How to get to Ai Petri from Sudak. Cable car to Ai-Petri in numbers

To get to a coral reef, you don’t have to travel to distant countries. It is enough to visit the Crimean mountain Ai-Petri, which, according to some scientists, is an ancient reef that rose from the bottom of the sea. This seemingly inaccessible jagged rock can be reached by car. Two roads lead to a 1.2-kilometer height: a serpentine road from Yalta and a mountainous, but flatter road from Bakhchisarai. Andrey Pripisnov and I after visiting Khan's Palace, Assumption Monastery and Chufut-Kale chose the second path. By the way, there is also a third one - by air, by cable car from Miskhor.

Route: Bakhchisarai – Tankovoe – Kuibyshevo – Golubinka – Sokolinoe – Ai-Petri peak – Yalta

BELBEK GATE

On the plain it is sunny, but in the mountains there is fog and rain, the climate is different there

Having passed Bakhchisarai, behind the village of Zheleznodorozhnoe we turn left into the valley of the Belbek River, and find ourselves in a large canyon, the edges of which are marked by separate mountains with flat tops. This is the so-called Belbek Gate. These places were densely populated in ancient times. Here on that top on the right is the Byzantine Shuiren fortress, behind it cave city Mangup, the capital of the principality known in the Middle Ages, on the left - cave monastery Kachi-Kalyon and the ancient settlement of Kyz-Kermen…

The road along which we are traveling was paved by Russian sappers at the end of the 19th century under the leadership of engineer-Colonel Shishko, who so successfully fit it into the terrain that Soviet time it was only slightly expanded and covered with asphalt.

The local more temperate climate without constant southern coastal disasters and the abundance of water allow us to grow excellent harvests in the gardens we pass by. We stop at a grandmother who sells dogwoods to compare the taste of garden berries with wild ones. Yes, garden dogwood is twice as large, but the taste of the one growing in the forests of the South Coast is more tart and rich.

Behind Sokolin, a mountain serpentine begins, densely surrounded by beech forest - it’s difficult for two cars, not to mention buses, to pass each other at turns. On the left is the Grand Canyon - a narrow gorge 300 meters deep, behind which are the ruins of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, on the right is the Silver Waterfall.

Menacing rock walls facing the sea

We don't have time to rush to visit these attractions. This requires time, and we don’t have much of it - we need to get to the top of Ai-Petri before dark, and the weather at a thousand-meter altitude is too changeable, and it’s already starting to rain. By the way, in such weather, visiting the canyon is very dangerous due to rockfalls.

Finally, when the turns straightened slightly and the heads, having taken a vertical position, ceased to resemble Chinese bobbleheads, giant puffball mushrooms suddenly appeared in front of us. These are the white domes of the Simeiz Observatory, which means they are almost there.

HIGH MOUNTAIN TABOR

We turn to the cable car station and, before reaching it, we stop at the very edge of a 1.2-kilometer cliff. A panorama of the southern coast of Crimea unfolds before us, like a wide-screen film in an American drive-in theater. In the foreground is the beautiful Yalta, behind it is the silhouette of Bear Mountain protruding far into the sea.

Tabor on top of Ai-Petri. The white triangular building is the cable car station.

The jagged peak of Ai-Petri is very close, but to get to it you need to enter the small Las Vegas resort surrounded by a fence with entertainment venues, which, with the presence of a huge tent, resembles a mobile circus town and a gypsy camp at the same time.

They ask us five hryvnia for entry and parking. As a former local who climbed here for free in the “stagnant” years, this offends me a little (another paid entrance to Proval!), especially since it is not the Crimean Tatars who take tribute, but it seems like Chechens who came from God knows where.

Having met the controller with a black beard and his companion and finally feeling like we are in an oriental bazaar, we begin to bargain: “Okay, Abdurahman and Muhamed, we are journalists, we’ll write about you, give us a discount.” They consult with their “field commander” and let us in for free. Muhamed runs after him and, out of breath, asks to cross him out of the notebook. We're doing him a favor (he goes by a different name here). The guy sighs with relief. “You’ll have to watch the car for this!” - Having become completely impudent, we shout to him. He waves his hand in agreement.

From here a breathtaking panorama of the southern coast of Crimea opens, from Mount Ayu-Dag in the east to Mount Koshka (Simeiz) in the west.

We pass through a gauntlet of shops and eateries that look like props. The smell is like backstage at a circus, which is not surprising: there are dozens of horses, there are even camels. We refuse to ride on horseback to the Three-Eyes Cave. The guides immediately lose interest in us, but one of them, still trying to interest us, lays out his last trump card: “This is the writer’s favorite cave...”. The writer's name is carried away by the wind, we have no time to ask him again. But what! Abreks are abreks, even though now they are extras in a film about robbers or Basmachi, but they learned about the writer - the tourism business forced them.

