Greetings, friends!
If you are attracted by the mysterious world of caving, but you are not so experienced and brave as to tie yourself with a rope and step into the darkness, go to the caves of Crimea that are open to the public.
And so that you don’t have to listen to stories about “put on your equipment, but I don’t have a helmet for this five-year-old toddler,” I’ll tell you where it’s best to dive into such dungeons that your heart will ache, your breath will catch, and at the moment you lose your balance with happiness , there was a handrail and an experienced guide at hand.
Speleology in Crimea began its active activity in the 50s. During this time, more than 900 cave objects were explored and discovered, many of which still remain inaccessible to ordinary tourists - too difficult, dangerous and unpredictable sections are found on such routes.
Therefore, only specialists or well-trained people involved in sports tourism, for example, can descend into these dungeons. Descent into such caves requires professional equipment and teamwork.
The karst caves that we are going to have long been prepared for tourists, and the routes run through equipped, safe and incredibly beautiful galleries. And since the activity of nature in the underground continues, specialists will always have to study, discover, record and tell us about their discoveries.
Majority karst caves of interest are located on the Chatyr-Daga plateau, Ai-Petri, mountain ranges Dolgorukovskaya Yayla and Karabi-yayly.
So, the top 5 Crimean caves for a safe, exciting and educational excursion in 2019!
The Marble Kingdom and its retinue
According to statistics and visitor reviews, Marble Cave is the most visited and attractive.
Along the route, which is more than 1 km long, there are spacious galleries decorated with fantastic sinter formations, patterns, crystals, and miraculous sculptures. The labyrinths of the dungeon attract tourists deeper, where more and more new pictures are revealed.
The Marble Cave is recognized as the most beautiful geological object, which is included in the top five such attractions in the world.
Mammoths in Crimea? See for yourself!
Not far from Mramornaya there is the second most beautiful cave - Emine-Bair-Khosar or Mammoth.
It is known for its underground lakes, both “dry” and deep, with the purest water.
The kingdom of ancient and very young stalactites and stalagmites once became last refuge wild animals (possibly from the Ice Age, yes!), otherwise how to explain the skeleton of a small mammoth found here and other animals long unseen by us.
From sacrifices to scuba diving
This is an interesting chronicle of events that can be traced in the depths of Red Caves or Kizil-Koba - the most voluminous and extensive cave system in Crimea.
Over millions of years of its existence, thanks to river flows inside and sediments outside, various rooms were formed in this dungeon - halls, wells, mines, tunnels, galleries, corridors, manholes and canyons.
You will not be offered much to explore, only 500 meters, but the interior design and content will leave vivid pictures in your memory for a long time.
And if you still decide to extreme scuba diving in an underground river , with negotiating a water tunnel to explore hard-to-reach halls beyond the usual tourist route, you can consider yourself a caving guru!
Dive for details !
Man-made cave with a ghost and inscriptions from Karaite tourists
It is located on the territory of a cave city.
But keep in mind that excursions and descent into the well are carried out separately from visiting the cave city.
History and speculation
The problem with fresh water in Crimea, as can be seen from history, has always existed. Residents cave cities and monasteries prudently created various pools and containers for collecting sediment.
But in ancient writings there was mention of some secret hydraulic structure. Our archaeologists slept and saw a mysterious well, and now, after thinking carefully and studying all kinds of manuscripts, the location of Tik-Kuyu was discovered in 1998 !
The fact is that the well was filled with earth, and it took three whole years to open it and clear it of soil, and then another time to put the object in order.
The well was a tunnel that had a descent deep underground, and there branches began and other rooms were found.
And now it has become not entirely clear whether the well performed only a hydraulic function for collecting and settling fresh water or whether there were other purposes.
For example, it could be an excellent refuge during a siege of the city, or there were sanctuaries here.
Why climb into the well?
At first you have to go down stone and steep steps, then the tunnel turns into a narrow stepped gallery. Subdued light and limited space (2 by 2, 20 m) are impressive.
