If the reader is a lover of a comfortably lazy holiday surrounded by numerous bars, clubs and five-star hotels, you are not here. Cape Fiolent, Jasper Beach - a place for lovers of solitude, meditation, calm contemplation of beauty, and of moderate extreme sports too.
What is Fiolent?
This is the name of the cape of the Heracles peninsula on the southwestern coast of Crimea, but in a broader sense, the locals so name the entire territory along the edge of the peninsula. Formed from strata of volcanic tuff and extinct lava, which are clearly visible on the cliffs, the cape majestically rises above the sea. A unique Jasper beach surrounds this pristine beauty. Cape Fiolent impresses with its play of contrasts. The traveler who visited these places for the first time, usually goes from the coast. What does he see? The steppe scorched by the scorching sun, village houses, melons and vineyards - so what is special? Our traveler goes to the shore, and ... From what he sees, it is usually breathtaking even for those who seem to have nothing to surprise. Greatness, spaciousness, a sense of flight - such, probably, were experienced by the heroes of the film “Titanic” when they hovered over the sea on the bow of the ship.
A bit of history
How did the names "Jasper Beach", "Cape Fiolent"? Responses of local residents characterize the area as a territory in which it never rains. Hence the name: "land without rain."
Version number two: "Feo tapes" - the land of the gods.
The third interpretation is based on the Turkish “Filenk-Burun”, which means “Tiger cape”. The cliffs really resemble it in coloring. So the rocks were decorated with alternating limestone and trachyte.
Proponents of the Khazar origin of the name interpret the origin of the name from the Wengeian “Felenge”, that is, “tall”. So choose any version, they all together perfectly characterize this unique area of Crimea.
The name "Jasper" is easier. The beaches around the "Land of the Gods" are covered with small pebbles, among which minerals are often found: carnelian, chalcedony, jasper and others. Jasper is found most often, which gave the name to the largest beach.
Jasper - healing and energetic power
Cape Fiolent, Jasper Beach - a favorite place for meditation of fans of oriental practices. The fact is that the environment with jasper removes the accumulated negative, fills with positive energy. This mineral enhances the gift of foresight and protects from the evil eye. Be that as it may, the energy of this exceptional place is confirmed by many who have been here.
Famous rocks
This piece of Crimea is mystically attractive not only from Jasper beach. Cape Fiolent is an amazing place because of its unprecedented beauty of landscapes. It is said that Pushkin wrote his famous Lukomorye, meaning Fiolent. Even a three-hundred-year-old oak was here, until recently, and the bend of the peninsula in the place of Fiolent resembles the shape of a bow.
Not far from the beach, a large rock of the Holy Phenomenon or George cuts the waves. This place, together with the St. George Monastery, is holy and legendary. It was here, according to legend, that the Greek merchants, caught in a fierce storm, were saved by the appearance of St. George, who stopped the storm. Climbing the cliff, the victims found there the icon of St. George.
Now the cliff is crowned with a large cross. In good weather, you can easily swim to it from the beach, climb stairs carved in stones. Particularly desperate use the rock for diving.
St. George Monastery
You do not need to be a zealous Christian believer to have the desire to visit this shrine. In ancient times, a pagan temple was located at this place. The first church in the cave was justified by the sailors who were saved by the Holy Icon, who brought it from the cliff. This event is dated 891 year. Gradually, a man’s monastery settled here, named after the patron saint. Since 1891, priests for chaplains were trained in it. Now the golden domes of the monastery’s existing church are a picture without which it is difficult to imagine Cape Fiolent. Jasper beach is located exactly under the monastery mountain. He received a middle name - Monastic. The most popular descent to it begins from the observation deck of the temple, where a stream murmurs cheerfully with consecrated spring water.
Lifting difficulties
There is a special word about this staircase. And it’s not a ladder in the full sense of the word. The monastery descent can be called a full-fledged separate tourist route. The jasper beach at Cape Fiolent carefully hides its beauties behind inaccessible cliffs. Getting here for people with health problems is difficult, keep this in mind when choosing a travel destination. For the rest, descent and ascent are quite capable. Approximately it looks like this: imagine the height of about a 25-storey building. 800 steps of the stairs are hollow, zigzag, sheltered from the scorching sun by the greenery of juniper and pine thickets. Each turn is decorated with a platform where you can relax on the bench and enjoy the view. The climb, of course, is more difficult, so it turns out longer in time.
There is the easiest way, in physical terms, to get to the beach - to sail from Balaklava by boat, which brings and takes away several times a day.
Beaches Fiolenta
The monastery trail is just one of the descent to the sea that Cape Fiolent is equipped with. Jasper beach is also not the only one. Rather, all the beaches of Fiolent are of approximately the same composition: pebble with an admixture of jasper. The famous Jasper is the most equipped, the most beautiful and the closest to the monastery.
King's Beach - named after the cottage village on the shore. The descent is equipped with an iron staircase, there are fewer steps, but its steepness is greater.
Wild beach “under the lighthouse” - steps plus a rope.
Cape Vinogradniy beach is a very steep path in the rock.
Caravel Beach - the trail is destroyed and very dangerous.
Nudist beach - path from the beach under the lighthouse.
Jasper beach, Cape Fiolent - how to get there?
This beauty is located eleven kilometers from Sevastopol. Buses No. 19 and 72 go here from the Central Department Store, and a minibus or bus No. 2 from the 5th kilometer. Choose a stop depending on how you want to go down to the sea (see above): Tsarskoye Selo, Caravel, Lighthouse, St. George Monastery.
As already mentioned, a boat from Balaklava runs to Jasper Beach, to which a shuttle bus gets from Sevastopol.
Jasper beach, Cape Fiolent - accommodation.
But there are no problems with housing. The fact is that the territory of the cape has long been divided between garden cooperatives. Places of settlement here are holiday villages along the coastline. Entrepreneurial landowners converted their possessions into rooms for vacationers, private hotels and whole boarding houses. The level of comfort and the degree of service, of course, is different, as well as the distance from convenient slopes to the beaches, the cost is also different. There are several shops where you can buy everything you need.
Hotels and pensions, as a rule, have their own cafes or dining rooms, several small eateries in which they cook deliciously. Private housing usually comes with a kitchen and a set of necessary utensils.
Fiolent - against
If you analyze the reviews about the rest on the Jasper beach, the main drawback is the stairs, steps and rocks. They are not for everyone. Jasper, although the most equipped of all on the Fiolent, is still not enough to stay there for a long time. Nevertheless, pristine, not mutilated by man, purity, clear water do their job - rave reviews prevail. For just the view from the monastery, it is worth spending time and seeing the Creator’s fantastic craftsmanship!
Who did not stand on Cape Fiolent, did not see the clear water of Jasper Beach, he knows nothing about the Crimea.