Ay-Petri Mountain Ay-Petri Plateau: winter sports and mountain tourism. Climbing the ai-petri plateau by car for the sake of which tourists climb up the Ai-Petri mountain range, the center of tourism

You can get to the Upper station of the cable car Miskhor - Ai-Petri, from where the trail to the Ai-Petri teeth begins, from the village of Mishor to the west of Yalta, as well as to shuttle taxi, which departs from the Yalta bus station... However, this excursion will be incomplete if you do not see the Great Chaos of Alupka Park, also west of Yalta.

The scheme of the Ai-Petrinskaya yayla and the Boyko massif, the author is not known to us yet.

Mount Ai-Petri dominates Yalta at an altitude of 1234 meters. Several rounded, columnar cogs give particular beauty to its silhouette. They rise about 70 meters above the cable car station.

Ai-Petri mountain range, tourism center

The main ridge of the Crimean Mountains is divided into yayly - separate massifs with a hilly surface.

Ai-Petrinskaya yayla can be reached by highway from Yalta or from Miskhor by cable car. It was laid in 1987, its length is 3 km, the ascent time is 20 minutes.
The Ai-Petri teeth form four large (12-15 m high) and a number of small steep peaks composed of reef limestones.
The huge bazaar offers all kinds of oriental delicacies. Wonderful conditions for active tourism, horseback riding and camel riding, mountain biking, jeeps, paragliding, shooting military adventures and fantasy.
A protected Beech Grove grows near the Zubtsov, the largest on Main ridge... At the edge of the yayla there is a pine-tree called "Airplane", it is about 300 years old.
Tourists usually visit the Ai-Petrinsky meridian - a stone globe with accurate geodetic data, a viewing platform on the Shishko rock, a meteorological station, Mount Bedene-Kyr (several ski lifts work here in winter), Trekhglazka cave, equipped for excursions. On the slope near the highway from Yalta to Ai-Petri, you can see a "drunken" pine grove - a century-old Crimean pine forest, disturbed by a landslide.

Limestone rocks of all three ranges of the Crimean Mountains (as well as many river valleys cutting through them) are literally packed with fossilized remains of marine organisms: snails, bivalve molluscs, worms and corals.
As a rule, limestone rocks have a layered structure and are even drawn on the diagrams as stacked one-on-one rows of rectangles.
Nothing like the southern cliff of Ai-Petri is shown to us: all this powerful colossus from the base above Alupka and Miskhor to the Zubts is a smooth stone geyser.

Ay-Petri mountain is located near Yalta resort. The highest point of Ay-Petri mountain is about 1234 meters. How you can get to Ay-Petri mountain? Go to the busstation in Yalta town. It will take 30 or 40 minutes to get to Ay Petri mountain from Yalta town by bus or by your own car. Ay-Petri is the name of the mountain peak, as well as it's a plateau. A view from Ay-Petri is spectacular.

The weather on Ay Petri is very cold in winter and very hot in summer. Ay Petri is the biggest area for tourists visiting this mountain every year.
Ay-Petri mountain is one of the biggest plateau of Crimea and every visiting this area has an opportunity to see all power of this mountain. Ay-Petri is very ancient coral reef that rises from the sea bottom many years ago. Ay-Petri's ancient history is a rich one and many archeological groups work here every year.

Ay-Petri is a famous tourist attraction all the year round. It is a place for skiing in winter and hiking in summer.

You can appreciate the beauty of the Ai-Petri plateau only once you get there. Rarely is nature so close to man. Feeling like one with environment, hardly anyone will not set a firm goal to come back here again.

In addition to all its other advantages, the Ai-Petri plateau boasts relative accessibility to the tourist. Firstly, you can get to numerous settlements in the western part of the yayla both by personal and public transport, and from there to start your hiking routes, secondly, the plateau reveals its wealth to the tourist through passes of varying degrees of difficulty, some of which are relatively easy to cross, and some will make you sweat.

How to climb the Ai-Petri plateau

As for the first way to see the beauty of the Ai-Petri plateau, the easiest one seems to be arriving at the cable car station on Ai-Petri from Yalta by minibus or private taxi. In less than an hour, you will already breathe in the incomparable aromas of the yayla. In addition, paths and roads run from the station in all directions. In the same way, you can leave the Ai-Petri plateau. Actually, the cable car itself from Miskhor will take you here.

