Beautiful caves of Crimea. Skelskaya is a cave, which is better to visit with a map. Three-Eyes - Ice Cave

Emine-Bair-Koba - the ancient cave of Chatyr-Dag

Emine-Bair-Koba cave is located near the famous Crimean village of Marble. Sometimes you can hear the name Three-eyes, which arose due to three exits, 2 of which resemble a nostril in shape, which gave life to another name. The grotto became widely known in 1927, when a scientific article about it appeared in the journal Krym.

It is proved that the Emine-Bair-Koba cave was formed due to mountain river, which flowed through Chatyr-Dag more than 10 million years ago. Now only cavities remained from it, thoroughly washed out by powerful water flows.

For excursion groups and individual visitors, access is possible only 70 meters deep into the cave. Professionals can go further and see another 140 meters of underground beauty, but you will need special equipment. Apart from safety rods, rope handrails and low lighting, there is nothing there.

Usually tourists are shown 2 halls, which are located near the main entrance on 2 levels. Sinter formations are similar to corals. Somewhere you can see pebbles. Speleologists are still trying to figure out how she got there.

Below is a catalog where you can choose and book excursions to the caves of Crimea

Red Caves - Kizil-Koba

More than 27 kilometers of beauty offers to see the Kizil-Koba cave. It was formed about 2.5 million years ago. During this time, even an ancient man managed to settle there. Historians have proven that this happened 70 thousand years ago. You can also find the name "Red Caves". It appeared due to the reddish tint of the deposits and several entrances providing access to each of the 6 levels.

The Kizil-Koba cave is located near the village of Perevalnoye, Simferopol region. Inside you can see the mountain river Kizilkobinka, whose waters serve to fill the Su-Uchkhan waterfall. The miraculous sculptures-stalagmites are impressive: the Master, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Dwarf.

It never gets hot in the cave labyrinths: the temperature is +10 degrees all the time, so you need to dress warmly, because the tour usually lasts an hour. Tourists are guided along a route half a kilometer long. It is also possible to order an extreme tour, which will take about 6 hours. To overcome this path, you will need special suits and equipment.

Skelskaya - four-tiered cave

At the beginning of the last century, a grandiose discovery was made near the village of Skelya near Sevastopol: a local teacher accidentally discovered a huge underground cavity, which later received the name Skelskaya cave. Access to its bowels was not opened immediately, but only after half a century. During this time, smooth paths, steps and lighting appeared there, which was a prerequisite for accepting tourists.

The length of the passages is almost 700 meters, while total area The cave is 1500 sq. m. Halls and galleries are located on 4 tiers. Their height is so great that it made it possible to make 3 observation platforms. From there you can admire the overall picture, which is made up of sinter formations and huge stalagmites. Particularly impressive is the "Knight", whose height exceeds 7 meters. Watch an interesting video tour of the sights:

If you are going to visit the Skelskaya cave in the Crimea, you should prepare for the fact that it is very damp and cold inside. The temperature is kept at around 12 degrees all year round. Tours here last about 50 minutes, so you need to take warm clothes with you.

Geophysical - a cave with a luminescent glow

On the territory of the Yalta mountain forest nature reserve on Mount Ai-Petri is Geophysical Cave, which was opened to tourists only in 2009. It was here that the luminescence of the formations was first noted: due to the fact that they contain manganese and copper, when light from the flash hits, the growths and influxes begin to glow with shades of green, yellow and blue.

To get into the halls of the cave, you have to overcome the 28-meter spiral staircase, which is located in a vertical shaft 60 m deep. The grotto has a length of 140 meters. You need to be prepared for the fact that the temperature inside will be about 10 degrees.

Below, complex galleries and halls open up before the tourist. Zhemchuzhny surprises with numerous pointed formations on the walls and vault, which have a pleasant green color. A geophysical cave in the Crimea attracts travelers who want to look at a 6-meter stalactite. That's great rarity. Also in one of the halls there is a bizarre sinter formation, very similar to a multi-tiered wedding cake.

Many stalactites, united with stalagmites, turned into stalagnates. Due to the peculiarities of the breed, they acquired a yellow-mustard color. At the bottom of the cave there is even small lake with clean water.

Yalta - cave with stone jellyfish

The Ai-Petri mountain range contains many cavities, but not every one of them has been fully explored. More recently, at the end of the 20th century, the Yalta cave was discovered. And the first tourist went there only in 2007, when the conditions for receiving visitors were created. There are 2 rooms inside. For ordinary people there is only access to the main gallery. The second, which is at the lower level, requires special training and equipment.

The entrance to the dungeon is very convenient: the steps go very shallow. Usually the tour lasts 25 minutes: the area of ​​​​the equipped area is only 180 meters, so this time is enough to take a close look at everything. The arch is decorated with pasta stalactites of different lengths and thicknesses, and stone jellyfish flaunt on the walls. Special lighting creates a sense of magic.

Three-Eyes - Ice Cave

There are many different grottoes and cavities on Mount Ai-Petri. Three-eyed cave is one of the most famous and visited. It is named so because of the presence of three cavities that resemble the eye sockets, however, empty. To get inside, you have to overcome a long staircase leading to the bottom.

You can also see the name ice cave. It was given because of the huge snowdrift that formed in the main hall. Over the years, the snow turned into ice, some of which was taken out to be used as a cold accumulator. With its help, food and wine were cooled, located in the cellars of Count Vorontsov.

The main hall of the Three-Eyed Cave occupies 150 sq. m. Walls and vaults consist of rock layers and sand-colored sinter formations. There are also ice stalactites that grow at high speed. The grotto is equipped for tourists. There is lighting and comfortable handrails. The only difference is that it is very cold there. If you are going on an excursion to the Ice Cave, you should take warm clothes with you.

Iograph - cave-temple

The southern side of Mount Ai-Petri is known for its natural monument Crimea. Iograph Cave has long been used for Christian worship. In a spacious hall measuring 18x10 meters, a temple was equipped with an altar, icons and lamps, where believers gathered.

Nearest locality- Yalta, so tourists heading to the Ai-Petrinsky plateau have the opportunity to visit this attraction. Not far from the entrance rises the Poklonny cross. There was a time when the grotto fell into disrepair - an accumulation of garbage appeared there and even cattle were brought in to wait out the midday heat. But in the 90s of the last century, a group of caring people put the cave in order - they took out the rubbish, icons appeared on the walls.

Cave Iograph in Crimea refers to karst formations. Initially, water accumulated in the cavity, but then the rock parted. So the entrance appeared, and the liquid left the tank. Inside there are recesses in which cave pearls were found. The walls are decorated with stalactites, and in one sinter formation, the outlines of a human face are clearly visible.