Behind the fence the path to the top of Ai-Petri begins. It’s late and the booth at the next entrance to Proval is empty. Savings again - two hryvnias per brother. It's not a long walk, but it's not possible to go quickly - the path is slippery, its stones are polished to a mirror shine by thousands of tourist feet. Here is the famous jagged peak, reproduced on thousands of postcards since Tsarist times. From here you can see the missing West Side panoramas of the South Coast: Gaspra, Koreiz, Miskhor, Alupka, Simeiz, Blue Bay...

HUNDRED NIGHT TURNINGS

The peak of Ai-Petri is considered best place in Crimea to watch the sunrise. Which, however, can be argued - on the eastern side of Demerdzhi above the Khapkhal tract it is also not weak, and on Babugan Kush-Kai, Karabi-Yayla and Karadag...

But we were destined to see the sun set. Here it is as fast as on the entire Southern Coast: as if someone invisible turned off the light and left only a faint illumination in the Sevastopol area. And we, like an ant in a cartoon, have to get to our anthill, and, like in a cartoon, the anthill seems close, but we still have to run and run to get to it. So is Yalta, here it is, under your feet, directly to it no more than three kilometers, but to get down to it you need to drive twenty kilometers along a rather dangerous, unlit mountain serpentine at night, and even in the drizzling rain.

The very first 180-degree turn makes you respect this rally track (Antique Rallies were held here), and there are about a hundred such turns where cars pass each other end-to-end. It was hard to believe that here Sergei Malik reached speeds of up to 200 km/h in Formula 1600. True, on straight sections, but still.

We fly past the Uchan-Su waterfall and the “Lesnoy” and “Kara-Gol” restaurants, famous in the “stagnant” years, where people flew from Moscow by plane to spend a couple of days hanging out. And, finally, the Crimean pines parted, and like an inverted starry sky, the Southern Coast began to sparkle before us with myriads of lights. And for some reason I remembered Mayakovskoye - “Please give me a chervonets!” Yalta".

CREW. Andrey Pripisnov (car owner), Alexander Elchishchev.
AUTOMOBILE. Five-door hatchback VAZ-21140 2003.
ROUTE. Traveling around Crimea. Mountain road Bakhchisaray - Yalta with a stop at the top of Mount Ai-Petri (1234 m).

REFERENCE

ROAD BAKCHISARAI - YALTA

Distance 74 km. Having driven 5 km after the last houses of Bakhchisarai towards Sevastopol, you need to turn left at the fork after the village. Zheleznodorozhnoe, near the railway station Siren (Syuyren). The landmark is an obelisk in honor of the soldiers-liberators of Crimea. The road is replete with mountain serpentines, so before the trip you need to check the effectiveness of the brakes. It is advisable to have “foglights”. Remember: the climate in the mountains is different than on the plain.

AI-PETRI

Mount Ai-Petri, symbol Big Yalta, famous for its jagged peak (its height is 1234 m). Located above Yalta and Alupka. Translated from Greek - Saint Peter (most likely because of the temple located here, whose ruins were seen by travelers at the beginning of the 19th century). At the top there is a cable car station, a whole entertainment town with souvenir shops and restaurants. The cost of entering and parking a car is 5 hryvnia (1 hryvnia is equal to approximately 4 rubles). A visit to the top costs 2 hryvnia (prices have probably changed).

CABLE CAR

The top of Ai-Petri can be reached by a 3-kilometer cable car from Miskhor. Rise time - 20 minutes. People who are afraid of heights should keep in mind that the last, highest section, 1.7 km long, has no supports (it is the largest in Europe), and the trailer sways a lot.

CAVES

35 caves have been explored on the Ai-Petrinsky plateau (yayla). The deepest of them is Cascade (246 m), the most accessible is Trekhglazka. A half-hour horse route from the town at the top has been organized to the latter. Excursion hours are from 8.00 to 20.00 daily. The cost is 40 hryvnia (to be clarified, the price was given during our trip). There are enough horses for everyone - there are several dozen of them here.
© Alexander Elchishchev
Photo and route diagram by the author

Ai-Petri: legend and reality

Mount Ai-Petri received its name thanks to the ancient Greeks: on the top of the mountain there are preserved ruins of an ancient Greek monastery. The name of the mountain translates as “St. Peter”. Names are what the monastery was called in ancient times. Well, the Greeks loved to build monasteries in such places - remember the Greek Meteora!

Today, Ai-Petri is perhaps one of the most popular mountains among tourists in Crimea.

The mountain, whose height is 1234 meters, is a place of attraction for tourists, because... it offers an indescribable view of Greater Yalta. From the top of Ai-Petri, all the resorts of the southern coast of Crimea are clearly visible, and the sea from here can be seen at a distance of 135 km.

The mountain has an unusual shape, decorated with sharp teeth, making it noticeable among other Crimean peaks. Scientists have found that Ai-Petri peak - This is a former coral reef.

