On 27 thousand km 2 of Crimea you can find anything: mountains, caves, rivers, steppes. Having studied all the famous sights, many are interested in the place where Kazantip is located. Information on this is presented in the article.
What is Kazantip?
Cape Kazantip is located 2 km from the city of Shchelkino in the north-east of the Crimea. The cape separates the Kazantip and Arabat gulfs in the Sea of Azov.
The name "Kazantip" is translated from Turkic as "the bottom of the boiler." The cape is really close in shape to the circle, so many tourists mistake it for a coral reef. However, in fact, Kazantip is formed by limestones. This explains the ruggedness of the coastline, as well as the fact that the uneven surface of the cape is rocky piles that alternate with cracks and craters. The cliffs abruptly turn into the steppe part.
The cape rises 20-30 m above sea level, in the middle of the reserve the height is about 106 m.
Weather
Climatic features where Kazantip is located are typical of the Azov coast.
January and February are the coldest months, but even then the temperature rarely drops below minus 1-2. Summer weather is clear, dry and hot, the water in the sea warms up quickly, already at the end of May to +18 ° C, and in July to +32 ° C.
Kazantip's peculiarity lies in the constantly blowing winds, calms are rare here. In this case, even strong storms do not raise large waves. This phenomenon has attracted the attention of windsurfers and kitesurfers.
Kazantip Reserve
The place where Kazantip is located in Crimea is listed by UNESCO as one of the most environmentally friendly on the planet.
If in 1964 Kazantip was called a natural monument, in 1998 it became a state reserve. The protected area includes 450 hectares of cape and 300 m of the adjacent water area.
Where Kazantip is located, spring brings bright colors. 25 species of local plants are listed in the Red Book of Russia, including white violet, peony, asphodelin, cornflower, office, and katran. Thickets of feather grass create a picturesque effect of the sea wave in the steppe. Spring blooming tulips cover the plateau with a lush carpet.
The reserve is a native home for many animals, including the Red Book of the steppe polecat and the big horseshoe carrier, as well as the dolphin Azovka - the Black Sea porpoise, which is also called khamsyatnik for the love of hamsa fish. A lot of them live in the steppe part of snakes and yellow-bellows - legless lizards, as well as poisonous steppe vipers. Kestrel birds, firebill, harrier, magpie, and others nest on sheer cliffs of protected lands.
The water area is inhabited by mollusks - raps, scallops, mussels.
In the reserve, hunting, making fires and setting up tents is prohibited.
Rest on Kazantip
Every year, thousands of tourists come to Schelkino and Mysovoye to relax on the shores of the warm Sea of Azov. Things to do:
- Beach vacation. From the west and east along the cape are sand strips that serve as beaches for vacationers. The width of the beaches is 10-15 m, the sand is almost white, fine. Water in the bays of Tatar and Russian, located on both sides of the cape, warms up in May, so the holiday season opens with the beginning of summer. Swimming in the Sea of Azov is considered useful because of the 92 chemical elements that make up the health of the sea water. There are no large enterprises nearby, so the water is clean and clear. There is also Kazantip beach on the territory of the reserve, where the quietest place of rest is located.
- Windsurfing and kitesurfing. The constant wind and shallow coastal waters make the surroundings of Kazantip attractive to athletes. In Mysovoye there are several schools that teach these sports, you can rent equipment.
- Diving. Underwater caves stretch for several kilometers along the steep coast, some have a length of up to hundreds of meters. Caverns and bays, clear water make scuba diving interesting for both beginners and experienced athletes.
- Walks. You can walk around the steppe surroundings of Kazantip, breathing the healing air, in which herbal smells and the salty aroma of the sea are mixed. You can rent a bike or rent a horse.
- Fishing.
Interesting near
Part of the Kerch Peninsula, where Kazantip is located, cannot be called a concentration of attractions, although the main interesting object here is the cape and reserve.
- You can get into the reserve if you make a pass. The address of the administration in Shchelkino: 1st microdistrict, 33.
- Crimean nuclear power plant. In the 70s, it was a Komsomol construction that revived the northern part of the Kerch Peninsula. Half a billion Soviet rubles were spent. But the object remained unfinished due to the Chernobyl accident and the collapse of the USSR, although the first block was almost completely ready. In subsequent years, the premises of the nuclear power plant were used for discos, equipment and non-ferrous metals were sold. The station’s gloomy surroundings have become the backdrop for many films.
- The ruins of an ancient settlement on the territory of the reserve archaeologists date I-III centuries BC. e., an even more ancient settlement is located near s. Semenovka. It is called the Semenovsky settlement.
- Geological attractions. On coastal cliffs, layered deposits of bryozoan limestone, clay, marl, and tripoli are visible. Wind and water formed bizarre figures, rocks, islets, niches, grottoes adorning the Kazantip coast.
How to get there
The privacy of rest on Kazantip is due to a large extent to the fact that getting there is not so easy as to other Crimean resorts. Indeed, 180 km is separated from the Shchelkino airport, and 80 km from the Crimean bridge.
- Option 1. If you book a taxi or transfer in advance, then from Simferopol Airport you can immediately leave for Kazantip Beach. In winter, at 14:55, a bus leaves for the Shchelkino from the airport.
- Option 2. From Simferopol airport, get to the Kurortnaya bus station near the railway station or the Central bus station. From there, regular buses leave for the Shchelkino bus station. In order not to have to wait in vain, it is necessary to agree on a flight schedule and bus flights. In the autumn-winter period, 4-5 buses depart daily. On the way you will have to spend 3.5-4.5 hours.
- Option 3. After moving to the Crimean side by ferry or bridge, you can leave from the Kerch bus station in Shchelkino. Up to 10 flights leave per day, but keep in mind that most depart in the morning. It doesn’t take long, one and a half hours, but there are 1-2 flights that go around all the surrounding settlements, so the trip drags on for up to 3.5 hours.
- Option 4. Traveling to such corners remote from civilization as Kazantip is more convenient with your own car. From the Tavrida R-260 highway, turn onto Lenino and go to Shchelkino or Mysovoy. If you ask the local population what Kazantip is and where it is, everyone can show and tell.
Kazantip country - what is it?
For many, the word "Kazantip" evokes exclusively musical associations, and for good reason.
In 1992, a group of windsurfers began to hold competitions at Cape Kazantip. Where there is sport, there is music - this is how the Kazantip youth music festival came about.
Over the years of its existence, the festival has become overgrown with traditions, and the venue began to be resoundingly called the Republic of Z. And to the question what Kazantip is, where is the country of music and eternal summer, the participants could honestly answer: "In Crimea."
In 2000, the festival moved to s. Popovka not far from Yevpatoriya, but did not take root there, starting a journey around the world. Cambodia, Egypt, Georgia - where only the organizers were not going to revive the Republic of Z!
And now where is Kazantip, in which country? In 2017, the event was held on about. Phu Quoc (Vietnam). The organizers considered the beginning a success.
Summer rental
Without a youth festival, the cape became quieter and calmer, but many people go to Crimea for this very reason. To surely find a shelter, you should take care of this in advance by booking through a agency or directly with the owners a place in a boarding house or hotel room.
However, many tourists specially come to Kazantip to set up tents on the seashore and spend a vacation in nature.