You can use the Baydarsky Pass, having arrived from the direction of Sevastopol or Foros. The fact is that the Baydarskiye Vorota pass is a natural border between the Ai-Petrinskaya and Baidarskaya yayla.


Baydar Gate - road route on the Ai-Petri plateau

There is an opportunity to get into the very heart of the Ai-Petri plateau by arriving at Rodnikovskoye by a regular bus, which should be taken on the Yalta-Sevastopol highway in the area of the turn to Tylovoe.

If you see the goal of tourism in overcoming the hardships of the path exclusively with your own feet, then at your service there are popular and well-worn passes. You can get to the same cable car station along the Koreiz trail, which, as the name implies, comes out of Koreiz.

The ascent will allow you to be drawn into the rhythm of the hike and enjoy the beautiful pine forest through which the trail runs.

However, one of the most famous passes not only on the Ai-Petri plateau, but also on all the Crimean mountains is the Shaitan-Merdven pass. He owes wide popularity to his rich history, since even the ancient Roman legionaries chose him to cross Crimean mountains, the road from Chersonesos to the Kharax fortress (today's Gaspra) ran through it.

Since then, the trade routes went through the Devil's Staircase, this is how the name of the pass can be translated from the Crimean Tatar one. After the earthquake of 1927, it changed significantly, but so far it will not be difficult for an unprepared tourist to overcome it.

Tourist sites and routes of Ai-Petrinskaya yayla:

The boundaries of the Ai-Petri plateau

How can you determine the boundaries of the Ai-Petri plateau? This is quite easy to do. Southern border took the form of a mountain visor.

Determining the northern limit of the plateau is more complicated, but slightly expanding the boundaries allowed by the definition of the term "yayla" itself, we can assume that it will become a strip along the mountains with a depth of one kilometer - two on the section Baydarskiy pass - Mount Balchik-Kaya and then an ever expanding area up to five kilometers in the Besh-Tekne - Bedene-Kyr region, where the Ai-Petrinskaya yayla merges with the Yalta.

Geological features of the Ai-Petri plateau

By the way, understanding that there is a yayla will help us to clarify the boundaries of the Ai-Petri plateau more thoroughly. Yayla is waterless. Limestones, forming numerous karst formations, let water through, preventing it from flowing over the surface in the form of rivers. Therefore, the available moisture is barely enough to maintain the local vegetation. Yaila was used as a pasture, so this treatment of the landscape gave it features of lifelessness, where only copses and lonely trees adorn the rocky soil covered with grass. The entire Ai-Petrinskaya yayla is strewn with large and small stones, so even on the paths you need not yawn and look at your feet.

After cattle grazing on the Crimean yailas was banned by the seventies, soil erosion slowed down, and the forest was slowly advancing into open spaces. In other words, yayla is a waterless and treeless area.

The ridge of the Ai-Petrinsky mountains is a visual cuesta, that is, the alternation of gentle and steep slopes. The steep ones face the sea and are subject to constant erosion, they represent the rise of rock, which often crumbles, causing a landslide. The gentle ones end in small beams, behind which a smaller ridge grows again. If you move along the Ai-Petri plateau from the south to the north in areas, for example, the Spirady or Kupol mountains, you will get the impression of sailing on the waves, where ascents alternate with descents. Not that feeling, however, when driving along the line of mountains, when it is not at all difficult to find an even road.

The basis of the Ai-Petri plateau is formed by the Upper Jurassic limestones, which affects the nature of the yayla to this day. Walking its routes, pay attention to the shape of the stones protruding from the ground. They are often rounded at the edges and have oval holes. Limestones have become the cause of total karst formation, when for many centuries the water has literally eaten its way into the depth of the rock, depriving the soil of life-giving moisture. Therefore, the interest of scientists in the Besh-Tekne basin, which is located near the At-Bash mountain, is understandable.

Here springs gush and small lakes are filled. The reason is the presence of clay lining the bottom of the basin and retaining water. It is no wonder that it is to this oasis that two paths go through the passes - Jewish and Eski-Bogaz. But it is worth a little distance to the north, as you find yourself in the kingdom of karst formations, which is almost completely devoid of water lingering on the surface.

