The most mysterious and beautiful corners of the Crimea are mountains. Everyone who has visited the picturesque peninsula falls in love with them at first sight. The mountain ranges formed after the rise of the bottom of the ancient Tethys Ocean delight with their plateau-like structure. Peaks emerging from the bosom of water surprise tourists with their wild beauty.
Alpine plateaus - yayls - attract all ecotourists who go hiking in the delightful corners of the Crimea. The virgin nature and inaccessibility of these places annually attract travelers who dream of a memorable vacation.
Biggest plateau
Karabi-yayla is a huge plateau and the Kara-Tau mountain range, overgrown with beech forest. The desert plateau is very similar to the lunar surface, dotted with craters and craters, in which karst caves are located . The unusual stone sea impresses with its size: this is the largest yaila in the Crimea, covering an area of about 120 square kilometers.
The plateau included in the main ridge of the Crimean mountains of the peninsula has always occupied a special position. The karst kingdom impresses at first sight tourists who have come here with its boundless landscape. The most deserted and waterless plateau of Karabi-yayla (Crimea) is not in vain called the cave region, because there are about 250 karst cavities, which are incredibly popular with cavers.
Cave Kingdom
The hilly massif, penetrated by underground mines, carries a person into a world hidden from prying eyes. Many of the funnels are not very deep and accessible for visiting, while others can be called bottomless, because no one knows their depth.
Interestingly, there are not so many horizontal mines in the area. Mom’s cave is the most famous karst cavity, into which it’s very difficult to climb even for professionals, but those who have overcome obstacles have truly fantastic views.
A favorite among speleologists, a well with a length of 165 meters is another horizontal cave, where you can easily go down without special equipment. Big Buzluk, the entrance to which is a karst funnel, differs from other mines by the abundance of ice that does not melt even in summer.
Egiz tinah
Interesting caves of Egiz-Tinakh, representing a whole system of vertically horizontal cavities interconnected by underground passages, are considered the oldest in the Crimea. The mines located on one level seem to transfer visitors to another dimension, and the imagination draws fantastic figures lurking in complete darkness.
The centuries-old flowing formations of bizarre shapes and colors give the impression that this is not a cave, but a mysterious underground kingdom, the beauty of which is difficult to describe in words.
Finds of archaeologists
The Karabi Yayla plateau was well studied by archaeologists who established that people lived here even in the ancient Stone Age - the Paleolithic. So, here they found about 20 sites, found on the slopes of the plateau, closer to the sources of water, and the ruins of a stone wall. Of particular interest are the four stone statues laid out on the ground, the outlines of which resemble a butterfly with spread wings.
The figures located at the same distance from each other cause a lot of controversy in the scientific community, but so far their origin has not been ascertained. These figures are located on the watershed, north of the Irtysh. This is the most interesting and causing great interest among tourists mountain. The Karabi Yayla opens from its top with a bewitching landscape, but the most unusual that travelers see is the volcanic origin of the Dinosaur Ridge, resembling the skeleton of a giant pangolin.
Cave painting
Traces of human activity are preserved underground. For example, in the shaft of the Student Wall, drawings are carved on them. Tourists who come to the Karabi Yayla plateau are happy to see the ancient painting with images of ships, trees, crosses and strange butterflies. A variety of drawings are found in other mines, but only in this there is a huge number of them.
In the east of the plateau, archaeologists have discovered a burial ground with human bones and the remains of pottery.
Weather station turned into a rescue post
The main landmark of the mysterious plateau is the former Karabi-Yayla weather station, clearly visible from all points of view. Built at the beginning of the 20th century and stylized as a medieval castle, it was blown up during the Great Patriotic War. Now a new building has appeared, but no one is conducting systematic observations of the weather. Here is the Crimean rescue post, helping everyone who needs help, and there is a tourist shelter, which accommodates guests in tents and heated rooms.
How to get to Karabi Yayla?
You can get into an insidious place, devoid of any reference points, by bus or personal motor transport. First you need to get to Alushta, from the local bus station drive to Belogorsk or the village of Generalskoye. Further to the plateau can be easily reached on foot or by passing cars of local foresters.
Believe that this trip will be the most interesting and memorable adventure in your life.