Bottomless well - Tupsuz-Khosar cave

Not far from the village of Marble, which is located between Simferopol and Alushta, there is an amazing underground cavity in the mountain Chatyr-Dag. It attracts those wishing to penetrate hard-to-reach places and discover something new in the Crimea. The Bottomless Well Cave is a real treasure trove with natural pearls and 10-meter icicles on the walls.

Grotto Tyupsyuz-Khosar (this is his middle name) is available only to people with special training and equipment. And although you can go down the stairs a little there, you won’t be able to reach the bottom without protective equipment. The lowest point of the cave is at a depth of 195 meters. From the main shaft there are 3 horizontal tunnels. At the end of the last century, a well with 2 halls was found there.

Cave bottomless well has the shape of a jug, expanding towards the bottom. Its "walls" are dotted with various cavities-pockets. Snow drifts can be seen there all year round. Snow, getting inside, is perfectly preserved. At the bottom point, a 15-meter snowdrift even formed.

The grotto is famous for its abundance of cave pearls. And although visually it looks like a sea one, it is formed with the help of ordinary calcite, which is layered on grains of sand. Its diameter can reach 3 cm. Once cavers managed to find more than 15 thousand of these pearls.

Snake - cave of sacrifices

Not far from Simferopol, near the village of Chistenkoe, there is an unusual karst formation - Snake Cave. Its name is rather symbolic, because there are no reptiles in these places. And they called it that because of the long, narrow and winding passages, which have some similarities with snake holes.

This is a three-story cave, over 300 meters long. The lower tier is rich in crystalline calcites, which in the light of lanterns begin to play with different colors. Unlike other caves, not a single sinter formation can be found here - stalactites and other growths cannot form here. Too dry and warm.

During the study of the cave, fragments of dishes and many animal bones were found. Thanks to this, it was concluded that the Serpent's Cave in the Crimea was used as a place where sacrificial rites were performed.

It's pretty quiet there now. And if you take a few powerful lanterns with you, you can admire the unusual tunnels and bends. You just need to be prepared for the fact that on the way you can meet a tiny bat with a big name - a big horseshoe. Fortunately, she does not pose a threat.

Big Buzluk - Ice Well

The east of Crimea is famous for the most interesting and huge Karabi-Yayla mountain range. It is of interest due to the huge number of various karst formations. One of them is the Big Buzluk cave. The nearest settlement is the village of Generalskoye, from where excursions usually start.

The grotto is a vertical 20-meter funnel that descends 81 meters. You can't get there without equipment. Its length is not more than 160 meters. The second name of the cave is Ice Well. Inside you can see ice growths, stalactites and columns. The temperature stays around 0 degrees.

A couple of centuries ago, the Big Buzluk cave in the Crimea was used as a cold store. Livestock breeders stored sheep carcasses there, destined for sale to Europe. Researchers have proven that the age of ice in certain places exceeds 50 years. For the Crimea, this is a rarity.

Despite the abundance of ice and snow, at the bottom of the cave, in a kind of well, you can see a small underground river. Due to the constant movement, the water in it never freezes.

Binbash-Koba - Thousand-Headed Cave

The Binbash-Koba cave is one of the least visited places in Crimea - 2 centuries ago, many human bones and skulls were found in it. This fact contributed to the emergence of another name - the Thousand-Headed. Now there is no trace left of the remains. They were barbarously plundered. People did not hesitate to take with them cave stalactites, which were cut down with a special hatchet. And for the heritage left "memorable" inscriptions on the walls.

The Binbash-Koba cave is located in the lower part of the Chatyrdag plateau, not far from the village of Marble. The entrance to this grotto is rather inconspicuous and resembles an ordinary crevice. But, after going a little inside, you can get into a huge hall 7 meters high. The total length of the passages is just over 100 meters. Everyone can go there - admission is free.

The peculiarity of this grotto is in a special shade of sinter formations. In appearance, it resembles soot, which is obtained after a fire. It is still not known whether the cave was really set on fire, according to the legend, or whether it was a special reaction of the rock to oxygen. Black stalactites and influxes look gloomy, but you should not be afraid - this is just a special, unlike other karst cavity.

Grotto Shaitan-Koba - the dwelling of an ancient man

Not far from the village of Skalistoye, Bakhchisaray district, the river Bodrak flows, on the right bank of which there is a mysterious cave Shaitan-Koba. In the Crimea, it is of particular value: in the 30s of the last century, a parking lot was discovered there. ancient man. Upon closer examination, it became clear that people lived there in the Paleolithic era.

The size of the cave is small. It goes into the rock for 4 meters, gradually narrowing. The height is only 2 meters, and the total area does not exceed 28 square meters. m. Archaeological excavations yielded colossal results: the cultural layer 30 cm deep contained tens of thousands of things valuable for science, which were once used by primitive people. These were flint tools (about 25 thousand) and bones of birds and animals that were hunted in those days - magpies, donkeys, mammoths, bison, arctic foxes and others.

The Shaitan-Koba cave is translated from the Crimean Tatar as “devilish”, but there is nothing frightening or mystical in it. The picturesque surroundings attract no less than the ancient grotto, so people often visit here. tourist groups accompanied by tour guides.

What impressions will give excursions to the caves?

Acquainted with wonderful world, which is carefully kept in the caves of the Crimea, unforgettable pictures created by the forces of nature will remain in your memory. Stone flowers, jellyfish, stalagmites impress with their different shapes and sizes, unusual colors and age. Tourists return to some of the caves more than once to inspect every corner more carefully.

You can get into many caves of the Crimea throughout the year. According to statistics, in the off-season there is a slight decrease in tourist activity and you can walk through the underground labyrinths as part of a small excursion group. But there are also grottoes that are closed for the winter. Therefore, before visiting, it is advisable to clarify the work schedule of the ticket office and guides.

Fortunately, there is no need to pay for the opportunity to see many Crimean caves. The main thing is to try to preserve natural resources and not leave traces of being in them, so as not to disrupt the natural course of events.

Caves in Crimea

The underground world of Crimea is not inferior in beauty to its terrestrial "neighbor". Its fabulous caves, bizarre grottoes, intricate stalactites and the finest calcite crystals can win the heart of any traveler. Unique geological structure Crimea gave the peninsula more than 1100 caves, wells, grottoes and mines. Unfortunately, most of the caves are accessible only with special equipment and training, and better - as part of a group of experienced speleologists.

Especially for tourists and novice speleologists in the Crimea, there are a number of caves that are accessible even to an unprepared person. Safe routes with lighting, equipped paths and viewing platforms and easily accessible unequipped caves have opened up to tourists the breathtaking beauties of the underworld, which everyone can see.