Along the way, you will come across strange encrypted messages, tables or maps on the walls, and traditional, but uncharacteristic for that time, inscriptions in Karaite and Latin languages, like “Vasya was here...”.
Below there will be a gallery with hollowed-out containers - baths for collecting and storing water.
Here the guide will tell you a few interesting facts about a valuable treasure found not long ago (a whole pot of gold!), and will show you where your procession is being watched from ghost of the Tik-Kuyu well .
How to get there
You need to get to the cave city. From the Bakhchisarai bus station you need to follow shuttle bus before Staroselye stops . From there, follow the signs, walk for about 15 minutes and you are there.
Excursion cost
Tickets can be purchased directly from the venue. You may have to wait until the group is full.
Ticket price for an adult – 300 rubles, a child – 150 rubles.
Photo and video shooting is free. A big plus is that after the lectures there is free time for inspection and photography.
Habitat of the forest cat and seven-meter knights
In 1904, an ordinary rural teacher from the town of Skelya (Rodnikovoe) discovered a unique cave, which was later named Skelskaya or, as it was also called, the Teacher’s Room.
Speleologists approached it only in 1960, and it was opened for excursions even later, in 2003.
Skelskaya Cave is unusual for its internal location. Whereas other dungeons involve diving deeper, the route of this cave is directed upward. How can this be? Come and see for yourself!
Once upon a time, the remains of ancient animals were found in this dungeon - a forest cat, a saiga antelope. And also, deep-sea lakes were discovered somewhere in the lower tiers.
The walk, during which you will visit five halls, will take about 50 minutes. The decoration here is really rich - stalactite and stalagmite sculptures, all kinds of “icicles”, petrified fringe and cascades, arches, sinter formations frozen in incredible forms.
Where is it and how to visit
Skelskaya cave is located between two settlements V Baydar Valley – Razdolnoye And Rodnikovoe .
How to get there, how much it costs and when is the best time to visit this site can be found on the official website:
speleotour.com
The fact is that although the cave is open all year round for tourists, during floods it cannot receive guests.
Where else can you go in Crimea?
You can explore other caves, not so majestic, equipped or artificially decorated, but attractive with their legends and secrets.
Chatyr-Dag and scary stories
Thousand-headed or Binbash-Koba - a large ancient burial of human remains was discovered here. A very atmospheric place, around which there are many legends.
Ai-Petri and eternal ice
Trezglazka or Emine-Bair-Koba – you can get here by booking an excursion at the Onyx Tour caving center only in the warm season. Because in this dungeon the ice does not melt even in summer, and in addition to ordinary stalactites, you will also see ice ones.
Echki-Dag and extreme
The Ear of the Earth is a completely inconspicuous cave, which is a crack in the rock, but upon closer examination, the “crack” is the entrance to a narrow well.
Here it is better to have experience as a climber or enlist the help of a reliable friend - the cave has vertical and deep manholes, which it is better not to go down alone.
Good to know
If you went to “conquer” the mountainous or cave Crimea, try to leave your coordinates to close people – there have been a lot of cases where tourists got lost, climbed to the wrong place or were injured this year.
And it’s better not to give in to curiosity and do not visit alone unknown, and most importantly, unequipped cave objects. When planning to visit a particular area, find out in advance what interesting things are nearby that you can look into without fear.
so or subscribe to my blog, Join on social networks – read the necessary information and don’t hesitate to ask questions!
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Crimea has a large number of caves that attract speleologists from all over the country. Every year more and more new caves in Crimea are registered. There are about 1,100 studied caves in Crimea alone, and 50 of them are natural monuments.
In Crimea, small caves (up to 100 m) predominate in number, but there are also real giants. They were even discovered in the caves of Crimea. Every year new caves in Crimea are opened.
Since ancient times, many legends and stories have been told about each of the caves. And, indeed, walking under the dark arches of mysterious caves, you involuntarily begin to believe that once upon a time there lived a terrible giant who stole beautiful girls or the greedy khan was hiding his incredible treasures.
