The grandiose Ai-Petri massif, towering above the South Bank, gave the Crimean Peninsula many interesting natural objects. These are numerous caves, and powerful springs, and picturesque peaks, and relict forests, and rivers with clear ice water.
There are Ai-Petri and waterfalls. Everyone knows the handsome Wuchang-Su, tearing off an almost hundred-meter ledge on the southern slope of the mountain. Still, this is the highest waterfall in Crimea. True, in all its glory it can be seen quite rarely - after heavy and prolonged downpours, and even in the spring, when snow melts on a plateau. In summer, as a rule, there is very little water in the Wuchang-Su river. During this period, another waterfall adorning the Ai-Petri slopes is much more attractive. It is located in the north of the massif, in the vicinity of the village of Sokolinoe, and is called very romantic - Silver streams (or simply Silver).
About 20 years ago, only local historians and pedestrian tourists knew about this object. It was a quiet corner of almost untouched mountain nature. But with the development of excursion tourism and outdoor activities, when the mountain Crimea became especially popular among recreants , Silver Falls turned into one of the attractions of the peninsula.
The places here are very picturesque: a mountain slope covered with beech-hornbeam forest, on which gray limestone rocks are scattered, framed by the dark green of mosses and ferns. On this slope runs the mountain river Sary-Uzen, carrying its waters to the valley of the Kokkozki River. The water stream briskly jumps along a stony channel, then diving underground and forming a sub-channel current, then returning to the surface, overcoming rapids and tearing off rocky ledges with picturesque cascades. One of such cascades is Silver Falls. Its height is only 6 meters, but not by the height and power of the stream, it attracts tourists. Silver Falls cannot be called either majestic or grandiose; the title of the most romantic one suits him more.
Streams of water flow down from a stone peak covered with shaggy moss. Under the visor, the cavity of a small grotto blackens, against which the jets illuminated by the sun seem really silver. In winter, a bizarre curtain of ice stalactites grows here, thanks to which the waterfall received its second name - Crystal.
The Sary-Uzen River has mainly underground nutrition. Its source is an ice stream flowing from a source cave. Even in the summer heat, when the majority of Crimean rivers freezes, this brook invariably murmurs, fueled by cave condensate. Therefore, the melodious rustle of the jets never ceases and the cloud of the smallest drops surrounding the Serebryany waterfall does not disappear. This is one of the reasons for the popularity of this tourist attraction. In addition, there is a waterfall just a kilometer from the road connecting Yalta and Bakhchisarai, and the path to it is simple, smooth and picturesque. In the vicinity there are many famous and not very attractions: the source cave Zheltaya and Yusupov Lake, the rocks of Sedam-Kaya and Syuyuru-Kaya with beautiful panoramic sites, Tea House. Just a couple of kilometers is separated by the Silver Jets Falls and the Auzun-Uzen River, flowing from the Grand Canyon.
In summer, these places are very crowded. To feel the charm of nature, it is better to come here in the off-season, when the silence of the forest is broken only by the melodious murmur of jets, which, regardless of time and weather, invariably drops the Serebryany Falls.