"Star" Marble Cave.

On the lower plateau of the picturesque Chatyr-Dag mountain range, one of the most beautiful caves in the world, the Marble Cave, welcomes guests. It got its name due to the "building material" - marble-like limestone, from which the walls of Marble are made.

The official opening of Marble took place in 1987. Then a tourist route was only 180 meters, representing a tiny cleared path.

Marble Cave is being actively studied. To date, the length of tourist routes is about 1.5 km., Then dangerous and little-studied cavities begin, where it is extremely difficult to get there without special training.

The tourist part of the cave is available to anyone: special training and equipment are not required here. All routes are illuminated, equipped with paths, stairs and railings.

At the entrance, tourists are waiting for the "Owner" - a huge stalagmite that opens the way to the walking galleries. Three routes are equipped for tourists, each passes through several halls with romantic names: "Palace Hall", "Fairy Tales Gallery", "Perestroika Hall", "Pink Hall". Bizarre sinter formations, illuminated in different colors, resemble the inhabitants fairy world and characters of ancient legends.

The stalactites and stalagmites of Marmara merge into giant stalagnates, affectionately called “kisses” by the guides. It is believed that "kisses" are endowed with magical powers that can fulfill the wishes of a couple in love. Therefore, when visiting Marble with your soulmate, be sure to make a wish - who knows, suddenly the giant stalagnates are indeed endowed with magical powers.

Majestic stalactite cascades, the most delicate tubes of transparent calcite, openwork water baths and huge grottoes - the wealth of the Marble Cave made it the fifth in the ranking of the most beautiful caves in the world.

Since 2006, another gallery has been opened in the cave, leading to the lower tier of Marble. Here you can not only see, but also hear the "cave spirit" - the route called "Melodies of Chatyr-Dag" is accompanied by the sound of classical, electronic and jazz music, which creates an amazing atmosphere in combination with natural cave acoustics.

The "highlight" of the cave was the concerts of classical music held in the halls of the Marble. Natural acoustics fills the music with a new sound, creating a unique atmosphere that is not found in any other concert hall. Announcements about ongoing concerts will appear closer to the start of the holiday season.

IN summer time visiting Marble is available only as part of an excursion group. As a rule, there are no problems with tourists, so you won’t have to wait long for the group - they gather every 15-30 minutes. In winter, the cave is open depending on weather conditions on the plateau, it is also possible to conduct individual tours and speleotourism expeditions in winter.

Routes and prices.

The cave is open daily from 8.00 to 20.00. The visit is paid, the ticket price will depend on the chosen route:

• Most short route- Gallery of Fairy Tales. The duration of the tour will be 30 minutes, it will cost 350 rubles. from a person.
• A walk through the "Gallery of Fairy Tales" and "Pearl Lakes" will take about 50 minutes, you will have to pay 400 rubles for this route.
• The excursion to the "Tiger passage" will take 1 hour, the ticket price will be 450 rubles.
• For an hour and a half walk along all routes, you will be asked for 500 rubles.
• The "sound" route "Melodies of Chatyr-Dag" will take 2 hours and cost 2000 rubles.

Children under 5 years old will not have to pay for a ticket, and for kids under 12 years old, the ticket price will be reduced by half. The use of photo and video equipment is free, although high humidity can significantly "correct" your pictures.

Equipment.

No special equipment is required for the tour. However, some things are still worth stocking up:

• The temperature in Mramornaya is + 9 °C, and the floor is cold and damp. Therefore, it is worth stocking up on warm clothes and comfortable closed shoes. If suddenly you are talking about warm "ammunition" - jackets are rented at the entrance to the cave.
• The difference in pressure and temperature can cause unpleasant reactions from the vascular system - dizziness, stuffy ears. A bag of lollipops will help to cope with these troubles - with resorption and frequent swallowing, the pressure normalizes, and unpleasant symptoms disappear.
• All routes are highlighted, but the flashlight does not fit.
• If you are planning a photo or video shooting in a cave, it is better to take care of spare batteries of your equipment in advance - they are discharged quite quickly in cold and humidity.

How to get there?

The cave is located near Simferopol. To get to the cave on your own, you need to use the regular bus "Simferopol-Alushta" or "Simferopol-Yalta", get off at the stop "Zarechnoye". From here you will have to make a transfer to the village of Marble, then take a walk to the plateau on foot. Keep in mind that you will have to walk about 8 km.

On own car You can drive directly to the entrance to the cave. From the main road, turn at the sign "Marble". The path to the cave is marked with signs so you won't get lost.

If you don’t want to get to the cave on your own, you can take advantage of organized excursions, which are held in almost all resort towns Crimea.

The endless cave network of Kizil-Koba.

Another name for this cave, or rather the cave network, is the Red Caves. They received such a “name” because of the red limestones that make up the bulk of the cave rock.

The first human traces in Kizil-Koba date back to the 7th-6th centuries BC. e. - then at the entrance to the cave there was a sanctuary of an agricultural cult. In 1803, the traveler P. I. Sumarokov created the first description of Kizil-Kob, opening it to the “broad masses”.

The riddle of the Red Caves has not been solved to this day. The total length of the passages studied by speleologists is 27 km, the rest of the cave network remains securely hidden from prying eyes. The total length and size of the cave network brought it worldwide fame, making it one of the longest caves in Europe.

There is only one main excursion route in the cave. Its length is 500 meters, and it begins with the reconstruction of the sanctuary of farmers, located in the first hall. Ahead is a well-equipped tourist route and the "mistress" of the Red Caves - an underground beautiful river. You definitely won’t be bored - in addition to large-scale compositions and figures and huge halls, you will find 6 underground “floors” and a magnificent mirror lake formed by the waters underground river.

The first "inhabitant" you meet on your way will be the "Crying Dwarf" - bizarre figure resembling a sad gnome. Further on, brave travelers will be waiting for the "Master" Kizil-Koba, whose stern look warns of the dangers of the underworld. But, you should not worry - the route is equipped with railings, reliable stairs and lighting.

The first acquaintance with the underground river will take place in the "Griboedovskaya Gallery", which received its name thanks to the "star" visitor - the writer A. S. Griboedov. From the observation deck you can see the waters of the Kizilkobinka - an underground river, and a small lake with amphoras at the bottom will open to the left. Amphorae in the lake appeared relatively recently; this is part of the decor that emphasizes the atmosphere of the cave, its significance and value in ancient culture.

Further, the road will take you to the majestic halls, decorated with graceful columns and sinter formations. By the way, it is Kizil-Koba that boasts one of the largest stalactites in Europe: the height of this miracle of nature is more than 8 meters, and the preliminary age is about 8000 years.

