Attractions of Bakhchysarai district

The rock "Eagle's Flight" (in Tatar - Sedam-Kaya) is located 2 kilometers south of the village of Sokolyne (the trail begins near the road master's house on the Yalta Highway).

The rocks rise near the edge of the Ai-Petri Yayla and resemble the outstretched wings of a giant bird.

The neighboring mountain Suyuryu-Kaya (a limestone massif that separated from the main ridge and slid into the Kokkozka valley) resembles an eagle taking off.

On the way to the viewing platform (1,000 meters above sea level) is the "Danylcha-Koba" cave with a source of drinking water.

The Hillfort of Bakla ("bean") is located 2.5 kilometers north of the village of Skalyste.

Its area of about 1 hectare is located on a flat terrace at the foot of Mount Bakla.

It was probably one of the northern outposts of the Byzantine Empire, which turned into a small city by the 10th century (researchers associate it with the city of Fulla). It lasted until the middle of the 14th century.

The settlement consists of two parts - the citadel and the post adjacent to it. Large and small churches, crypts, granaries have been preserved.

The Baydar Gate pass through the main ridge of the Crimean Mountains connects the Baydary Valley with the Black Sea coast.

The height of the pass is 503 meters above sea level.

The antique portico (gate) on the pass was built in 1848 in honor of the completion of the construction of the Sevastopol-Yalta road (the old Sevastopol road). The architect is Karl Eschliman. The massive gate is made of limestone blocks. The staircase leads to two spectacular platforms, from which a wonderful panorama of the Crimean coast opens with the Foros Church in the foreground.

There is a parking lot, a cafe and a souvenir market.

Belbek Canyon (Belbeksky) - a natural monument of state importance since 1975.

The valley of the Belbek River from the village of Albat to the village of Tankove of the Bakhchisaray district is a deep canyon with a height of 65-70 meters for 5 kilometers.

The medieval fortress town of Chufut-Kale is located 3.5 kilometers east of Bakhchysarai.

It arose on a mountain plateau around the V-VI centuries as a fortified settlement on the border of Byzantine possessions. The main population consisted of Alans, then Kipchaks.

Since the 13th century, taken by the Tatars after a long siege and named Kirk-Or, the city was part of the Crimean Khanate (it was the residence of the khan). In the 15th century, Karaites settled here, giving the city the name Chufut-Kale ("Jewish fortress").

Left by residents until the beginning of the 20th century. In the 20th century, Chufut-Kale became a popular tourist center. Three fortress walls with a gate and towers, the mausoleum of the daughter of the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh Dzhanyke-khanym (year 1437), two Karaim kenas, the estate of the historian Avraham Firkovych, and other buildings have been preserved. Near the entrance is a unique siege well.

The cave monastery of Chylter-Marmara stretched with a gallery along the cornice of Mount Chylter-Kaya ("lattice rock") above Ternivka.

More than fifty caves are located in 5 tiers: cells, a refectory, utility rooms, as well as a gallery with five columns and a large Christian temple. The complex is surrounded on all sides by impregnable rocks and cliffs.

The Chylter-Marmara Monastery operated from the XII-XIII to the end of the XV century, but some researchers date it to the VI-IX centuries.

The epithet "Marmara" comes from the name of a medieval village, the ruins of which are located on the slopes of the mountain. The plateau offers a wonderful view of the surrounding nature.

Eski-Kermen is a cave town on a mountain near the village of Krasnyi Mak.

It was built during the early Middle Ages (V-VI centuries) by Scythians or Goths to protect Chersonesus from the Khazars. The original name is unknown, the current one is translated from Tatar as "old fortress".

Many rooms carved out of the rock massif have been preserved: the courthouse, the sentry complex, the siege well, and others. Of particular interest is the cave temple of the three horsemen with the remains of ancient frescoes.

On the nearby plateau is the Kyz-Kuli tower (X-XI centuries).

At the foot of Eski-Kermen there is a barbecue cafe, travelers are offered overnight accommodation.

The Great Canyon of the Crimea is a natural monument located on the Yalta-Simferopol highway, behind the Ai-Petri pass (the northern slope of the Yayla).

It is a deep, forest-covered mountain gorge (3 kilometers long), which arose 1.5-2 million years ago as a result of tectonic ruptures and the washing of rocks by the waters of the Auzun-Uzen River.

Picturesque rapids, many waterfalls, rapids and "cauldrons". The most famous is the "Bath of Youth" (depth up to 4 meters, water temperature 11 degrees).

The Byzantine fortress of Kalamita appeared on the Monastery Rock in the 6th century, in 1427 it was rebuilt and became an outpost of the principality of Feodoro, which fought against the influence of the Genoese who settled in nearby Chembalo (Balaklava).

In 1475, it was captured by the Turks and renamed Inkerman (from Turkic - "cave fortress"). It consisted of a defensive wall (height 8 meters, thickness 2 meters) and five towers, which are partially preserved.

Behind the wall are the ruins of city quarters, as well as cave premises (barracks, casemates, utility rooms).

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 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.

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.

The Tatar name Shaytan-Koba ("Devil's cave") is given to the grotto, in which the site of an ancient man of the Paleolithic era (100-40 thousand years BC) was discovered.

It is located at the foot of a cliff on the Bodrak River, on the south-eastern edge of the village of Skalyste.

Flint products, animal bones were found.

The Skelska stalactite cave in Crimea is located in the tract "Karadah forest" at the foot of Mount Kara-Dah on the slope of Baydary Valley near the village of Rodnykivske.

It was opened and first examined in 1904 by a local teacher, Fedir Kyrylov. The total length of the investigated part is 670 meters.

Skelska Cave was formed in Upper Jurassic marbled limestones by tectonic faulting - as a result of underground water processes in cracked limestone rocks.

The cave has several halls connected by passages. The height of the vault of the largest and most beautiful hall reaches 25 meters. The walls are decorated with numerous hanging curtains and ribs, original niches-baths.

The main attraction of the Skelska cave is a seven-meter stalagmite.

Underground rivers and lakes with a depth of up to 70 meters have formed in the lower narrow galleries, which feed the Baydary Reservoir.

The cave is listed in the Crimean Book of Records as the most inhabited by speleofauna: spiders, crustaceans, arthropods, grasshoppers, millipedes, bats, etc. Basically, these are endemics - creatures that live only in this area. The temperature in the upper halls is +12 degrees, and in the lower one, where the labyrinths of water wells pass, +9 degrees.

The Skelska cave is open for visitors.

Skelsky Menhirs of the Baydary Valley are ancient (III-II millennium BC) megalithic structures of cult (astronomical) purpose.

They are stone blocks of marble limestone placed vertically in the form of obelisks. The height of the largest of them is 2.8 meters, the other is 1.2 meters. The third was excavated in the 1950s during the construction of an aqueduct. In 1989, another fallen menhir with a height of about 2.4 meters was discovered.

The Tatars called this place Tekli-Tash ("placed stone"). The mass of Menhir reaches 6 tons. It is interesting that there are no quarries nearby, and the nearest rocks are located several kilometers from here.

Menhirs are attributed magical healing properties, calling them "the place of Power".