On the Crimean peninsula there are many amazing sights, both natural and man-made. But perhaps the most interesting of them, which the Crimea is rightly proud of, are the Grand Canyon and the Silver Jets Falls . You can get to these magical places in two ways: from Yalta on the road through the Ai-Petri plateau or, more simply, from the city of Bakhchisaray to the village of Sokolinoe and further 5 km up the not-so-steep road, so this unprepared traveler will find this way easy. Both of these roads have their advantages: heading to the Grand Canyon from Yalta, you will see the Ai-Petri rock with its teeth, and starting from Bakhchisarai, you can see cliffs near the Tankovaya village, reminiscent of profiles and figures of different celebrities. This place is called the Valley of Presidents. In the village of Malosadovoe, attention should be paid to the Syuyrenskaya fortress, and in the village of Sokolinoye, to the hunting house of Prince Yusupov (1910) and Bulgakov's estate. After 4 km from the Falcon, the road leading through a shady forest leads to a tourist parking and a cozy cafe "Grand Canyon". From here, you can only go into the canyon on foot, leaving the car in the parking lot.
The Grand Canyon is a creation of the inexorable and eternal sculptor - water. For many centuries, the streams of the Auzun-Uzen river rolled and piled huge boulders, and the river itself forced soft karst rocks through its channel until a narrow and deep canyon with numerous cascades formed. Nearby is the Silver Jet Waterfall (the second name is Royal). In the bed of another river - Sary-Uzen - there is a block of almost 4 m in height, overgrown with moss. In summer it flows down, breaking into thousands of streams, the water of the river. If you visit the waterfall in summer, when there is little rain and Sary Uzen is not so full of water, then it really resembles a harp with a thousand silver strings, but if you arrive in spring when snow melts, or after heavy rains, then the waterfall really looks royal. Under the cascade is a mysterious grotto.
Silver Jets is not the only waterfall for which the Grand Canyon and its environs are famous. If you climb up the river Auzun-Uzen, you can meet several more large and small waterfalls and cascades. The canyon itself cuts into the depths of the Ai-Petri massif for 3 km. As you move, the walls of the canyon become more crowded and steep. Near the path runs a river. It was her rapid current that dug in the rocks the so-called "cauldrons" and "baths", sometimes measuring 5-6 m and a depth of 3 m. Moving upstream, you can reach a very beautiful Blue Lake, changing color, depending on the lighting , from bright blue to malachite green.
The Grand Canyon, approximately in the middle, has the karst spring of Pania with surprisingly clean and tasty water. You need to go up to the Blue Lake, and then turn down the main tourist trail to see another attraction of this amazing corner - Karagol or the Bath of Youth. The slopes of the gorge in this place are so closed, and the crown of the forest is so impenetrable to sunlight that the river remains about 10 degrees Celsius even in the most burning summer heat. Plunge into this cool font, get a boost of vivacity and feel 10-15 years younger - that's why tourists come to the Grand Canyon.
The unique flora of the canyon is of interest: several dozens of species of Red Book plants live here, and even such a rarity as the “Venus slipper” orchid. Why are they preserved there? During the last glaciation, many plants sheltered from the cold winds of the Grand Canyon. Crimea was then in the grip of frost, but in this narrow and deep - up to 320 m - crevice, plants that survived from the preglacial period could survive. And now tourists can make "time travel" without even leaving the canyon.