In winter, during the tour, you can see and photograph sleeping bats, which have chosen the Red Cave as their "winter hut". When taking pictures, be sure to turn off the flash on the camera - a sharp blinding light will not benefit winged babies.

Extreme Red Caves.

If a simple walk was not enough for you, Kizil-Koba invites you to an exciting extreme journey with overcoming the siphon and swimming in the underground river.

The start will begin at the pre-siphon platform, where the main route ends. Having dressed in special equipment and a wetsuit, you will begin diving into the siphon. After the siphon part, you will find 1.5 meters of an underground river that you will have to swim across. For a safe crossing in the water, a rope is pulled, which you need to hold on to with your hands. The entire route is accompanied by an experienced instructor who carefully monitors compliance with safety regulations.

After all the tests, brave speleologists will discover the bewitching world of the underworld untouched by man. It is in the "extreme" part of the Red Caves that the largest stalactites, priceless sinter "figures" and the unique underground waterfall "Pink Streams" are located.

It will not be possible to dive into the waters of the underground river during the flood period and during the rainy season - due to a sharp rise in the water level, the route becomes inaccessible for passing. Therefore, it is best to clarify in advance the possibility of an “extreme” visit.

Prices and work schedule.

The Red Caves are open to the public all year round. The cave is open daily from 9.00 to 19.00. The visit is possible only with a guide, the minimum group size is 2 people.

Ticket for the main route - 400 rubles. for an adult and 200 for a child from 6 to 14 years old. For an extreme route, you will have to pay significantly more - 4000 rubles. per person: this price includes the services of an instructor, rental of a wetsuit and necessary equipment.

Equipment.

• When visiting the Red Caves, you should stock up on warm clothes and comfortable closed, or better, waterproof shoes - in the summer it is quite humid in the cave.
• Photography in the cave is free, but you should not take a tripod - its use is prohibited.
• Flashlight.

How to get there?

You can get to the Red Caves on your own by reaching the village of Perevalnoe. From the stop there is an asphalt road, ending with a parking lot where you can leave your car. You will have to walk 1.5 km from the parking lot to the cave. along a dirt road.

Natural Museum - Mammoth Cave.

The original name of the cave is Emine-Bair-Khosar. Scientists began to call her Mammoth, who discovered in one of the halls the skeleton of a mammoth, which today welcomes guests in the first hall of the cave.

The first entrance to the Mammoth Cave was a vertical, difficult to pass well. Tourist accessibility was ensured by the work of speleologists, thanks to which in 1927 the cave "acquired" a second entrance, passing along the river bed.

Your journey through the magnificent underworld will begin at the northern gallery, from where a winding path will lead you to the "Main" hall. The impression of the scale of this karst cavity is enhanced by multi-colored illumination and a huge sinkhole, which served as the original entrance to the cave.

In the "Main" hall there is an unusual museum of paleontology, where the skeletons of ancient animals act as exhibits: a mammoth, a cave lion, a woolly rhinoceros and a cave bear.

The next room is the Lake. Above the very edge of the water, a safe path is equipped, from where amazing view to an underground lake illuminated from below.

The third hall on the excursion trail is considered one of the most beautiful halls of Mamontova. Going down the stairs, you find yourself in the realm of idols. At the entrance there is a "guard" - two seven-meter stalactites, reminiscent of the chess pieces of the king and queen. In the hall itself there are many bizarre creations of nature, where everyone will meet a lot of fabulous and mythical characters.

The thinnest helict spirals await you in the Treasury Hall, located right behind the Lake Hall. Helicts are a product of the interaction of water, air and calcite salts, as a result of which the most delicate spirals with a mass of bright crystals are formed.

The oldest stalactites await guests in Kecskemét, a huge hall named after Simferopol's sister city in Hungary. Here ends one of the excursion routes.

You will have to return to the entrance along a long man-made tunnel that loops the route. Along the way, you will meet the Dublin Hall, famous for its two-story "waterless" calcite lake. Such a unique formation occurred due to the collapse of the upper cavity into the lower part. Over time, the water that caused the collapse went away, and the connection of the two lakes is reminded by bizarre calcite borders on the walls.

If you keep moving, then final destination will become the "Hall of the Hostess" - the lowest part of the hiking trail, from where it is more than 70 meters to the surface. The hall is named so due to the silhouette of a girl with a long plait, perched on the edge of a huge calcite intrusion.

Prices and work schedule.

Mammoth Cave is open to the public all year round and welcomes guests daily from 9.00 to 19.00. Visiting is possible only with a guide, the minimum group size is from 2 people.

The ticket price will depend on the duration of the route:

• The initial route lasting 30 minutes - 350 rubles. from a person.
• The route to the hall "Kecskemét" will take 1 hour 20 minutes, the cost is 450 rubles. from a person.
• A walk through all the halls will cost 500 rubles. from a person.

Equipment.

• Mammoth is quite cool and humid. Therefore, for a comfortable walk, closed shoes and a warm jacket are required.
• A flashlight will also not be superfluous, with additional lighting, the cave “treasures” will sparkle with bright edges, and the risk of slipping on a wet path will be significantly reduced.

How to get there?

Mamontova is located near the famous Marble Cave. To get there by public transport, you will need to take the bus "Simferopol-Alushta" or "Simferopol-Yalta" and after reaching the stop "Zarechnoye", transfer to the bus going to the village of Marble. From the final stop to the cave - 8 km.

You can also drive up to Mamontova by car, although in winter there is often ice and snow drifts on the road.

The “deadly” cave of a thousand heads is the cave of Bin-Bash-Koba.

In the lower part of Chatyr-Dag there is a small stalactite cave with a mysterious and creepy story. The name Bin-Bash-Koba consists of several words, translated from Turkic meaning "cave of a thousand heads".

The history of this small cave is quite mysterious. The first researchers found many human remains, skeletons of domestic animals, remains of buckles and ammunition at the bottom of the cave. According to legend, the inhabitants of an entire village hid here, hiding from bloodthirsty nomads. When the shelter was discovered, the invaders decided to “smoke out” the villagers and kindled a huge fire at the entrance to the cave. All the people inside died, suffocating from the acrid smoke.

However, this eerie legend is contradicted by official finds - the skulls and bones of the Thousand-headed belonged only to adults, no children's remains were found. This fact allowed scientists to suggest that the cave served either as an "official" burial place for ancient people, or as a place of some kind of bloodthirsty religious cult. Adherents of the "religious" version gave the cave another little-known name - Kanly-Koba (Bloody Cave).

The entrance to Bin-Bash-Koba is a rather narrow, slightly sloping to the left, gap, squeezing through which you will find yourself in the first gallery about 6 meters long. To get into the gallery, you will have to "bow" to the cave spirit - the ceiling of the corridor is quite low. At the end of the gallery are two narrow passages leading to the Main Hall.