The tops of the Ai-Petri plateau

As befits any yayla, Ai-Petrinskaya does not have pronounced peaks. The most accurate definition that asks for language is a plateau. Therefore, looking at the map, one should not imagine that Mount Kilse-Burun is a pointed peak. A small rise above the surrounding plane will be its top.

By the way, Kilse-Burun, as well as those located to the west of Mshatka-Kai and the Foros edge, are chosen by climbers. But even a hiker, the views from their peaks will bring a lot of impressions. If you move from west to east along the mountain peak, then the named mountains are the first in a series of the most popular peaks on the Ai-Petri plateau among fans of mountain Crimea.

The highest of them is Kilse-Burun, which has a height of 712 meters. From the west, the ascent to it is gentle, but from the eastern part it is rather steep. In all respects, this is a very beautiful place.

The next significant peak will be Merdven-Kaya (688 meters), also easily accessible from the west. And climbers did not leave this mountain with their attention.

The next peak in our movement to the east is Merdven-Kayasy (856 meters). The Shaitan-Merdven pass lies between it and the previous mountain. Merdven-Kayasy is a very beautiful mountain. In honor of the legend of Soviet mountaineering, its flat southern surface is called the rock of Mikhail Khergiani. Several climbing routes run along her open chest. The northern slopes of the mountain are covered with a dense beech forest, and they cannot be called yayla. But descending from this mountain to the east, we again find ourselves on the plateau.


Ai-Petri plateau in the area mountains Merdven-Kayasy

To the east, the road will lead us to Mount Balchik-Kaya (945 meters), on which constructions of a passive signal reflector stand and rust.

The next is Mount Kastropolskaya, 955 meters high, under which the village of Parkovoye is located. This mountain is also held in high esteem by rock climbers. If you look down from its top, you can see a pile of large stones that have fallen at one time.

Morcheka is one of the most famous peaks of Crimea. For both the climber and the tourist, this is an important attraction. There is a cross on one of the rocks of Morcheki.

From the western edge of the mountain, the Kerezla trail goes down. A grandiose panorama opens from its top to the southeast, where small lakes glisten in the green of the forests among the rocks. And in the region of this mountain and to the east, the scale of rock falls is striking. Between the mountains of Morchek and Spirada, below, closer to the village of Opolznevoe, there is a whole scattering of huge boulders and fragments of rocks, which is commonly called the Kuchuk-Koi stone chaos.

Between the same mountains of Morchek and Spirada, but already on the plateau, one can observe a section that is classic for any yayla. A rocky path, a carpet of sparse, but intoxicating vegetation.


Trail to Mount Spirada on the Ai-Petri plateau	Ai-Petri plateau in the area Spirada mountains

The Ai-Petri plateau begins to rise slowly. Mount Spirada is already 1028 meters high. The mountain is a domed white peak, clearly visible from the Ponizovka and Katsiveli located below. Such peaks along the Ai-Petrinskaya yayla are found everywhere.

The next notable peak in our movement in westward there will be Mount At-Bash (1196 meters). The views from the highest point of this mountain, the name of which translates as "Horsehead", make you spend time on a short ascent.

Ai-Petri plateau, At-Bash mountain:

To the north is the previously mentioned Besh-Tekne basin.

Weather on the Ai-Petri plateau

In winter and spring, Ai-Petri can make you feel its bad character. It is rather cold here, the whole district is constantly covered with fogs, they wake up in the spring strong winds, so that even in mid-May you can wrap yourself up from the cold.

Tourists who prefer winter hikes know that fog and rain are more frequent between Ai-Petri and the Dome than in the Morcheki area. And the whole Ai-Petri plateau is the coldest in comparison with the rest of its Crimean brothers. Winter can overtake the traveler in early October. While not a single snowflake will fall on the coast for the whole year and the temperature will always be above zero, on the Ai-Petri plateau frosts and snowdrifts are a common thing.

Winter fogs on the Ai-Petri plateau:

Clouds are advancing from the sea to the peak Ai-Petri plateau	View from the Ai-Petri plateau to the village of Pokrovskoe

Given the terrain, you need to be very careful away from the well-trodden routes. Ravines and notches are covered with snow in winter, sharp stones are not visible from under the snowdrifts. But this primarily applies to places far from the visor. In summer, it is not as hot on the yayla as below, but from scorching sun You can take refuge only by stopping under a tree; a constantly moving tourist will be constantly exposed to the sun's rays. Summer rains on the plateau are rare.

