen.

It arose in the 5th century, later it was a relatively large city.

The remains of the defensive wall and the foundations of the buildings have been preserved. There are no cave buildings.

Landscape and recreation park "Atlesh" is a very picturesque rocky seashore in the southeastern part of Cape Tarkhankut.

The height of the rocks here reaches 30-40 meters, the coast is full of various bays and grottoes.

Cape Velykiy Atlesh (Big Atlesh) is a forty-meter arch with caves to which steps cut into the rock lead. Here is a fishing enterprise, which is now being repurposed into a modern diving center.

Cape Maliy Atlesh (Small Atlesh) is pierced by a through tunnel almost 100 meters long. Enthusiasts have created an underwater museum of Soviet sculpture "Alley of Leaders" here.

A little further away is the natural pool "Chasha kokhannya" (Cup of Love) - a popular swimming spot.

Due to the easy descent to the sea, there is the largest concentration of "savages" tents here, which in the high season fill the entire coast of the cape.

Thanks to the stunning "photogenic" terrain, Atlesh has repeatedly become a filming location - the films "Amphibian Man", "Pirates of the 20th Century", "People and Dolphins" and others were shot here.

A memorial sign has been installed on the shore in honor of the underwater house-laboratory "Ichthyandr-66", in which the Donetsk aquanauts from the Scorpena club lived and conducted experiments in 1966.

Laspinskiy Pass in Crimea is the highest point of the Sevastopol-Yalta highway (335 meters).

There is a large rock on the pass named after the famous writer and talented highway engineer Mykola Garin-Mykhaylovsky, whose research and calculations were used in the construction of the road through the pass.

There is an observation deck on the rock, which offers a wonderful view of Batiliman and Laspi bays, as well as Cape Ayia.

The Laspinskiy Pass acquired great transport importance after the completion of the new Sevastopol - Yalta highway in 1972.

In 2003, a church-chapel of the Nativity of Christ was built on the pass.

Mangup-Kale is a fortress city (VI-XV centuries) next to the village of Khodzha Sala between the villages of Krasniy Mak and Ternivka.

It is located on the top of the mountain, which rises 250-300 meters above the level of the surrounding valleys. Since the 6th century it has been known as Doros, the capital of Crimean Gothia. The construction of a 25-meter-deep mine-well on the top of the mountain, which reached the aquifer, made Mangup an impregnable fortress capable of withstanding a long siege. From the 11th century - the capital of the Feodoro principality, then a Turkish fortress.

In 1790, the last inhabitants left the Mangup settlement - the Karaite community. The best-preserved three-story palace-citadel.

Access is free. Transfer by car and excursions are organized from the village of Khodzha Sala.

Marble Cave is one of the most beautiful karst caves in the world, located in the bowels of the Chatyrdah mountain massif, southeast of Simferopol.

According to legend, Marble Cave was discovered in 1987 by a shepherd who was looking for a missing sheep. Since 1989, the researched part (2.1 kilometers) has been open for visitors: "Gallery of Fairy Tales", "Pearl Lakes", "Tiger Walk". In the "Nizhnaya Pechera" there is a musical route "Chatyrdah Melodies". The air temperature is about +8 degrees.

The complex is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Crimea, in the high season there are long queues. Excursions are designed for 1.5-2 hours and are held until 5:00 p.m.

The ruins of the former port area of the city of Sudak are near the sea under Castle Hill.

The defensive tower of Frederiko Astahver (Portova) has been preserved.

The small domed church of the Twelve Apostles is located next to it. At first it was Greco-Byzantine. It was destroyed twice and rebuilt again, the second time as an Armenian church. The walls of the temple were decorated with an interesting fresco painting depicting a secret supper (now the outlines of the figures are indistinct).

Cape Meganom is the sunniest point of Crimea, a popular place for "wild" recreation and diving.

The cape is located between Sudak and Koktebel. The nearest settlement is Soniachna Dolyna.

Meganom is a long limestone rock with many traces of erosion that form bizarre shapes.

The lighthouse (early 20th century) is visible from the New World. The modern Buddhist sanctuary was built in the open air in 1992.

The Melek-Chesme Barrow is a monument of funerary architecture of the heyday of the Bosporan kingdom.

It got its name from the river that flows nearby - Melek-Chesma, which means "Royal River" in Turkic.

The Melek-Chesme mound consists of a burial chamber with a pyramidal vault and a corridor (dromos) leading to it, made of smoothly hewn blocks. It is considered to be the most technically and artistically advanced among the Bosporus concession crypts.

The most valuable finds: a twisted gold hryvnia with figures of equestrian Scythians on the ends, a gold cup, rich pendants with medallions depicting the head of Athena in a helmet, a famous vase made of electro (an alloy of gold and silver) with scenes from Scythian life, and others. The treasures were taken to the Russian Hermitage.