The scale of the Main Hall is amazing. Its high 7-meter vaults are “supported” by bizarre columns of giant stalagnates, decorated with cascading streaks with a multi-colored tint. In the corners of the hall you can see tiny tuff baths filled with crystal clear water in spring and autumn.

For a more comfortable descent, several steps have been carved into the floor, leading even lower. Narrow passages can be found in the walls of the Main Hall, but most of them almost immediately end in dead ends.

The depth of the cave is only 23 meters, and the length is 110 meters. Visiting in the summer is absolutely safe, in spring small puddles can form on the floor of the cave.

Thousand-headed is available for visiting all year round. The ideal time is summer, when the water level drops to the maximum and the floor of the cave becomes drier. In winter, in Bin-Bash-Koba, the permanent "inhabitants" are joined by beautiful ice stalactites and stalagmites formed from dripping water.

Equipment.

The cave has no tourism infrastructure, so you will have to take care of your own comfort in advance.

• Warm clothes and closed shoes. It is best to choose clothes that you do not mind getting dirty - in the "wild" cave there is always a risk of slipping or leaning against a damp wall.
• Powerful flashlight.
• Helmet. An optional piece of equipment that can, however, protect you from an unexpected meeting with a low cave vault.

How to get there?

The nearest “transport point” to the Thousand-Headed is the village of Marble. If you are going to visit the cave, you will need to get to Marble and follow the signs from there.

A well-trodden path leads to the cave of a thousand heads. hiking trail, and at the entrance to the cave itself there is a plate with its coordinates and name. The total mileage from Marble will be about 8-9 km.

The winding labyrinths of the Serpent's Cave.

Despite the "talking" name, there are no snakes in the cave. It owes its name to the narrow and winding passages, very reminiscent of the holes of giant snakes. The length of the Serpentine is more than 310 meters, so it’s definitely enough to wander around and feel like a pioneer of the place.

According to legend, the creator of these underground labyrinths was a huge dragon, to which the ancient Taurians threw captured enemies, trying to propitiate the mighty Athena-Parthesonos, the goddess of war. The location and accessibility of the cave have ensured its popularity since ancient times: in the 7th-6th centuries BC. e. the sanctuary of the Kizil-Koba culture was located here. This fact is confirmed by archaeological finds: animal bones, remains of dishes and even evidence of human sacrifices.

The entrance to the cave resembles a large mushroom. There are three floors inside, the top one is practically destroyed and there is no access there. The other two are accessible to the public, but care must be taken as the ceiling is rather low in places.

Winding corridors merge into small halls, where the whole variety of calcites appears to the eyes, shimmering in the light of a lantern with various colors and shades. Some halls surprise with their size - the height of the ceilings here can reach 7 meters.

You can get to the “second floor” of the cave by going down a three-meter well, located around the corner of the main gallery. Thanks to the dry floor of the cave, the descent is easy and does not require special equipment. It is on the lower floor that all the calcite magnificence is located: cave “flowers” ​​covered with a dark chocolate calcite crust, fragile calcite deposits, reminiscent of the work of a crazy artist.

In addition to natural beauties, Snake is also famous for its unique fauna. The cave is inhabited by the rarest species of bats - a large horseshoe bat. Despite its impressive size and unusual appearance, horseshoe bats are absolutely safe for humans - the only thing that mice can scare is the noise of wings.

The best time to visit the Serpentine is the middle or end of summer. In spring and winter, due to melt water and snow, the descent to the cave can become dangerous.

Equipment.

To enjoy the world of the Serpent Cave, you will need the minimum equipment:

• Comfortable warm clothes and closed shoes.
• A powerful flashlight and spare batteries for the camera - in the cold air of the cave, the camera batteries can run out fairly quickly.
• The presence of a helmet is not necessary, but its use will definitely protect you from collisions with the low vaults of the “serpentine” labyrinths.

How to get there?

The cave is located 10 km. from Simferopol. The easiest way to get to the Snake Cave is to get to the village of Chistenkoye. Behind the last high-rise building of Chistenky, you need to turn left. From here begins a country road leading to the steep slopes of Cape Battery. A rather steep tropic begins right from the slope, which will lead you straight to the cave.

By car, you can only get to the village of Chistenkoye, the country road is often blocked by local foresters to prevent cars from reaching the cape.

Attractions

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In Crimea, a unique relief, nature has created on the territory of this peninsula many forms and objects, both aboveground and underground. Crimean caves attract not only extreme sports enthusiasts, but also ordinary tourists, there are even accessible ones for 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 is no less impressive than the largest Red. When visiting the caves, you need to remember the safety rules and understand that we are visiting nature, take care of everything around.

This cave is located near cable car, leading to Ai-Petri, so it is quite popular to visit, it is easy to find it by the signs, leaving the cable car to the 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 is a meter-long snowdrift, tourists often throw coins into it, making a wish, and under it is a floor of compressed ice. It was also called Vorontsovskaya, they say that it was from here that ice was mined 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 failure with three entrances, which were compared with eyes. A staircase descends into the cave, along which, observing safety precautions, it is necessary to descend backwards. In winter, the entrance to the cave is locked.

This cave is also located on the Ai-Petri plateau, it was accidentally discovered in 1997 by a Yalta caver and his son under a mountain of leaves, and equipped for visiting by enthusiasts in 2007. This is a small cave, but very spectacular. Only the first hall is open to the public, but it is very impressive; colored lamps are held here, creating real stone flowers, jellyfish or other bizarre images from karst influxes. This cave is recognized as a natural monument.

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. Equipped for visiting this cave in 2003. Since then, excursions have been regularly conducted there, and on a route 270 meters long, which takes about an hour, tourists are shown 5 halls richly cleaned with natural influxes: the Fireplace Hall, the Dolphin Hall, the Knights' Hall, the Organ Hall and the Hall of Ghosts. Inside the cave, you can see the stalagmites of the "Phoenix Bird", the seven-meter "Knight" and others. fairy tale characters, the names of which everyone will come up with for themselves.

The system of these caves in Tatar is called Kyzyl-Koba. They are located near Simferopol and are the largest cave in the Crimea. The caves can only be visited with a guide - there are 6 floors going into the depths and many lakes, siphons, reservoirs. There is a large stalactite - 8 meters, over 8000 years old. An underground river flows through this cave, which forms the Su-uchkhan waterfall. The excursion route here lasts 500 meters, which is a little compared to its total length of more than 13 kilometers, but it is dangerous to go further without special preparation. Folk festivals often take place in the valley near the cave, for example, Ivan Kupala Day is celebrated here, birthdays and other holidays are held.