At the same time, Ai-Petri is not single vertex, but a huge massif stretching from Yalta to Foros and called the Ai-Petrinskaya yayla or plateau. Like other Crimean yaylas, it is practically treeless. However, the reasons for its treelessness are not entirely clear. Some scientists believe that the yayls were previously covered with forest, but already in historical times the tree cover was destroyed by fires and humans. Others believe that the reason is unfavorable climatic and soil conditions. Strong winter winds are especially destructive for trees and bushes (even we had the opportunity to verify the plausibility of this version)

Be that as it may, the Ai-Petri plateau is a unique and beautiful place. And it's definitely worth climbing it. All that remains is to decide how you will do it.

How to get there

There are several ways to get to the top:

• on the cable car
• by vehicle: personal or use the services of numerous private operators (their prices are comparable to the price of the cable car)
• on foot: tourist routes, of which there are a lot that lead to the top, can be found from almost any point at the foot of the mountain.

The fastest and most famous way is take advantage of the cable car services . Actually, that's what we did. The lower station is located at resort village Miskhor, height above sea level 87 meters. Cost of the cable car: 350 rubles – adult ticket; 250 rubles – for children (prices tend to increase by 50 rubles from season to season)

You can get to the cable car by bus from Yalta (buses No. 27 and 32). For motorists, getting to the lower station is a little more difficult. The station is located almost in the center of Miskhor, but there are not signs at intersections everywhere, and we constantly stopped to ask passersby whether we were going the right way... Finally, having parked the car in a small parking lot, we headed to the cable car ticket office.

On the way to the ticket office, guys tried to catch us several times, offering us to go to the top in their car: they said, it would be more interesting. But we firmly decided to go up at least once by cable car, and then we can do it ourselves by car if we want.

First, a few words about the cable car itself. Cable car opens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the way up and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the descent without breaks or days off. The capacity of the cabins is 30 people. The length of the road is 2980 meters. It consists of two segments: approximately in the middle you will have to get out of the cabin and wait for the arrival of the upper cabin in order to transfer to it and go further to the top. This section of road between the middle and upper stations is 1670 meters and is the longest unsupported span in Europe, with an elevation angle of 46 degrees.

By the way, this year the Aypetrin cable car will have an anniversary - it turns 30 years old. Its construction began back in 1967, and the opening took place only on December 31, 1987.

To be honest, the cable car cars look like they are all 70 years old... They look like old pre-war trams.

And while we are going upstairs in it, I listen with caution to all sorts of different creaks... But soon the beautiful views outside the windows captivate me much more than the interior of the carriage:

During the transfer, people get out of the carriage that arrived from above and they... uh... look like Napoleonic soldiers near Moscow: they are wrapped in a lot of clothes, as if it’s not September, and we’re not in the Crimea. Of course, I read that you need to dress warmly, because it will be cool on the mountain, but I didn’t imagine HOW COOL it would be there...

How to dress

A few words about the weather features on Ai-Petri. The contrast of climate between the mountain and the coast can be easily seen by rising from Yalta - from a hot sub-Mediterranean climate - to the moderately cold, excessively humid climate of Ai-Petri. In terms of temperature regime, the Aypetrin plateau can be compared with middle lane Russia. If in Yalta the average annual air temperature is +13 degrees, then on Ai-Petri it is only +5.9. Precipitation on Ai-Petri is 1052 mm, in Yalta - 635 mm. The wind speed on the plateau can reach 50 m per second!

Therefore, even in summer it is worth taking WARM CLOTHES with you when visiting Ai-Petri. No, you don’t understand - really warm clothes. And not a knitted jumper, as I did...

And winter here is completely real, with snowstorms and snowdrifts. Frosts in February can reach -27 C. North wind It blows on the plateau 220-230 days a year. As for snowstorms, during the winter there are up to 35 days with snowstorms.

This place is such a joke of nature...

What will we see at the top?

At the exit from the cable car we immediately feel this change climatic conditions: The wind is blowing so hard that your eyes are watering. And it’s cold, it’s blowing to the point of shivering... I wrap myself around the stole that miraculously ended up in my bag, and we set off to explore the plateau.

And almost immediately we come across numerous cafes inviting with dishes national (Crimean Tatar) cuisine. It curls here and there smoke from the brazier... We are persistently invited to drink hot tea. But we politely refuse - we don’t feel like it yet, thank you...

So far we have no desire to take advantage of other entertainments. The list of entertainment is standard - horseback riding, ATVs, ziplining from the top to the plateau.

Here, on the plateau, is tourist shelter, welcoming travelers not only in summer, but also in winter, when it is a paradise for ski lovers. Yes, I didn’t make a reservation: Ai-Petri is equipped with several ski slopes. Where do they skate here in winter, I wonder?

Then our path passes through a real oriental bazaar with its own flavor. In addition to tea and sweets, you will also find wine by the glass and souvenirs. They sell warm chuns made from sheep skins, vests made from them, and other handicrafts. The path that leads to the top - to the battlements, begins in the protected area, entrance to it is paid (100 rubles).