Hiking trails on the Ai-Petri plateau

Now it's worth talking about the trails of this plateau. The easiest route, which gives the most impressions and photos, is the one that runs along the peak. Moving along the Ai-Petri plateau from Baydarskih gate through the Foros Church, we will ride the eighth tourist route. For the sake of fairness, it should be said that it starts from the tourist camp "Laspi", but this is the Baydarskaya Yayla. The eighth route will take us along the edge of the ridge through the previously mentioned mountains Kilse-Burun and Merdven-Kaya.

If a narrow path is not to your liking, a wide road runs just below, which can be overcome by a car. The road will lead you to the Shaitan-Merdven pass, from which a new one begins - through a beech forest to the top of the Merdven-Kayasy.

The road to the At-Bash mountain itself has no name, which does not prevent it from enjoying the universal love of tourists. The same can be said about the path leading from At-Bash to Ai-Petri. The peak in these places is an alternation of bulges and depressions, the latter sometimes look like amphitheaters. The depressions, as a rule, are covered with a small thicket, and tenacious bushes, through which the path usually runs, as well as bypassing the thicket.

Another way to get from At-Bash to Ai-Petri is to go deep into the yayla along the Besh-Tekne hollow and through the Vorontsovka cordon to the Bedene-Kyr mountain, where the radar station is located (read about this route). Probably, it is this route that gives the greatest understanding of what the Ai-Petri plateau is. Here, the yayla is the widest, most waterless and significantly differs from its western part. On both sides of the road there are two natural boundaries - Sary-Kol and Vorontsov forest. The Beshan-Kosh tract, which replaces the Besh-Tekne basin, is also very beautiful. This tract is an open, amazingly beautiful plain with small patches of coniferous thickets, stretching at the foot of the Bedene-Kyr mountain, from which, however, the surrounding views are beautiful in any direction.

From the Vorontsovka cordon on the Ai-Petri plateau, two paths go to the north in the direction of the tourist camps "Bukovaya" and "Danila", which are already outside this plateau, and from there even further north. More precisely, these popular routes begin from the Yalta-Bakhchisarai highway, but slightly northwest of the Vorontsovka cordon they diverge in different directions.

From the Spirady mountain, the route starts to the north-west to the Skelskaya cave, which is popular among tourists. The road runs along the Tarpanbair ridge stretching in the same direction, the peaks of which are the Tarpan-Bair (1094 meters) and Chuvash-Koy (1051 meters) mountains. The further to the northwest, the more clearly the forests begin to prevail, and in front of the Skelskaya cave there is a real juniper grove. On the way, you will meet the Chuvash-Gol spring.

It is also worth mentioning the 45th route, starting from the tourist camp "Besh-Tekne", cuts through the entire Ai-Petri plateau in the north-western direction. The final destination of the route is a tourist camp "Tea House" outside the yayla. Route 45 has many branches, both to the east to the Vorontsovka cordon and to the south-west to Mount Spirady.

Two popular tourist routes leave from the Shaitan-Merdven pass - the Kalendskaya and Kapurkay paths, but they leave the yayla almost immediately and go deep into the dark beech forest.

Greetings! Not all drivers decide to climb the Ai-Petri plateau by car, there are those for whom the trip becomes entertainment. Undoubtedly, the route is memorable and picturesque - the higher you climb, the more you admire the panorama south coast Crimea.

I get a lot of questions about the situation on Ai-Petri in the 2020 season. It seems that the Crimean people spent the winter so well on Maslenitsa that it left the peninsula for a long time and was noted only on a few mountain peaks. I decided to collect all the available information on social networks and add it to this article. It's about entertainment on the plateau, prices and road conditions.

Dear Readers! The article was written a long time ago, but is still in demand, so I constantly update it and provide the latest information. (Used personal pictures and photos from social networks for 2020). Updated 06.02.

Road to Ai-Petri

You can climb Ai-Petri in four ways: on foot, by your own car, by cable car or with carriers. Each option has its pros and cons, but at least one must be used. There are schemes for walking routes on the Web.