This cave, discovered by the speleological section of Simferopol 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 underworld have been here. For convenience, concrete paths were laid inside, handrails were installed, and artificial lighting was provided. Several routes have been developed, some are accessible even to a child. The length of the routes is up to one and a half kilometers. On the way, you will meet 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, an 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.

Crimea is famous for its many interesting places. Among them Special attention deserve a cave. There are a large number of them in this territory, each of them is unique and has its own characteristics. Since ancient times, people settled in them and used them for their needs. In this article we will talk about the caves of the Crimea, open to the public.

Caves and cave monasteries of Crimea on the map:

Three-eyed or Vorontsovskaya cave

Mountain Crimea hides a large number of caves. But not all can be visited by non-specialists. The most accessible - Three-eyed.

Three-Eyed Cave inside

There are more than 3 million years old, the depth is -30 meters. Occupies over 600 sq. meters. You can get inside it through 3 shafts - failures resembling three eyes along the ladder. Through one of them, located almost vertically, sunlight enters the cave; during the cold period - snow flies. It's always cold inside. The snow does not completely melt, even in summer there is ice on the floor. Ancient hunters kept the meat of dead animals here. When they shot the film "The Prisoner of the Castle of If", they painted the eyes.

Important! Before you go on an excursion, you need to take warm clothes with you, inside the air temperature does not rise to 10 degrees. In winter, the Trekhglazka is closed.

Yalta cave on the Ai-Petri plateau

The smallest, but incredibly beautiful cave. Traces of the life of people of the Neolithic era were found here.

During the warm period, tourists can contemplate numerous long stalactites that hang from the arches, like pasta. On the floor of the great hall, there are many stalagmites of incredibly crazy shapes. Walls in swells. Light from small electric bulbs creates an unimaginable play of light and shadow.

It is famous for its vertical well, 40 meters long, through which you can go down to the lower hall. Not every tourist can do it: only daredevils, in the company of a climbing guide, dressed in special equipment, will go down.

marble cave

The most visited cave in Crimea is located on the Chadyr-Daga plateau, not far from the village of the same name. It was formed in marble-like limestones, which is why it got its name. It is located at a depth of 60 meters, the length is just over 2 km.

Red Cave Kizil-Koba

The largest one is 20 km long. Red, because iron impurities predominate in the rock. Ordinary tourists only half a kilometer are available. It will be convenient to get there on a fabulous train, especially when it rains.

I have an opportunity extreme excursion: put on a scuba gear and see with your own eyes the flooded passages and halls. Underground passages are located on six levels, with a difference of more than 250 meters.

Inside the cave are numerous lakes, wells, waterfalls, huge halls, as well as the largest stalactite in Europe, 8 thousand years old. Full information you can find out about the Red Cave (Kizil Koba) in Crimea.

Cave monastery near Sudak

The ruins of the monastery lie near Mount Sokol. At the beginning of our millennium, Byzantine monks lived here - icon worshipers. Later the Turks ravaged it. But people have not forgotten about him.

In one of three caves there is a carved cross on the wall, and a shop nearby. In the other, only the front wall and a few cells have been preserved. You can get there along the path along the steep slope of the mountain. From above you can see the sea. The place is also notable for the fact that a healing spring was found nearby.

Holy Dormition Cave Monastery in Bakhchisarai

This monastery was also founded by Byzantine monks. It is carved into a sheer rock. This holy monastery has an interesting history.

When the Crimean Khanate gained independence, and Russia received the Crimean fortresses, local Christians, due to harassment by the Muslim population, leave these places. The Russian commander Alexander Suvorov took an active part in the event. But three years later the monastery began to hold services again.

During the revolution, the monastery was plundered, and the servants were shot. During the Great Patriotic War, a hospital was located within these walls. The monastery was revived again after the collapse Soviet Union. The parishioners restored the Holy Place by joint efforts. They did a titanic work: they restored the stone staircase, the Assumption Church, restored the rock painting, erected a bell tower and much more.

Tepe Kermen - cave city in Bakhchisarai

A purely strategic building, arose on a cone-shaped mountain, at an altitude of more than 500 meters. Casemates, quarters for guards, cisterns for collecting rainwater were built in the rock. The city has more than 200 rooms of various shapes and sizes, located on six levels.

At the top there were living quarters and water tanks, at the bottom - outbuildings. The northeastern slope of the rock is decorated with a rock church. On the stone stairs from it you can go to the very bottom of the cliff. On the sixth level there is a tomb covered with a stone slab, on the fifth level there is a sacristy and a refectory, on the fourth level there is a crypt with a niche for an icon. There is also a chapel.

The second name - Emine Bair Khosar - is translated as a well on a mountain slope. At the bottom of the failure, a large karst cavity was discovered - now it is the main hall.

Location - Chadyr dag, lower plateau. The length is 1.5 kilometers, the depth is about 100. The halls and passages are illuminated, equipped with stairs with railings.

Here they found the bones of extinct animals, even a mammoth, after which the cave is named.

Stalactites form outlandish figures: the Cap of Monomakh, the Stone Flower, fairy-tale gods. Of particular interest is the two-level lake. The cave is deservedly considered one of the most unusual in Europe.

Shuldan Cave Monastery

Located near the village of Ternovka, it includes two churches and twenty rooms in two tiers. main temple made in the form of an elongated rectangular room. Altar in the shape of a horseshoe.

Shuldan cave monastery inside

In ancient times, the walls of the temples were decorated with frescoes, but they have not survived to our times. Recently, a chapel tower was erected, the dome of which is clearly visible from afar.

From the observation deck of the tower offers a wonderful view of the valley. The sight is told not only by tourists, but also by pilgrims. They are provided with cells for guests, where it is possible to spend the night.

Cave city Bakla

The northern city of Crimea is once an open medieval settlement. To date, almost not preserved.

In the sixth century, a castle was built here from large pieces of limestone, which was destroyed by the Tatar-Mongols. On the shore there are graves carved in stone, grape presses, waste pits, and artificial caves.

Cave city Inkerman

The ancient fortress of Kalamita, consisting of more than three hundred fortifications, is the hallmark of the city.

Kalamita Fortress cave city Inkerman

The fortress itself did not last long, and the caves under it were preserved. Today, the largest wine-making enterprise of the Crimea is located here. Its underground cellars occupy 55 thousand square meters. Along with a local history tour, tourists are offered to visit wine tasting rooms. The city also has an operating monastery. We talk more about the cave city of Inkerman in.