Then you have to walk a couple of hundred meters through a forest, along a rocky path. This takes about 10-15 minutes, but you need to watch your step - the surface of the stones is quite slippery in any weather! And, although the altitude gain is insignificant, some probably have time to get tired. Apparently, this encouraging poster hangs for them:

We leave the forest, it’s only about a hundred meters to the top. But it’s impossible to walk quickly because of the strong wind (by the way, there was almost no wind in the forest).

Finally, before us is the very place from which the most beautiful pictures from Ai-Petri:

These are the famous teeth. Among them are four especially large ones (up to 12-15 m high) and many smaller ones. The Ai-Petri teeth were formed during the weathering of a reef massif cut by faults. On one of the battlements there is a spire for raising the flag, on the other a wooden cross was left after filming.

Climbing the Zubtsy is accessible only to rock climbers. But for extreme sports enthusiasts, an unforgettable attraction is organized on the battlements for a small fee. The essence of the attraction is to cross a shaky suspension bridge over an abyss along the battlements. Adrenaline must be overflowing.

And I wanted to do it so much, I wanted it so much!... But I was so frozen due to the terrible cold wind that sometimes I couldn’t feel my fingers. How to walk on such a shaky wind turbine suspension bridge with limbs numb from the cold? And I decided - not this time, friends...

So, if you want to go on this attraction, I advise you to warm yourself and be sure to wear sports shoes.

What we didn’t see at Ai-Petri...

After spending a few minutes at this place, we take some photos and videos for the blog.

At this point we considered our task completed. And on legs stiff from the cold we begin to descend back to the cable car station.

Meanwhile, on the Aypetrin plateau there are several interesting objects that we simply did not reach.

For example, to the northeast of the battlements, above the cable car station, there is a small yew grove in which it grows 1000-year-old yew berry. Trunk diameter 103 m, height 10 m.

You can also visit Ai-Petri series of caves , where excursions are organized for tourists. Of the three caves - Yalta, Geofizicheskaya and Trekhglazka - the last one is the most remarkable. It got its name thanks to the three holes through which tourists get inside it. In the cave you can admire ice stalactites and stalagmites, a skating rink and a huge block of snow. The temperature in the cave always remains quite low, so it has several other names - Refrigerator or Ice. We definitely no longer had the desire to climb into the ice cave.

Also on the Bakhchisarai-Yalta highway there is weather station, one of the oldest in Crimea , founded in 1895. In addition to meteorological observations, work on hydrology, botany, soil science, astronomy, and zoology was carried out here. From 1905 to 1932 Head of the weather station K.F. Levandovsky headed research papers by winds and atmospheric electricity. It was noticed that on Ai-Petri, due to a sharp change in air temperature in the steppe and on the coast, there are constant strong winds, and their speed reaches 125 days a year 40 m/s (144 km/hour!)

By the end of the 1930s, measurements were carried out using a device installed on the very edge of the plateau. The measurement data was necessary for the design of a wind power station with a capacity of 10,000 kW. But in 1940 the device was torn down by a hurricane. In the early 1990s, Danish contractors installed a 30-meter riser with a wind turbine on top. Everything happened again: the Crimean wind turned out to be much stronger than Danish technology - the wings spun so much that they were simply torn off!

Left to come back

Going back down in the lift cabin, we decided that it was worth returning to Ai-Petri for two reasons. Firstly, to walk along those suspended walkways. Secondly, to take a walk exploring all the unexplored sights (groves, weather stations, caves).

I will definitely write about all this. Subscribe to our newsletter so you don't miss new articles.

Ai-Petri is the most popular mountain in Crimea and is considered one of the calling cards of Crimea.

If you climb to the top of Ai-Petri, you will see from above the view of Greater Yalta and the endless expanses of the sea. For those who don't want to climb mountains, there is good offer: relaxation in boarding houses and sanatoriums of Crimea with a view of the majestic Ai-Petri battlements.

Photo by Ai-Petri:

This is interesting:

• 1234 meters - height of the massif;
• 1052 mm of precipitation falls on the plateau per year. This is one and a half times more than in Yalta;
• 50 m/s - the winds blow with such force on the plateau;
• 40-50 m - the height of each of the four large teeth.

Ai-Petri: historical excursion

The mountain received its name “St. Peter” from the ancient Greeks. At the top there was a monastery. In the old days they really loved to build churches in hard to reach places. Scientists have proven that the Ai-Petri mountain range is a typical coral reef in origin. Millennia passed, and as a result of the weathering of rocks, the famous teeth were formed. The top of one is crowned with a flagpole; on the other, after filming the film “The Children of Captain Grant,” a wooden cross remained. It gives the area a mystical look.

Near the Yalta-Alushta highway there is a weather station, one of the oldest on the Crimean Peninsula, built back in 1895. At the beginning of the twentieth century, under the leadership of K.F. Lewandowski, research activities were carried out here to study the wind rose and atmospheric electricity. In addition, the station took seriously work in the field of natural sciences: soil science, biology, astrophysics.