We should not forget about the indigenous inhabitants of ancient Tauris - Taurus is translated as “highlander”. It was they who inhabited the mountainous part of the peninsula and lived in caves. It was in them that they performed rituals of sacrifice to their almighty and ruthless goddess the Virgin.
The microclimate in all caves is unique. Thanks to him, many interesting artifacts have survived to this day. After visiting the caves, you will be able to imagine for a while exactly how ancient people lived. And one more thing: they say that one hour of staying in the caves rejuvenates you by exactly one year!
The most beautiful cave in Crimea - Mramornaya
The most mysterious cave of Crimea - Mammoth Cave or Emine Bair Khosar
Mammoth Cave is one of the most mysterious caves in the world, located near the Marble Cave on the lower plateau of the Chatyr-Dag massif. Its depth is more than 120 m. The total length is about 2 km. One of its most interesting halls is “Monomakh’s Cap”, named after the unique stalagmite located here, covered with “moon milk”, the composition of which is still unknown.
Over the entire existence of the cave, a huge number of prehistoric animals fell into its natural entrance. Since the temperature in the cave is low, their remains have survived to this day. In the cave you can see the skeleton of a baby mammoth, an ancient goat, etc.
The most magical cave in Crimea - Skelskaya stalactite cave
It is located at an altitude of 350 m above sea level in the southwest of Crimea near the village of Rodnikovoe (formerly the village of Skeli). The total length of the Skelskaya cave is 670 m. The cave is listed in the Book of Records as the most populated by speleofauna. Spiders, crustaceans, springtails, centipedes, beetles, and mammals (bats) live here.
In addition, plankton was discovered here, which is no longer on earth. Skelskaya Cave constantly attracts magicians and psychics, as it is considered a powerful Place of Power in Crimea.
The fantastic world of the cave is home to incredible creatures that have never seen sunlight. Such animals that spend their lives underground and are unable to exist in other conditions are called troglobionts.
Life in the dark left its mark on their structure and behavior: first of all, there was a complete or partial loss of vision. Blindness made them hypersensitive - the developed antennae, bristles and elongated limbs became their perfect organs of touch.
The most unusual cave in Crimea is the Three-Eyes Cave or Emine Bair Koba
Located on the northeastern edge of the lower plateau of Chatyr Daga. Its length is 950 m, depth -150 m. The cave has 3 entrances. Two of them on the northwestern side are difficult to access. The cave contains an underground lake 2.5 m wide and 3 m deep.
Peculiar crustaceans - nifargus - have learned to survive in an underground reservoir. Now these strange ones, with an almost surreal appearance, underground inhabitants Only 3-4 species are known, but their diversity is much greater, they are just poorly studied.
All caves are very different and it’s difficult to judge what the caves are like. underground kingdom it is forbidden. Crimea is a unique place. It contains places of very different origin and energy.
They are quite different in appearance as well. The peninsula offers an amazing opportunity to get to know the underwater and underground world better and to plunge into the abyss of the unknown.
Of course, it is impossible to see all the caves of Crimea in a short period of stay on the peninsula. But everyone can look into the most interesting corners of Crimea and find “their” favorite place.
Caves of Crimea video:
Attractions
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In Crimea unique relief, nature has created many forms and objects, both aboveground and underground, on the territory of this peninsula. Crimean caves attract not only extreme sports enthusiasts, but also ordinary tourists; there are even caves accessible to beginners and non-specialists. Often, the size of the cave does not depend on how impressive it will be inside; for example, the small Yalta cave is no less impressive than the largest Red cave. When visiting caves, you need to remember the safety rules and understand that we are visiting nature, and treat everything around you with care.
Sight
This cave is located near cable car, leading to Ai-Petri, so it is quite popular to visit; it is easy to find by following the signs, exiting the cable car to observation deck. The second name of this cave is Ice, because the temperature here is like in a refrigerator - 10 degrees all year round. In the center of the cave there is a meter-long snowdrift, tourists often throw coins into it, making a wish, and under it is a floor made of compressed ice. It was also called Vorontsovskaya; they say that it was from here that ice was obtained for the table of Count Vorontsov, whose estate is located at the foot of Ai-Petri in Alupka. The name of the cave comes from the entrance: it was formed in the form of a hole with three entrances, which were compared to eyes. A ladder descends into the cave, along which, observing safety precautions, you must descend backwards. In winter, the entrance to the cave is locked.