Kalamita Fortress of the cave city of Inkerman in Crimea, a monastery at the foot of the Kalamita Fortress

We also invite you to watch a video about the most popular and beautiful cave of the Crimea Marble:

The beautiful Crimean land is famous for numerous caves, of which there are about one and a half thousand. And this is not surprising, because most The peninsulas are occupied by mountains: Chatyrdag, Ai-Petri, Dolgorukovskaya yaila and Karabi yaila. A great many secrets are hidden in the mountains of Crimea, interesting legends are composed about them, ufologists and psychics come here every year in search of the unknown. Local caves and grottoes, with many floors and halls, attract thousands of tourists vacationing on their completely unearthly fabulous underground world: beautiful stalactites, stalagmites, underground rivers, waterfalls and lakes. We invite you to take a trip with us to the most interesting caves of the Crimea. To begin with, it is worth saying that a large number of caves have already been studied by professional speleologists, and therefore they are open for tourists to visit, many have even been equipped with stairs and lighting. And yet, on the peninsula there are still a lot of hidden underground grottoes, the most popular among caving lovers. For the most part, the Crimean caves are not very long and occupy no more than half a kilometer in length, of course, there are exceptions to the rule. The most interesting and frequently visited caves of the Crimea are: Marble and Emine-Bair-Koba, aka Mamontova, on Mount Chatyr-Dag; Red or Kizil-Koba; Kiik-Koba in the grotto near Zui; Skelskaya; Thousand-headed on Bin-Bash-Koba; Three-eyes and Geophysical on Ai-Petri; MAN; Emine-Bair-Khosar; bottomless well; Soldier and so on. Today we will get acquainted with some of the listed Crimean caves in more detail.

Marble cave on Mount Chatyr-Dag- The Marble Cave is located on the lower plateau of Mount Chatyr-Dag, near the village of Marble, which belongs to the territory of the Simferopol region of Crimea. This cave is a branched labyrinth of horizontal dungeons that were pierced millions of years ago by the waters of the ancient Tethys Ocean. A lot of time has passed, and now the local underground rivers have become shallow, and the Crimean climate has become dry, so water drops inside the Marble Cave flow very slowly, without any hurry. This two-kilometer cave, sixty meters deep, is recognized as one of the most beautiful in the territory. Crimean peninsula and is open to tourists. She is about eight million years old. As the guides say, the discoverer of this underground miracle was an ordinary shepherd who lost one of the sheep of his flock. This happened in 1987, and Marble has been equipped and open to the public since 1988.

There are well developed excursion routes, but you can’t visit it on your own, because despite the fact that professional scientists are trying to preserve the microclimate of the cave, harmful green algae have begun to appear on the walls of the natural formation, which destroy stalactites and stalagmites. Therefore, the cave is tightly closed with a heavy door in order to somehow preserve and thus conserve this unearthly beauty. Once inside, you realize that you are in a completely unreal world, and everything around is amazing with its incredible charm.

The tour of the Marble Cave starts from the "Fairytale Gallery", where you can admire absolutely amazing figures of mythical creatures, the images of which your fantasy tells you. These miracle inhabitants of the cave were formed by growths in the form of stalactites, stalagmites, stalagnates. For ease of perception, some particularly impressive natural formations have received names: the Master of the Cave, the Minaret. Then the tourists are escorted along the long Tiger Pass, it was so named in a hurry, after the discovery of the remains of some large predatory animal, originally taken for a saber-toothed tiger, the name was immediately fixed, but after an examination in 2002, it was found that it was a cave lion, who fell into the whirlpool of a stormy underground river and could not get out, and they did not begin to rename the corridor. Further, tourists freeze in admiration, entering the largest hall of the dungeon - the Perestroika Hall, which was formed during an earthquake that collapsed the ceiling that separated the second and third floors. The hall, with a length of two hundred and fifty meters and a height of twenty-eight meters, is considered the largest both in the Crimea and throughout Europe. Throughout your journey, the surrounding beauty amazes with its sophistication, among this luxurious chaos generated by sinter formations, you can count hundreds of beautiful stalagnates that appear when stalactites and stalagmites are joined together. The guides are sure to show tourists the most famous stalagnate of the Marble Cave - "The Kiss", these are almost merged growths, between which only ten millimeters are left until they are completely merged. This stalagnate has a sign that if two lovers kiss next to him, then soon they will be married. The Nadezhda Hall is also very interesting, where growths hanging from the ceiling formed graceful carved arches, and the lower ones formed altars shimmering with gold. The Rose Hall is also wonderful, it is named so due to the color of the growths decorating it - soft pink. A place that definitely needs to be photographed is the two-level Balcony Hall, moreover, its upper and lower parts are united by a twelve-meter-high staircase. The next Luster Hall attracts visitors with calm soft lighting, making the surface of the walls as if covered with velvet, passing into the depths of the hall through massive stone outgrowths, you suddenly meet a completely sudden stream of bright light, which is absolutely amazing in this kingdom of darkness and twilight. In the Marble Cave there are also halls that are not yet equipped, they are also magnificent with their original charm: Helictite, Obvalny, Ruslovy, Chocolate. It is worth saying that scientists are intensively equipping and examining all new halls and passages, so completely new routes will gradually appear, where absolutely unfamiliar wonderful underground formations and figures still lurk.

When going on an excursion to the Marble Cave, keep in mind that it is cold there, the temperature does not rise above nine plus degrees, so put something warm on your feet and take care of jackets. But, if you didn’t have outerwear with you, then this will not be a big problem, because at the checkout there is also a rental of jackets for tourists.

The Marble Cave is open all year round from 9 am to 7 pm. Ticket prices are different, they depend on the route you choose and the duration of the tour. The approximate price for an hour and a half tour is seven hundred rubles.

Getting to the Marble Cave on your own is a little difficult, but possible: get on trolleybuses 1, 51 or 52 to the village of Zarechnoye, it is located seventeen kilometers from the city of Simferopol, then buy a ticket and take a bus to the village of Marble, then you have to walk along career eight kilometers, while high-voltage wires will serve as a guide. It is best to purchase an excursion in specialized travel agencies, which are many in neighboring Crimean resorts.