In January 2019, the Ai-Petri plateau was the most popular destination for outdoor activities. Hundreds of tourists posted their pictures on social networks from the snow-covered mountain: some on a sled, some on skis, and some in a kilometer-long traffic jam. V new year holidays the movement was paralyzed, there were cranks who climbed on summer tires (they had to be pulled out).

photo from the group VK "Weather on Ai-Petri".

Dear, before your trip in winter, see the weather conditions on the Web! If you don't care about yourself, think about children! Rescue services cannot reach some areas.

Count on possibilities of your car: 4x4, spikes or chains, full tank. Up-to-date information ingroup in VKontakte "Weather on Ai-Petri".

The mountain serpentine leading to the plateau is the longest and most winding in the Crimea. Depending on weather conditions, some sections or the entire road may be closed, as warned by a sign at the beginning of the path or guards. There are landslides, landslides and avalanches here.

Since 2019, the road to Ai-Petri has been served by the Krymavtodor enterprise. To ensure road safety in winter, the road is cleared of snow and sprinkled with a sand-salt mixture.

Previously, there was an unspoken rule to visit Ai-Petri: ascent to the plateau along a narrow serpentine before 12 noon, descent - after 12 noon. Now autotourists ignore this rule and create problems for themselves, others and rescue services.

The T 0117 road leads to the Ai-Petri plateau, and then along the northern slope, through the Grand Canyon of Crimea, to the Bakhchisarai district. The second name is the old Yalta highway. On the way there are springs, interesting rocks and the most famous waterfalls of Crimea: (on the southern slope) and Silver Streams (on the northern slope).

On February 4, 2020, the road to Ai-Petri from the side of Bakhchisarai was closed due to the threat of an emergency.

“In order to ensure road safety from February 4, 2020 until the elimination of the cause that caused this situation, the movement from the 30th to 46th km of the Bakhchisarai - Yalta highway - this is the entrance to Ai-Petri from Bakhchisarai - has been temporarily suspended for all types of vehicles, ”the Ministry of Transport of the Republic said.

We can say with all confidence that the road to Ai-Petri is one of the most dangerous roads in Crimea, so tired drivers and beginners have nothing to do there!

You can climb Ai-Petri by cable car or by transport that carries out transportation.The list of carriers on the Ai-Petri plateau is published in the VKontakte group "Weather on Ai-Petri".

Since August 2019, Yaltagortrans MUE has been carrying out transportation (in the warm season) from Miskhor and the Yalta bus station to the Ai-Petri plateau by a licensed taxi. One way trip price - 450 rubles. per person.

“Taxis will be dispatched as soon as they are loaded from the points of sale of season tickets. In the area of the Ai-Petri plateau, dispatching and boarding of passengers will be carried out. In the future, the directions and types of transportation by licensed taxis will expand. "

For those who do not know what the serpentine looks like on the Ai-Petri route map.

What to do on Ai-Petri in snowy weather

In January 2020, there is much less snow, but there are enough people who want to get into the winter atmosphere.

From January 20, 2020, the cable car will be closed for annual scheduled maintenance. The last day of work is January 19. It is planned that the cable car will resume operation in the spring.

For lovers of hiking routes, ascents are organized. For example, a 5 km route starts on the Koreiz trail (44.440463, 34.08323), past the Baba-Ali-Tekne spring (44.455722, 34.070383) with a transition to the Miskhor trail and ends at the upper station of the cable car. By scenic trail you will go from autumn to winter and be impressed by the picturesque landscapes.

For fans of extreme sports, the company "Ai-Petri tour" organizes individual jeep tours with a visit to the trout farm "Forelevo" (look for the official website on the Web), where a Russian wood-fired sauna works, there is an opportunity to fish and taste delicious dishes from freshly caught Crimean trout ...

Map ski slopes on Ai-Petri.

Lift prices for 26 km in January 2020:

small - 500 rubles.
on the big one - 1000 rubles.

set of skis - from 500 rubles.
board - from 500 rubles.
large cheesecake (snow tube) - 600 rubles
standard cheesecake - 500 rubles

They ask for a document as a deposit. The lift starts working at 10 am.