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This cave is also located on the Ai-Petri plateau, it was accidentally discovered in 1997 by a Yalta speleologist and his son under a mountain of leaves, and was equipped for visiting by enthusiasts in 2007. This is a small cave, but very spectacular. Only the first room is open to the public, but it is very impressive; there are colored lamps here that create real stone flowers, jellyfish or other bizarre images from the karst deposits. This cave is recognized as a natural monument.
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This cave was discovered in 1902 by a teacher from the village of Skelya, and it was named after this. It was formed as a result of a tectonic fault. This cave was equipped for visiting in 2003. Since then, excursions have been regularly conducted there, and along a route of 270 meters, which takes about an hour, tourists are shown 5 halls, richly decorated with natural influxes: the Fireplace Hall, the Dolphin Hall, the Knight's Hall, the Organ Hall and the Hall of Ghosts. Inside the cave you can see the stalagmites “Phoenix Bird”, seven-meter “Knight” and others fairy tale characters, the names of which everyone can come up with for themselves.
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The system of these caves is called Kyzyl-Koba in Tatar. They are located near Simferopol and are the largest cave in Crimea. The caves can only be visited with a guide - there are 6 floors going deep and there are many lakes, siphons, and reservoirs. There is a large stalactite here - 8 meters, over 8000 years old. An underground river flows through this cave, which forms the Su-uchkhan waterfall. Excursion route here it lasts 500 meters, this is not much compared to its total length of more than 13 kilometers, but it is dangerous to go further without special training. Folk festivals are often held in the valley near the cave, for example, Ivan Kupala Day is celebrated here, birthdays and other holidays are held.
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This cave, discovered by the Simferopol speleosection in 1987, is located on the lower plateau of Mount Chatyr-Dag. The entrance to it is located at 920 meters above sea level. The exploitation of the cave by tourists began in 1987, since then thousands of people interested in the underground world have visited it. For convenience, concrete paths are laid inside, handrails are installed, and artificial lighting is provided. Several routes have been developed, some are accessible even to children. The length of the routes is up to one and a half kilometers. On the way you will come across a gallery of fairy tales, in which the walls are decorated with sintered draperies, a tiger passage, named after the skeleton that archaeologists found there, a landslide hall and a stalactite forest. According to speleologists, this is one of the most visited equipped caves in Europe, and it is also one of the five most beautiful caves in the world.
Underworld Crimea is no less interesting than the land one. Don't you know what I mean? About the caves of the Crimean peninsula, of course. About the stalactites and stalagmites of Mramornaya, Krasnaya, Skelskaya, Emine-Bair-Khosar and Emine-Bair-Koba. In general, in this material I decided to talk about the most beautiful and popular caves. Of course, there are many more of them than I have listed, but most are suitable only for speleologists. Ordinary tourists should choose something from this list. By the way, in some of them it is possible to take a longer and sportier route.
Marble Cave
Marble Cave is considered one of the most beautiful equipped caves in the world. It is located on the territory mountain range Chatyr-Dag. The cave was discovered only in 1987. But research is still ongoing.
The tourist route is long. It includes several halls: Clay, Palace, Perestroika, Pink, Nadezhd, Balcony, Lustrovy, Obvalny, Ruslovy, Chocolate. A walk through the Marble Cave begins with a meeting with the Owner, a huge white stalagmite of a bizarre shape. Speleologists respect him. It is believed that the Master should not be offended..
The Marble Cave hosts classical music concerts in the summer. They will need not tuxedos and evening dresses, but cotton pants and warm jackets, because the air temperature in the cave is +9 degrees.
Price: 700 rubles.
Schedule: from 9.00 to 19.00.