Options for getting to know Ai-Petri

The Ai-Petri Plateau stretches in a long strip between Yalta and Foros. mountain range It is distinguished by the unusual structure of its peaks: the sharpness of their teeth stands out among the rest of the peninsula. This place is unique and picturesque. Each vacationer can choose their own option for exploring the plateau. What do you prefer: admiring beauty Crimean mountains from the sea, go up by cable car or reach the peaks on your own? Each method finds its admirers.

1. The peaks appear in all their glory during a trip along the Yalta-Alushta highway. When staying in Miskhor or Koreiz, you can rent an apartment with a view of the mountains and admire the battlements from the window or veranda.
2. In the picturesque village of Miskhor, a cable car begins that will take you all the way to the Ai-Petri battlements. From an altitude of just under one hundred meters above sea level, the first part of the journey upward begins in a small cabin. At an altitude of 391 meters, passengers transfer to the carriages of the upper section and overcome the longest section in Europe with a length of 1,670 meters. The journey takes 15 minutes. Breathtaking! The views of the coast from Gurzuf to Foros are enchanting.
3. Real tourists climb the plateau on foot. From the village of Miskhor there are well-marked hiking trails. Independent ascent takes from 2 to 4 hours. To careless vacationers local residents They offer to go up in jeeps for a reasonable fee.

Note:
in the northeast of the battlements you can walk through a relict yew grove. The oldest tree, the berry yew, is more than 1,000 years old. A real giant!

Video review:

Operating hours of the cable car

The cable car starts operating at 10 o'clock every day. Tourists can go up until 16-00, descent is organized until 17-00. One cabin, more reminiscent of a tram car, can accommodate up to 30 people at a time. It is worth keeping in mind that it is better to arrive in the first half of the day; there are always many people who want to go up.

Ticket prices:

• adult - 350 rubles;
• preferential and children's - 250 rubles. During periods of large influx of tourists, prices may increase.

Advice from seasoned tourists:
Even in the summer on Ai-Petri, take warm clothes, a windbreaker, pants, and sneakers. The winds at the top can be very strong.

Entertainment and relaxation

The plateau has a large number of equipped cafes and places to relax. Visitors are offered dishes of Crimean Tatar cuisine: belyashi, kebabs, shurpa, ochpochmak.

There are comfortable observation decks for photo shoots and selfies. The best shots are taken on the suspended walkway in front of one of the large battlements.

Those interested are offered horseback riding and jeep riding. Professional guides are ready to take you on a tour of the surrounding area and tell interesting stories about Ai-Petri.

There are also more extreme entertainments. For adrenaline lovers, there is an attraction at the top: with the help of a safety net, walk along a suspended bridge over the abyss between the battlements!

Speleologists climb the plateau to visit the caves. There are three of them in the vicinity: Yalta, Geofizikov, Trekhglazka. The latter was named so due to its three entrance holes. Inside, tourists can expect giant calcite growths, stalactites and stalagmites, an ice skating rink and a huge snowdrift. Even on the hottest July days, the temperature in the caves remains at +4°C.

How to get to Ai-Petri in Crimea

It is convenient to get to Ai-Petri from the resort city of Yalta. You need to take bus route No. 27 or 32 to the “Ropeway” stop.

By car you travel from Yalta in the direction of Miskhor; the cable car station is located in the center of the village. For a walk, you can park your car in a paid parking lot.

Ai-Petri on the map of Crimea

GPS Coordinates: N 44 26.831 E 34 03.107 Latitude/Longitude

Mount Ai-Petri, one of the most visited and famous attractions of the Crimean peninsula. The beauty of these mountain landscapes is difficult to describe in words. Is it possible for an artist with a brush in his hands to do this? Well, at worst, a good photographer. Better yet, come here and experience all the charm and breathtaking views for yourself.
The name of Mount Ai-Petri is translated as Saint Peter. Before the conquest of Crimea by the Tatars, the Christian Church of St. Peter was located on the mountain, and the mountain and plateau were named after him.

Tourists flocked here en masse at the end of the 19th century, after the section of the road connecting the village of Sokolinoe and Yalta, through Mount Ai-Petri, was completed. The road was completed in 1894 and connected the Southern and central Crimea. As a consequence - two major cities Yalta and Bakhchisarai received a direct message. The construction of the stone road practically took about 30 years, and is still one of the most complex engineering projects in Crimea.

Sights of Mount Ai-Petri:

How to get to Ai-Petri by car

If you decide to get to Mount Ai-Petri by car, you should get to the Ai-Petri plateau, and from there to the Ai-Petri cable station. It is from here that the ascent to the very peak of the mountain begins - to its teeth.
Leads to the Ai-Petri battlements from the cable station walking road. The duration of the route is about 30 minutes, without large differences in altitude. The cost of walking up to the battlements is 100 rubles. Payment is at the entrance to the trail.

