Alushta is one of the pearls of the Crimea. This one of the most popular resorts is a historical place where back in the 6th century A.D. the Aluston fortress was built, which gave this settlement this name.
Where is Alushta located? Russia has many amazing sights. Alushta is the first to welcome guests along the famous mountain route leading from the city of Simferopol to the southern coast of Crimea . A story will be presented about this wonderful warm and sunny place.
General information about the city
The city of Alushta is in the Crimea. It is located in the most extensive and fertile valley of the southern part of the peninsula. This territory is surrounded by the mountain slopes of Babugan-yayly, Demerdzhi-yayly and Chatyr-dag.
Alushta is a well-known climatic resort center, inferior in beauty and popularity on the southern coast of Crimea to Yalta only. The health-tourism center stretches along the coast for more than 90 kilometers - from Partenit to the so-called big Alushta (the village of Privetnoy). The coastal strip has a length of about 42 kilometers.
Alushta is the administrative center of the district, which includes the following settlements: Lazurnoe, Partenit (formerly Frunzenskoye), Bondarenkovo, Rybachye, Malorechenskoye and others. The population of Alushta is approximately 50 thousand people.
The city has a convenient location in the most spacious Crimean valley. Here, among the majestic green hills, the rivers Demerdzhi and Ulu-Uzen carry their waters to the sea.
Neighborhood
Where is the city of Alushta located geographically? The valley is surrounded on three sides by mountains. It covers it from the west of Babugan-yayla with the peak Roman-Kosh (height 1545 meters) - the highest point of the Crimean Highlands. In the north, the city borders on Eklizi-Burun (1525 meters) - the peak of Chatyr-Dag Mountain, and in the east it is protected by Mount Demerdzhi (height 1355 m).
All these peaks well cover Alushta from the northern cold winds, but through the 2 passes (Angarsky and Kebitsky with heights respectively 752 and 591 meters) cool "drafts" still get to the valley. Hence the name of the resort - "washed" or "through."
Climate
Due to the aforementioned circumstances (the restriction of the valley on three sides to mountains), Alushta has cooler climatic conditions in the winter than in Yalta. True, for the same reasons in the summer there is no sweltering heat. According to meteorologists, where Alushta is located, breezes are correctly expressed, which means that in these places even in the hottest weather the sun of Alushta becomes softer from the gentle coolness of the sea breeze.
And the famous doctor Botkin noted that Alushta is healthier than Yalta. There, during the summer heat, the air is constantly updated by drafts through the mountain passages on the sides of Chatyr-Dag Mountain. During the day, light breezes from the sea bring healing air saturated with particles of iodine and salts, and during sunset and at night - the purest cool freshness of mountain air.
Water and gardens of the resort
Where the resort of Alushta is located, the sea off the coast is transparent, clean, and the beaches of these places are covered with fine pebbles and sand. Water becomes warm very early, back in May, and remains so until October. Its average temperature in the summer months reaches +26 ° C. The sea warmed up all summer to such a temperature gives off its heat slowly, which is why autumn in Alushta is mild and warm.
Two reservoirs were built on the Demerdzhi and Ulu-Uzen rivers - Kutuzovskoye and Izobilnenskoye, which supply the whole of Alushta with clean mountain water. Wonderful grape varieties are grown in the valley: Riesling, Muscat, Malbec, Cabernet, and Rkatsiteli. Pears, peaches and other fruits grow in orchards. Gorgeous flowers are fragrant in parks and plantations: the famous Crimean Red Rose, lavender, etc.
The beauty of the city
What can be seen where Alushta is located? The city is buried in a wide variety of vegetation. The resort is cozy and beautiful, it literally bathes in greenery. Parks and streets are decorated with magnolias, cedars, yews, cypresses, acacias, lilacs, bird cherry trees, red and laurel trees, and many other exotic plants.