How to get there: by bus from Simferopol (stop at railway station) to the village of Mramornoe or Krasnolesie, then 8 km on foot to the entrance or on a private route.
Emine-Bair-Khosar
There are many caves on Chatyr-Dag. However, only a few of them are suitable for tourists. This list also included Emine-Bair-Khosar, which translated from Turkic means “a well on a slope near an oak tree.” The length of the cave is 2 kilometers. It has five levels. The excursion along the route takes about an hour and a half, as there is a lot of interesting things to see. By the way, it was in the Emine-Bair-Khosar cave that a well-preserved mammoth skeleton was found.
Price: 700 rubles.
Schedule: from 9.00 to 19.00.
How to get there:
Emine-Bair-Koba
Emine-Bair-Koba is another cave of Chatyr-Dag. It is located on the lower plateau near the village of Mramornoe. They first wrote about her in 1927. In the first article they mentioned that the entrance to the cave opens with three holes. Therefore, Emine-Bair-Koba is known as “Three-Eyed”. Speleologists continue to explore it, so only the first 200 meters are open to tourists. The tour of this cave is the shortest - only 20 minutes. However, if you are speleological athletes, then you have the opportunity to walk an additional 150 meters with special equipment.
Price: 400 rubles (regular route), 1000 rubles (extreme route).
How to get there: the same as before the Marble Cave.
Schedule: from 9.00 to 19.00.
Red Cave (Kizil-Koba)
The Red Cave is located near the village of Perevalnoye. Its approximate age is 2.5 million years. Scientists have found that people lived in the vicinity of the Red Cave back in the Paleolithic era.
The first mention of the Red Cave in Crimea is found in Sumarokov’s notes from 1803. It was then that the first tourists flocked here. On their list was Alexander Griboyedov, author of Woe from Wit. He visited there on June 24, 1825. In the 19th century, tourists entered the cave with candles and torches.
The Red Cave was equipped in 1990. There are two options for visiting: standard and extreme. In the first case, you will walk along the main route, where you will see the dry siphon, the Sanctuary, the University passage, the Shamansky Throat, the Academic Hall, the Indian Hall, the Argentine tributary, and the Griboedov Gallery. The extreme route begins with you putting on a wetsuit, then going through a natural obstacle - a flooded passage 1.5 meters long. After this, those halls of the Red Cave will open to you, which ordinary tourists will never reach.
Price: 500 rubles (adult), 250 rubles (children from 6 to 14 years old). Extreme route – 4500 rubles per person.
Schedule: from 9.00 to 19.00.
How to get there: by bus or trolleybus from the Kurortnaya bus station at the railway station in Simferopol to the Perevalnoye-2 stop. From there walk to the parking lot entertainment complex“Viking”, from there it’s another 1.5 km walk to the entrance to the cave.
Skelskaya cave
P.S. Photos of caves except Skelskaya are from official websites.
Post Views: 1,835
Holidays in Crimea are a problem of choice: places, accommodation, restaurant, excursions. Having gotten rid of the first lines of this list and approached the item “excursions around the Crimea,” we again find ourselves faced with the need to choose from an immense number of options: there are hundreds of tourist routes on the peninsula. Some people go to see the former royal palaces, some are attracted by mountain gorges and waterfalls, others like leisurely walks through ancient parks and museums. You and I will go to virtual tour By caves of Crimea.
Famous caves of Crimea
It seems that by choosing the “Caves of Crimea” excursion, you can “relax” and start preparing for the trip. However, your carelessness will disappear immediately when you find out how much Crimea caves If you are standing, it is better to sit down: in Crimean mountains there are approximately eight hundred caves! Fifty of them are recognized as natural monuments and are under state protection. How do you like this range of choice?
Visit all Crimea caves It’s impossible to do it in one vacation, so we’ll take a walk through the humid twilight of the most famous “underground mountain kingdoms.”