Peak of Ai-Petri

The top of Mount Ai-Petri It is the Prongs that are considered, their height from base to top is 1234 meters. In addition to the Zubtsov beautiful views, there are two extreme entertainments that can tickle your nerves, but are absolutely safe. All safety rules and almost every element are observed extreme entertainment has two levels of insurance.

The most interesting, to my taste, is the suspended road between the battlements. Walking through it really tickles your nerves; under your feet, through the cracks, you can see a huge gap, with sharp rocks and tree tops. After taking the cable car to Ai-Petri, you can safely add yourself to the category of extreme sports enthusiasts. The price of the walk is 500 rubles. The average duration of the transition is 10-15 minutes.
If you decide to go for a walk, it is best to do it in pairs, one walks along the path, the other takes photos and videos from the end point of the route, and then switches. This is how you will get more successful pictures as a memory.
Although this is a little longer in terms of time than going one after another, you can save a little time by taking the queue for the first person and immediately taking the queue for the second. In order for the first one to pass, and the second one to take a photo and get back in line in time, you should leave a gap of 6-7 people between people.

The second extreme route is a descent to the cable car station, on a suspended cable. The descent is very fast and fun, the cost of the descent is 1000 rubles. The safety of the route is also at the highest level. Both extreme attractions operate from April to September inclusive.

Having descended from the battlements, you find yourself on the busiest part of the plateau, the market and a large number of cafes, canteens and restaurants. The food on the plateau is mainly Tatar: pilaf, pasties, lagman, lamb shashlik, etc. Also, if you want, you can find European cuisine. Prices in catering establishments vary greatly. Therefore, if you take a walk and look around a little, you can choose a menu and price tag that is acceptable to you. Because of large quantity tourists - the food is almost always fresh and tasty, but quite greasy, although the choice of dishes is quite large and everyone can find something acceptable for themselves. Almost all cafes and restaurants offer wine tasting. Almost all wine is either homemade or purchased at Crimean wineries. In most establishments, the wine is of rather low quality, with a lot of coloring. Therefore, if you want a high-quality drink, ask that they bring you wine bottled at the factory, with an excise stamp. This option will be the best for your body.

A little below the gazebo of the winds is the Uchan-Su Waterfall, it is the highest Crimean waterfall and one of the most high waterfalls on the territory of Europe. Literally translated from Turkic, the name translates as “Flying water”. The height of Uchan-Su is about 99 meters, the maximum peak activity of the waterfall occurs in the spring, from early March to mid-April. In summer, Wuchang-Su turns into a relatively small stream, but this does not prevent it from looking graceful and attractive. More details

In addition to all the attractions of Ai-Petri described above, I should also mention one of the most beautiful mountain roads, the Shtangeevsky trail. The trail originates just below the Uchan-Su waterfall, but the most convenient way is to go up to the waterfall, from there walk 120 meters up the road and you will see a large sign - the Shtangeevskaya trail, with a description of the route. The route of the Shtangeevskaya trail passes over the Uchan-Su waterfall (you can approach the waterfall) along the picturesque valleys of Ai-Petri and gradually the Shtangeevskaya trail turns into the Botkinskaya trail and smoothly descends through coniferous forests to Yalta, namely to the Fairy Tale Zoo. The average walking time along the Shtangeevskaya and Botkin trails is 4-6 hours. The entire route is marked with colored markers, making it very difficult to lose your way. You will meet people along the entire route; the trails are very popular and well-trodden by thousands of tourists.

Climbing the Ai-Petri plateau on a cable car, you have a choice of how to go back down. You can go down the same way you went up, but in the summer, the queues are very long and you can stand in them for several hours. Therefore, the options are to go down by bus or minibus. But it should be taken into account that the driver is directly interested in getting down quickly and getting up quickly. Their earnings directly depend on this. In general, this is also a kind of extreme walk. But despite this, all drivers make sure to stop at the Silver Arbor and the Wuchang-Su waterfall.

How to plan a visit to Ai-Petri

Planning a route to visit Ai-Petri by car - in my opinion, it is better to start with a visit to the Grand Canyon, the entrance fee is 100 rubles. You can also be offered a guide - from 1000 rubles. The guys are very funny, but essentially they are practically useless. It is very difficult to lose your way. There are only two trails along which people ply all the time, even in winter. The walk takes about 2-3 hours along with a swim in the Bath of Youth.

The Grand Canyon of Crimea is located at the very beginning of the ascent to Mount Ai-Petri, from the side of the city of Bakhchisarai. If you are eating with South Bank Crimea - you have several options: go around Ai-Petri, through Sevastopol, then turn onto Bakhchisarai, and before it go to Ai-Petri. Or climb through the Ai-Petri plateau to the top of Ai-Petri, cross the entire plateau and go down to the foot from Bakhchisarai. From Yalta to the Grand Canyon it’s about a 2-hour drive, if you go around it it’ll be about the same

Next after the visit Grand Canyon you need to climb the plateau again, walk to the battlements, and go down to eat in a cafe. After the cafe, you can choose a horseback ride or a visit to the Three-Eyes Cave. On average, a horse ride costs from 800 rubles. at one o'clock. You will also be offered an ATV ride and other entertainment; the cost is approximately the same everywhere.