Important! Message from GKU RK "KRYM-SPAS":

REFERRING TO RESCUE WARNINGS, TOURISTS CONTINUE TO OBSERVE SAFETY RULES WHEN RIDING A SNOWTUBE

The Minister of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Crimea Sergey Shakhov informed that the tourists, despite the warnings of the rescuers, continue to neglect the safety rules when riding a snowtube, getting various injuries. Over the weekend, rescuers on patrol on the Ai-Petri plateau helped 4 tourists who were injured while riding snowtubes.

Away from the lift, local chefs prepare pilaf, kebabs and shurpa for sale. You can bring your own food and have a picnic by renting a gazebo with barbecue. The rental price is 1500 rubles. for the day.

The longest snow lies on the northern slopes of the plateau, usually it lasts until March-April.

View from the side of the meteorological station. Silence and tranquility…. In the distance, the Ai-Petri teeth are clearly visible, it is there that the upper station of the cable car is located, the most high point 1234 m. And Trekhglazka cave.

From the observation deck, a clear space opened up - a turquoise sky with glimpses of azure, immersed in the sea surface of the Black Sea. Evergreen shrubs and trees surround Alupka and Koreiz with their thickets.

All around neglect and chaos. Private houses, sheds, cafes, shalmans, construction sites. After 15 minutes you forget what kind of goblin you got here for.

"Highlanders" do not want to ennoble the territory because of unresolved land issues. Environmentalists are sounding the alarm and calling for an end economic activity on the territory of Ai-Petri, to limit the capacity for the development of eco-tourism. They just realized it too late: many entrepreneurs have been working here for more than a dozen years. The circle has closed and now all hope is for the new government, which will make a rational decision so that "the wolves are fed and the sheep are safe" ...

Due to the peculiarity of the relief, Ai-Petri is called yayla - a summer pasture. Since ancient times, settlements have been built on the plateau, but the biggest "contribution" was made by nomo sapiens.

Perhaps the only object that is in its place is a monument to the Crimean partisans of the Great Patriotic War, who died in battle in December 1941.

The road to Ai-Petri was of great importance during the Second World War. It was along it that the Nazis transferred troops and equipment towards Sevastopol. The partisans managed to blow up a section of the road and prevent the enemy plans from coming true, but they all died in an unequal battle.
At the cost of incredible efforts, the soldiers were able to protect their land, their memory should be passed on from generation to generation, and not disappear under the scaffolding ...

Approximately 35 km from the top of Ai-Petri, there is a parking lot and a hiking trail to the Grand Canyon of Crimea. I have already talked about this route in my report.

What happens at Ai-Petri in January 2020.

There is a rivalry between the "highlanders" and the owners of the cable car for their client. Time will tell how events will develop. The article will be updated.
Thank you for attention!

Eclipsing even the "tallest" peak of the Crimea - Roman-Kosh with a height of 1545 meters. In the hierarchy of mountains, this is a baby - "only" 1234 meters high and a couple of million years old. It got its name, as is commonly believed, from the name of the medieval church of St. Peter. The temple is long gone, but the name stuck, and today a rare mountain lover, having visited the Crimea, did not look at Ai-Petri. There is something to see. The large Crimean canyon, more than 320 meters deep, is located on this mountain, on its northern slope. Until the middle of summer, numerous streams flow at the exit to the Kokkozka River. The water temperature in this river rarely rises above 11 degrees. More than 60 percent of Crimean orchids grow on the slopes of this gorge, including the rarest species, the Lady's Slipper.

For those who like to shout in the mountains, the canyon will respond with a sixfold echo. People get to the top, who is on what much. "Horseless" - either on foot along the path with the strange name Taraktashskaya, or by cable car from Miskhor (ticket price is about $ 8 one way). Owners of iron horses - along the mountain serpentine. The first two options are recommended - they make it possible to better see the beauty of these places. But in the case of the funicular, you have to wait in line. On the way up, you will meet the Uchan-Su waterfall, the largest in the Main ridge. The water here falls from a height of about 100 meters. True, in the summer only a few streams run there, as Uchan-Su is fed by karst waters. But the purest mountain air and the peaceful silence of the forest more than compensate for this small "overlap".

Upstairs you will be served with different national dishes and will be served local wine. Even camels are there at your service, although the relevance of the "ships of the desert" here is not entirely clear, horses would be enough. So pay and ride while contemplating the surroundings. From the southern plateau you can admire Yalta and Alupka. If you bought an excursion to the Ai-Petri plateau and got here as part of a group, you will probably be taken to an ice cave, one of three caves in the center of the plateau. Snow lies there all year round. The guides will not forget to tell an almost Shakespearean legend about two young people and their unhappy love.