Let's start the journey with the most beautiful cave not only of the peninsula, but of the whole world. This beauty is called Marble Cave. Located in the Chatyr-Dag mountain range, near the village of Mramornoe on the lower plateau. It took nature thousands of years to create a cave in a layer of marbleized limestone. They learned about the unique Marble Cave only in 1987, but just 5 years later (in 1992) it was accepted into the International Association of Equipped Caves, including it in the list of the most visited caves on the planet. Vacation in Crimea and not take an excursion to Marble Cave - crime!
is a complex system of galleries and halls equipped with tourist routes with a total length of about 1.5 kilometers. What can be seen in the cave:
- Gallery of fairy tales;
- calcium carbonate crystals;
- stalagmites and stalactites (many of them have “names” and names, for example: "Minaret", "Queen", "King");
- fantastic stains and drawings on the walls;
- corridor "Tiger's Move";
- a huge hall that could fit a 9-story house (height 28 meters, length 100 meters);
- Palace Hall.
The entrance to the cave is 920 meters above sea level. Take a tour of Marble Cave You won’t be able to do it without a guide – it’s prohibited. The excursion route is divided into three parts: “Tiger Walk”, lower and main galleries. The duration of the caving walk is 1 hour 20 minutes. For 10 hryvnia you will be allowed to take photographs in the cave.
Red Cave
If it is the most beautiful cave in Crimea, then Red Cave (Kizil-Koba) is the largest “limestone” cave in Europe: its length is about 21 kilometers. The area of the Red Cave is about 53 thousand square meters, and the volume is about 200 thousand cubic meters. Kizil-Koba is an extensive system of long galleries, flooded areas, and vertical wells. The Red Cave includes the Griffin source cave and the Pigeon cave. The Su-Uchkhan River flows along the first tier of Kizil-Koba, thanks to whose patient work over centuries the cave appeared. What attracts tourists to the Red Cave:
- 6-storey galleries;
- spacious underground halls 145 meters high and up to 80 meters long;
- corallites, stalagmites, stalactites;
- cave pearls.
The cost of entry to the Red Cave is 30 hryvnia, the duration of the excursion is 40 minutes.
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave(aka Emine-Bair-Khosar cave) is interesting because bones of prehistoric animals are found in it. The well-shaped entrance to it was discovered in 1927. The researchers who descended into it were amazed by the large 100-meter hall. Total length of halls and galleries Mammoth caves is 1.5 kilometers. The scientists who discovered the first remains of a mammoth in the cave kept the discovery secret for 50 years, protecting the cave from the invasion of curious “guests”. Then a paleontological museum opened in the cave, closed today due to ongoing archaeological work. A walk through the cave takes place in comfortable conditions: there are rest areas and concrete stairs with railings. Attractions of the Mammoth Cave:
- "Treasury";
- underwater lake;
- hall of idols;
- Kecskemet Hall;
- hall "Monomakh's Cap";
- “White Speleologist” – the good spirit of the cave;
- "God's finger"
A tour of the Mammoth Cave lasts about 2 hours and costs 70 hryvnia. Additional expenses: photography – 10 hryvnia, rental of warm linen – 3 hryvnia (constant temperature in the cave +5°C).
Thousand Head Cave
Thousand-Headed Cave - Binbash-Koba. The name of the cave is associated with a beautiful legend. In the old days, people from a local village hid in a cave from hostile nomadic tribes. Many days passed, and thirst made itself known - children cried, and old people died. There was one brave girl who began to quietly go to the source in the nearby Cold Cave for water. Every time she returned, the water from her jug watered the ground, causing grass to grow on it, forming the “Green Path”. This path showed the enemies the way to the shelter. They killed everyone who was hiding in it, and put their heads in the cave. Thousand-Headed Cave...
The cave is 110 meters long. Interesting objects in it:
- Big hall;
- cramped tunnel;
- fragments of stalactites.
We looked at only four Crimea caves, but they also allow us to get a clear idea that the Crimean land is rich in exotic things not only on the surface, but also in its most hidden, underground corners. Everyone who has visited the mysterious depths of the Crimean caves will forever keep their amazing aura in their hearts. And in your heart there is a place for at least one of eight hundred caves of Crimea.