Descending from Ai-Petri towards Yalta. The first stop on your way will be the Silver Gazebo. Visit - 100 rubles. Then the waterfall is a little lower about 15-17 km, the Uchan-Su waterfall. Also 100 rubles.
The entire walk is designed with departure from Yalta at 9:00 for the whole day; if you follow the proposed route, then by 20:00-21:00 you will be back in Yalta again.

If you are planning to visit Ai-Petri, then you need to pay attention to comfortable shoes, sneakers or sneakers, take warm clothes, because the temperature difference between Yalta and Ai-Petri can be up to 10 -15 C and be sure to take water with you. If you get motion sickness along serpentine roads, you can take anti-motion sickness pills at the pharmacy. Their cost is very low, and the effect is quite good.

Winter on Ai-Petri life doesn't stop. IN winter time The Ai-Petri cap is usually covered with snow from January to February. And on this basis they were born winter views sports: skiing, boarding and sledding. Almost all winter trails in Crimea are located on the Ai-Petrensky plateau. The most popular routes are 25,26, 27 kilometers, laboratory. All routes are located almost in the middle of the plateau; you can reach them along the Yalta-Bakhchisarai road. There is only one road and it is impossible to miss. Only in winter it is cleared of snow. In winter, the climb up the mountain is generally only open to vehicles with all-wheel drive and wearing winter tires. During snowfalls, the passage to Ai-Petri is partially closed for a short time from Yalta and Bakhchisarai.
If you are planning a vacation to Crimea, no matter what time of year, be sure to visit Mount Ai-Petri, it is one of the most beautiful.

Ai-Petri and its attractions on the map of Crimea

Mount Ai-Petri is a priceless diamond from the treasury of natural attractions of Crimea. From its peak, located at an impressive height of 1234 meters above sea level, the most spectacular and spectacular view in all of Crimea opens over a long stretch of the coastal strip; visibility from the top is more than a hundred kilometers on both sides of the coast. With Ai-Petri you can see such settlements, like Yalta, Alupka, Gaspra, Simeiz and others. In clear weather, even Sudak and the mountains nearby, which are more than 100 kilometers away from here, are slightly visible. This is truly grandiose!

The mountain is located on the territory of the Yalta Mountain Forest Reserve and in itself is a striking and unforgettable attraction. Just to get to its top, you need to experience a real adventure, which guarantees special pleasure for thrill-seekers.

View of the Ai Petri Mountains

View of Ai Petri from Vorontsov Park

The Legend of Ai-Petri

One of the legends about Mount Ai-Petri is connected, of course, with the Wind. In time immemorial, the great Ocean gave birth to a huge mountain with teeth on the top. At the very top it was so beautiful and sunny that the mighty King of the Winds settled there. The Tsar loved to frolic and play with the clouds: to disperse them, to form fancy images out of them. But, as they say, for the Wind, games are nothing but misfortune and destruction. Raging winds annually caused enormous damage to settlements near the sea. Then the people decided to come to an agreement with the Winds, and assembled a Council. The wisest representatives of the tribes consulted for a long time. At the same time, the quietest warrior named Peter declared that he knew how to conquer the Wind. The elders just laughed at this and advised the young warrior to grow up and not be smart. Then, on a dark night, Peter alone headed to the very peak of the Mountain to the Abode of the Winds. Having found the King of the Winds at the top, Peter declared that from now on the winds will serve man. The King of the Winds got angry and blew with all his might. Peter quietly pulled out the bull's bubble from behind his back, it took in air, and Peter lifted himself off the ground. The daredevil was not afraid, but descended from the mountain as if on hot-air balloon, skillfully managing it. Then the King of the Winds realized that people had deceived him and were able to curb the elements. The mountain has since been named in honor of St. Peter, who was able to curb the wind and taught people how to skillfully use its energy.

Mount Ai Petri

Three ways to get to Ai-Petri

• on the cable car Miskhor - Ai-Petri (one way fare is 65 hryvnia or about $8, for children - 30 hryvnia)
• by vehicle along the steep serpentine road Yalta - Bakhchisarai (the price depends on the type of transport and the number of people, on average - 50-100 hryvnia or 6-12 $)
• on foot along the so-called Miskhor trail (this is the most difficult way, it will take several hours to climb).