According to holidaymakers, Alushta has magnificent beaches, the best on the South Coast. They are covered with white sand and colorful pebbles. The flat bottom of the coastal zones of the sea, without pits and large stones, gives true pleasure when swimming.
Places for outdoor activities
Vacationers with children should visit the “Watercolor” and “Nemo” - Alushta dolphinariums, which provide an excellent opportunity for children and adults to get acquainted with the marine wildlife and even swim in the pool with dolphins.
For a more active pastime there is a water park. You can also book a boat trip on the sea, parachute over the resort. You can take sightseeing trips to Yalta or to any other corner of the Crimea. There are interesting walks for romantics: visiting the Funa fortress, the ghost valley and the source of the wonderful Jur-Jur waterfall. The slopes of Demerdzhi are also always open for lovers of romantic walks and outdoor activities.
sights
Where Alushta is located, there are a lot of attractions. Here you can visit magnificent parks and museums. The doors of the Museum of Local Lore, the House-Museums of the writer Sergeyev-Tsensky and the writer I. S. Shmelev are always open to visitors.
Not far from the city is the Museum of Nature, which presents an overview of almost all the components of the nature of Crimea, from minerals to animals. It is very interesting to visit the museum's dendrozoo with live animals and plants of the reserve. It was created in a colorful landscape style, in natural conditions.
In Alushta is the most beautiful mountain amphitheater in Crimea. Walking and hiking in the mountains is not tiring and very romantic. After climbing to the western peak of Chatyr-Dag (Church Point 1525 meters high), a beautiful picture opens up - almost the entire peninsula.
In the western part of the valley pine and beech forests of the Crimean reserve grow, which were once the hunting ground of kings and other heads (general secretaries). In the transparent mountain lakes trout lives, accessible today to ordinary tourists. Demerdzhi is also interesting (translated from Turkic as “blacksmith”). The height of the mountain range is 1240 meters. It is composed of boulders and pebbles of an ancient river, which are compressed and cemented into conglomerates, and then uplifted. They are the oldest breeds (age is approximately 800 million - 1.1 billion years). It is important to note that they are found only here, this fact is a mystery even for geologists. Slowly collapsing, conglomerates of sand and pebbles turn into amazing bizarre sculptures, among which the most powerful is the so-called Head of Catherine II.
Near the village of Semidvorye there is a reserved grove of tree juniper. Not far from it, in a beam, in 1893, the remains of a mammoth were found. A little higher than the highway up the Alak River, 1.5 kilometers away you can see towering stone mushrooms.
A bit of history
This land has a unique history. The territories where Alushta is located contain a great many remains testifying to curious historical facts. Aluston Fortress was built in the 6th century by order of Emperor Justinian I. Aluston was of great importance for all states that ever owned the southern coast of the peninsula. And it was owned by the Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the Khazar Khaganate and the Principality of Theodoro.
During the reign of the Genoese, Aluston was one of the most fortified centers of Captain Gothia (the name of the part of the Genoese possessions in Crimea) and was the subject of constant military operations between the Principality of Theodoro and the Genoese. Under Italians, the city was called Lusta. Today, only one tower of a medieval fortress has been preserved.
In the western side of Alushta there is a notable Mount Kastel with some remnants of an ancient fortification. There, in the greenery of Utes-Karasansky Park, there is a beautiful romantic castle that once belonged to Princess Gagarina.
The ancient village of Partenit near Bear Mountain (Ayu-Dag) is worthy of special attention. A separate story can be told about this place, which cannot be described in two words. It should be mentioned only that the Rayevsky trail (one of the pack trails) originates in the vicinity of the Crimea (military sanatorium) and goes to the top of Ayu-Dag.
Conclusion
Many wonderful resorts in Crimea. Where Alushta is located and how good she is, many know. This unique place is not like other numerous and beautiful resort areas of Crimea.
Among all resorts, Alushta stands out quite favorably. Rest in its surroundings is a real pleasure, and, with great health benefits.