One of the most famous - the Ai-Petri plateau - holds the title of the snowiest and most windy place in Crimea. The wind here sometimes reaches 50 m / s. Despite the seeming habitation, the mountain can show its wild disposition, as soon as you move away from the well-trodden paths. If you have no experience in such trips, you should refrain from trying to independently research Ai-Petri. Mistakes mountains, even those "small", do not forgive. The Ai-Petri teeth will be imprinted in your memory forever, constantly reminding: "Better than mountains can be only mountains, which have never been before."

More information on the site about Mount Ai-Petri .

Photo

Ai-Petri plateau in Crimea Entrance to the equipped cave Upper cable car station
Tour Rocks plateau Ai-Petri Hiking trail on Ai-Petri

Better than mountains can only be mountains.
And even though the mountains in Crimea are not high, they are still mountains.
Demerdzhi, Karadag, Chatyrdag, Karabi, Babugan, Echkidag and, of course, Ai-Petri. I love going there.
Each place is interesting in its own way. different time of the year. Somewhere autumn is incredible, somewhere summer forbs, and somewhere spring awakening.
On Ai-Petri it is almost guaranteed in spring you will encounter frequent fogs. Rather, these are not entirely fogs.
These are the clouds that creep on the plateau from the side of the sea.
And then during the day you can visit under the clouds, above the clouds, inside the clouds, or watch the clouds break against the rocky walls of the mountains ..
Backpack, water, tea, camera ... The rest is superfluous.
To leave more room for emotions.

2. Earlier April morning at the Ai-Petrinskaya yayla, as the plateau is correctly called. Nice sunny weather. In the distance, one can see the balls of locators on Beden-Kyr.

3. Southern slopes. The Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla itself is a plateau that stretches for more than 20 kilometers from west to east, gradually narrowing to the east.
And in the place where it turns into the Yalta Yayla, the distance between the southern and northern slopes is a little more than a kilometer, which allows observing two completely different landscapes in a short time. On the one hand - the sea, steep rock walls and coniferous forests, and on the other, which you can quickly go to in 15 minutes - mountain peaks to the horizon, covered with a beech forest, lakes, villages and Sevastopol 40 kilometers away on the horizon

4. On the plateau itself, wooded areas are found in the western part, moving to the east mainly into the steppe.
True, here there are also small islands with conifers, as well as the most bizarre kind of gnarled birches.

5. There are even birch groves. They were planted by hand in the 60s.

7. The road to the Ai-Petrinskaya yayla.

8. Rocks Taraktash on the southern slope of the plateau. Along them winds down the Taraktash trail, along which you can get from Ai-Petri to the Uchan-Su waterfall and further to Yalta

9. The famous "window" in the form of a cross in the rock

10. One of the countless talus gorges descending towards Yalta.

11. The eastern side of Ai-Petrinskaya yayla stretches, passing into Yalta, then Gurzufskaya and Babugan-yayla.

12. We go to the northern slopes of the plateau. Hence a completely different view. In the distance - the Boyka massif

13. This is how Sevastopol looks from the Ai-Petri plateau. Due to the distance of 40 km and the haze, I had to apply a rather harsh image processing.
Otherwise, we could only see the dim outlines of the city in the distance.

14. There are no longer such gorges as on the southern slopes. These are much more gentle beams that descend into the beech forest.

15. View of the foothills. Below is the Belbek Valley.

16. While we were observing the Kachinskaya Valley, dense clouds began to descend on the plateau. We return to the southern slopes, because it is there that you can fully observe both the movement of clouds above and below your feet, and their formation, when air masses crashing against these steep rocky walls

17. Clouds cover the sun and descend lower and lower

18. From them, in the literal sense of the word, the wind tears off pieces and "drops" on the rocky slopes

19. The cloud just sweeps along the wall right under your feet.

20. I turn my head back, and then everything is completely different. The sky literally fell down

21. The clouds break on the rocks, unable to rise higher, swirl downward, creeping lower and lower towards Yalta.
This is how the sky suddenly drags in Yalta when you walk there, for example, along the embankment