The resort city of Alushta on the southern coast of Crimea is famous for its convenient coastline and various attractions of both man-made and natural character. In the vicinity of the mountains formed extensive caves, washed millions of years ago with sea water. Every year they are visited by numerous excursions. Actually, the caves of Alushta are the main topic of this article.
Crimea, contrary to all political strife, remains a favorite vacation spot for many Russians. The thousand-year history of the peninsula, combined with geographical and climatic features, annually attracts millions of tourists to these parts.
Rest in Alushta
It is worth talking directly about the rest in the resort town before proceeding to the description of the caves of Alushta.
Located between the pass Kebit Bogaz and Angarsk, the city is located in a favorable climate zone. These hills provide the territory with streams of warm air masses from the sea to land and vice versa.
The coastline consists mainly of natural beaches, the length of which is about forty kilometers. A large number of various boarding houses, recreation centers, hotels and hotels offer a wide range of services for a pleasant stay.
Here you can have a great time at the local dolphinarium, water park, amusement park, as well as in bars and discos. For lovers of outdoor activities it will be interesting to walk along excursion routes to the mountains and local caves. Historic sites dating back to the VI century, and later buildings will not leave visitors indifferent.
Mount Chatyr-Dag
It is a mountain mass rather than a separate mountain. Spread out at a length of 10 kilometers and a width of 4.5 kilometers, Chatyr-Dag consists of such rocks as sandstone, siltstone and limestone. Interestingly, the mountain is formed as if from two layers. The lower layer is harder, and the upper one is limestone, about a kilometer thick. It is this feature that determines the presence of a large number of karst caves in Alushta.
Annually the Chatyr-Dag mountain range receives about 50 thousand tourists. This is due to the fact that it is quite easy to get here. There are more than two hundred caves, and more than a thousand karst craters are found here.
The most popular Chatyr-Dag caves in Alushta are located on the lower plateau of the mountain. These are the Marble, Emine-Bair-Khosar, Emine-Bair-Koba caves equipped for the descent, as well as the so-called wild caves of Suuk-Koba, Bin-Bash-Koba and others.
How to get to the caves from Alushta? It is noteworthy that the longest trolleybus route in Russia was laid through the Angarsky Pass. Thus, the mountain can be reached by public transport from Simferopol or Yalta, as well as from Alushta itself. A tourist beaten path follows from the stop, and a walk takes about an hour. Having your own transport at your disposal, you can drop by the yailu itself - a summer mountain pasture. The main thing is to be careful, because the array is dotted with karst funnels.
Marble Cave
Contrary to the name, there is absolutely no marble there. Geologists say that these mountains did not have only a few hundred million years to form marble in the rocks.
The question of how to get from Alushta to the Marble Cave is asked by many vacationers. It turned out to be very simple. First you need to get to the village of Mramornoye, from where then to the Mramornoye partnership, and then along the dirt road following the signs, you can get directly by car.
So, the entrance to this cave is located at an altitude of 918 meters above sea level. It is located on three tiers with a length of about 2 kilometers. It was discovered in 1987 and after a couple of years "opened its doors" for tourists.
A large number of huge halls are often covered with stalactites and stalagmites in the form of figures of people, animals, birds and plants that amaze the imagination. Multi-colored lighting gives the impression of being in a fabulous country. In a word, you need to see all this with your own eyes. Moreover, not every hall is equipped. Some even suggest physical fitness and caving experience to visit.
Emine-Bair-Khosar Cave
Or, as it is also called, Mammoth Cave. It got its name due to the discovery by the caver scientists of a young mammoth in one of the halls. Other remains of animals of the Ice Age were also found in it. Subsequently, from the Mammoth Cave it was decided to make the natural mineralogical museum-reserve of Crimea. Next to it are the Emine-Bair-Koba Cave and the Marble Cave, from Alushta the distance is about 10 kilometers.
The cave was opened in 1927, but as a tourist attraction began to exist only in 1999. And in 2005, the Kecskemét Hall was opened for visitors. The cave is about two kilometers long, but only one kilometer is open for visitors. Separation that existed in the past was created by people to preserve natural beauty and protected from plunder, as happened with other caves. Many of them were destroyed and mutilated.
Emin-Bair-Koba Cave
Emine is a beautiful female name, Bair is a hill, and Koba is a cave. The people still call it Three-eyed because of the equal in size of the three arches-entrances. This cave is a little smaller than its neighbors. The total length of the halls is about 950 meters. However, only the first 200 meters are open for visiting, and then for ordinary tourists only 70 meters of equipped halls are available, the rest requires special equipment and training. But daredevils are waiting for a truly generous reward - the opportunity to admire the transparent cave lakes at the end of the journey. Their depth is about 8 meters, but it seems as if the bottom can be touched by hand.
Suuk-Koba Cave
The literal translation of this name is "cold cave." In fact, it is a wild cave, and no entry fee is required here. It is camouflaged by the greenery of trees and is located in a small hollow in Mount Chatyr-Dag. You must first stock up on light sources. The depth of the cave is a little over 40 meters from the entrance, and the length is about two hundred meters. Large halls up to 20-25 meters high are amazing.
The cave was discovered back in the 19th century, and since then much has been plundered for souvenirs, destroyed and mutilated. In the last century, a film crew from Bulgaria filmed scenes for the movie "Stinger" in this cave. Even now, you can find color images that mimic the drawings of a caveman.
Binbash Koba Cave
It is curious that many caves have a second, popular name. So Binbash-Koba, which translates as "Cave of a thousand heads", has a different name - Thousand Head. It was given to her for a reason. The remains of human bones and numerous skulls were found inside. Here is what a traveler of the beginning of the 20th century writes about this place:
"Bim-bash-koba", which means: "Cave of a thousand heads." Leaning under a very low arch, with bundles of candles in our hands, we made our way into its depth. Candles poorly dispersed the thick, almost tangible darkness of this dungeon. Above it hung impenetrable and heavy, and below on a stone floor a pile of human skulls shone in front of us with phosphoric white, in which black hollows of eyes gaped. They say that in recent years there are already a few of them: human curiosity does not stop at nothing, and soon careless tourists will finally pull away this sad sight of Chatyr-dag. But at that time there were still amazingly many of them ... After a bright day, after sparkling overflows of a boundless sea, after careless conversations and laughter - this abundance of silent death in a dark dungeon captured mysterious tragedy of mystery ... How many were there and what dying horror survived are these people driven here by an unknown thunderstorm of an unknown, dark antiquity? ..
According to legend, a whole tribe died here, fleeing from their enemies. How exactly this happened remains a mystery. However, the very realization that the cave is actually a cemetery is terrifying.
Kyzyl-Koba Cave
The largest Crimean cave near Alushta has its second name "Red Cave". It is located on the spurs of the Dolgorukovskaya Yaila, three kilometers from the village of Perevalnoye. The largest she is called for a reason. The length of all the halls is about 25 kilometers with a vertical drop of up to 275 meters. Huge, they reach a height of up to 145 meters. And in length - more than 70 meters. For example, like the Blue Drop Hall. Being inside, people are really amazed at such a scale. The complex underground labyrinth consists of 6 tiers and covers an area of 33 hectares. However, despite the grandeur of this natural monument, only 500 meters of the excursion route are open for tourists.
Through the cave, the underground river Kizilkobinka keeps its way on the first floor. It, flowing out of the entrance, forms the Su-Uchkan waterfall. Inside you can find a large number of lakes, waterfalls and siphons. Here is one of the largest stalactites in Europe, which reaches a height of 8 meters. His age is more than 8000 years.