Cable car Miskhor-Ai Petri

Of course, most tourists (and I am no exception) prefer the cable car option.
The ascent to Ai-Petri by cable car lasts about 15 minutes. In front of him, people enter booths of 40 people, which are held on by strong steel cables. While climbing Ai-Petri, it takes your breath away and creates an amazing feeling that can be compared to a slow flight on an airplane, while the mighty pine trees remain lower and lower below you. A magical panorama gradually begins to open up sea ​​coast and villages, and the surrounding area looks like a toy model in the palm of your hand. During the ascent or descent, you have to leave the cabin once and immediately go to another at the transfer station, which is located in the middle of a mountain forest and is called, appropriately, Sosnovy Bor. By the way, the upper section of the route is unique, because it is the longest unsupported section of cable cars in Europe, its length exceeds one and a half kilometers, and the ascent angle reaches 46 degrees.

To use the cable car to climb Mount Ai-Petri, you need to come to Miskhor (this is part of the village of Gaspra), where the lower station of the cable car is located. The descent to Miskhor is carried out from the South Coast Highway. If you are coming from Yalta, you can get to the lower cable car station at bus routes 27 and 32.

Cable car Miskhor Ai Petri

What to do on Ai-Petri

Having climbed the Ai-Petri plateau to a height of 1153 meters, and this is where the upper cable car station is located, you can walk on foot to the very top of the mountain - to the Zubtsy geological reserve. A visit to the reserve is paid and will cost 20 hryvnia ($2.5). It is called that because the upper part of Ai-Petri consists of elongated sharp rocks in the shape of teeth of different sizes.

Ai Petri teeth

On the Ai-Petri plateau there are many restaurants and points of sale of souvenirs and other things. As a rule, Crimean Tatars trade here.

Trading at the top of Ai Petri

In addition, on Ai-Petri you can go horseback riding, or go down the cold caves.

Horseback riding on ai Petri

Where to eat on Ai-Petri

At the very top, near the upper funicular station, there are a number of cafes and restaurants. There you can taste delicious local cuisine: lagman, shurpa, manti, pilaf, pasties, flatbreads. In restaurants, cheburek costs 25 hryvnia ($3), lagman, shurpa, manti, pilaf - 35 ($4).

The most popular Cafe "Verkhnee" - Tatar cuisine, with a beautiful view of the Coast.

Ai-Petri in winter

It is very interesting to visit Ai-Petri in winter, when the mountain plateau is covered with snow. During this period, at the foot of the mountain it is most often warm, the weather is autumn, but at the top and on the plateau there is a real snowy winter with snowdrifts. This is another uniqueness of this mountain: in just 15-20 minutes by cable car (and it operates all year round) you can get from autumn to winter and vice versa. Isn't it a miracle?
Skiers will also find an outlet for themselves in the winter on Ai-Petri, because there are several ski slopes of different difficulty levels, you can rent any attributes for skiers, rope tows work, and instructors offer their training services to all beginners. They are taken to the ski slopes from the top station of the cable car on a high-speed snowmobile - this is another portion of adrenaline and vivid impressions that Ai-Petri gives.

Caves on Ai-Petri

What else can you do on the mountain? Explore the caves, there are about 300 of them. But three are open for inspection, and they are located very close to the upper cable car station, where tourists end up after traveling up the cable car. The sign to the caves is on the plateau, 500 meters from the top station.

One of the caves is called Geofizicheskaya, Trekhglazka, the third is Yalta.

In the Geophysical Cave

Three-Eyes Cave is famous for the fact that a thick layer of ice forms there during the winter, which does not melt until mid-summer. At the same time, the cave maintains a constant temperature almost all year round - about 0 degrees. It’s so unusual to go from the summer heat to such cold in a few minutes. The descent into the Three-Eyes cave is carried out along a metal staircase.

Descent into the cave

In the Three-Eyes Cave

The nearby Yalta Cave was discovered relatively recently - in 1997. It will delight the eye with mysterious centuries-old stalactites, stalagmites, other sinter formations and stone flowers.

In the Yalta Cave

Visiting the caves on Ai-Petri is paid; entrance to each will cost $5-7 (about 50 hryvnia).

Another interesting fact: the top of Mount Ai-Petri is recognized as the windiest and most foggy place in Ukraine, so there are more than 200 foggy days up the mountain, and the wind force sometimes reached 50 meters per second! The nebula effect is most often formed by clouds that freely rule right on the mountain, passing right here, at such a height. While on Ai-Petri, you can find yourself in the very middle of a cloud - this is another miracle that happens to those who are not afraid to climb this amazing mountain.

We were lucky, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

Excursions to Ai-Petri

In any of the southern coastal villages of Crimea you can book an excursion to the top of Ai-Petri with a ride by cable car. At the same time, you will be taken directly to the lower station of the cable car in Miskhor, and the group will be accompanied by Russian speaking guide and talk about the mountain, about the legends associated with it, about the surrounding area and about the villages visible from the mountain in all their glory below the seaside. The average cost of such an excursion is about 150-170 hryvnia ($20). You can buy a tour at any tourist town, for example, on the embankment. As a rule, you don’t need to look for excursion sellers, because they themselves are very proactive.

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