Emine-Bair-Khosar Cave or Mammoth Cave on Mount Chatyr-Dag - This stunning Crimean cave is located eighteen kilometers from the city of Simferopol. It is worth noting that each cave in the Crimea is individual and attractive in its own way, Emine-Bair-Khosar also has a peculiarity - the unique composition and colors of sinter formations, and also, it has as many as five levels, as if it were a multi-storey building built by mother herself - nature. The lower halls lie at a depth of one hundred and eighty meters, and the upper ones at a depth of thirty meters. The length of the cave is about one and a half kilometers. The cave was found in 1908, but an equipped expedition visited it only two decades later, having studied only one hundred and fifty meters of dungeons. Then, in 1970, a more active study of the cave began, when corridors, halls, huge galleries, several levels, as well as a failed well - “Khosar's Window”, were discovered, its depth reaches sixteen meters, with a diameter of eight meters. This gap is called a window, because through it you can get out. Bones of ancient animals were found in this pit, including an almost complete skeleton of a mammoth, which was missing only the skull and shoulder blades. Scientists have suggested that this animal accidentally fell into the well and could not get out on its own until it was discovered by ancient people who finished off the mammoth, cut off its head and took away the meat that they could separate. This version fully explains the absence of part of the animal's skeleton. The found remains gave rise to the second name for the cave - "Mammoth". Gradually, the water washed the mammoth bones into an internal well, where they were sealed with layers of mud and silt, until cavers found them. The natural underground complex has been open for tourists since 1994.

All twelve chic halls of the cave are striking on the spot with their luxurious beauty, however, tourists are not allowed into all the halls, some of them are completely reserved. At the moment, visitors can walk a kilometer along the halls and corridors equipped with lights and stairs, and even here they can choose from three options for the proposed tours: - half an hour through the North Gallery; - one hour and twenty minutes for the North Gallery, the Hall of Idols and Kecskemét; - the entire kilometer route is an hour and a half.

During the tour, you have to go down to the very bottom of the cave, because the journey starts from the lower North Gallery. You will see the beautiful Main Hall, as well as the delightful Lake Hall, where there is a natural reservoir, the depth of emerald water in it reaches six meters. The hall of idols, as if assembled from three parts, the height of one of them, fifty meters, is like a modern sixteen-story building, we are talking about the most beautiful part of “Kecskemet”, it attracts with an amazing outgrowth “White Speleologist”, in the form of a volcano formed by stalagmites over many millennia. And also a white wall, with growths of calcite, very similar to a giant organ. Being here, you involuntarily imagine yourself on another planet: without the sun, grass, trees, but with a completely unique own, moreover, self-sufficient world. The Dublyansky Hall is an amazing place where the water of an underground lake splashed on two levels, now it has dried up, and the natural pit remains. The hall with the stalagmite “Cap of Monomakh” attracts with its mysteriousness no less.

When visiting the Mammoth Cave, you need to know that the air there is never warmer than five degrees, so you need to dress warmer, although jackets are available for rent. The caves of Emine-Bair-Khosar are open all year round from 9 am to 7 pm.

It is difficult to get to the Mammoth Cave: first, take the shuttle bus 142 from the Simferopol railway station to the Mramornoye ST station, then walk about nine kilometers to the cave itself. Easiest to take organized tour to the cave with transfer.

Emine-Bair-Koba Cave on Mount Chatyr-Dag- This cave is a cavity with three different entrances, which is located on Mount Chatyr-Dag, more precisely on its lower plateau, two and a half kilometers from the village of Marble. The cave is about ten million years old, and it was formed as a result of erosion of limestone stone bowels with water during mountain building processes. Over time, a large cave was formed here with numerous halls and corridors. The peculiarity of this Crimean cave is that throughout the year the temperature here stays at zero degrees Celsius, so the ice in Emine-Bair-Koba never melts. Even ancient people realized that if you store meat inside this cave, then it will not deteriorate, despite the heat outside. Speleologists learned about this when they stumbled upon the remains of such supplies. In the nineteenth century, Count Vorotsov, who built a beautiful one in the Crimea, established mining in this ice cave in order to cool his wines and other products in pantries. The fact that there is such a cave nearby, inside which the ice never melts, he was told by local shepherds, who had noticed it for a long time, grazing their flocks. But scientists began to study this cave only in 1927, until now they have explored only about a kilometer of dungeons.

Tourists can see only two hundred and forty meters of the cave, and then, for unprepared visitors, it is possible to get acquainted with only seven dozen meters of passages and halls, where there is lighting and stairs with railings, and the next one hundred and fifty meters of the dungeon is a place where training for speleologists is held, to get there to a person without experience and equipment is unrealistic.

The entrance to the cave is double, it consists of two funnel-shaped cavities, but there is another arch-shaped cavity nearby. Next, tourists descend the stairs to a depth of thirty-eight meters to the gallery leading to the main hall. There will be ice underfoot, mixed with pebbles and rubble. There is a very nice underground lake below, its depth does not exceed three meters. A little higher there is a small trough-shaped depression, also filled with water.

An excursion to the cave is carried out strictly with a speleologist guide, because it is dangerous to explore this little-known cave on your own. Despite the fact that ordinary visitors have the opportunity to see only seventy meters of the cave, it is worth it, it is very beautiful. The walls are decorated with natural influxes of calcite, hardened in the form of fantasy patterns. This is where you get great photos.

To get to the cave to get into the cave, the easiest way is to use trolleybus route, connecting the Crimean capital with Alushta, then transfer to a bus going to the village of Marble, and then walk. You can go from Simferopol by bus to the village of Krasnolesye, but then you also need to walk. It’s easier to buy a tour with a transfer, there will already be a paid guide.

Three-Eyed Cave on Mount Ai-Petri- This is a karst cave, which is three and a half million years old, located on the Ai-Petri Yaila. The Three-Eyed Cave was named for its three shaft-shaped entrances, similar to the eye sockets of a skull. A huge plus of such entrances is the presence of natural light in the dungeon, but there is also a minus - in winter snow gets through them and at temperatures around zero it almost never melts completely, and with the onset of winter the floor of the cave turns into a real one. ice rink. This thirty-meter cave is closed for tourists during the cold months of the year, even in summer some of its passages are closed, because there are so many and you can break something by accidentally slipping. After passing through the entrance and passing the tunnel, tourists enter the main hall with a cone-shaped ice stalagmite in the middle.

The uniqueness of the cave is that in its bowels there are both ice and stone sinter formations. About the features of the fact that the cave is icy from the inside locals knew for a long time, they even say that when Empress Catherine II traveled around the Crimea, it was in Yalta cave Three-Eyes got ice to cool her drinks.

The cave was opened for tourists only in 1989. It is small - the area is about six hundred with a small square meters. This dungeon has its own belief: if a tourist throws a copper coin into a non-melting cone in the central part of the Three-Eyed Cave, then he will pay off all troubles and gain good luck.

Entry price: for adults - one hundred and fifty-five rubles, for children - eighty rubles.

You can get to the cave on your own by using the cable car going from the village of Miskhor to Ai-Petri or by hiring a taxi in the Yalta resort and its environs. Of course, you can buy a full tour at any travel agency. By the way, Geophysical and Yalta caves are located nearby on Ai-Petri.

Skelskaya cave near Mount Ai-Petri- The Skelskaya cave is considered one of the most beautiful in Crimea, but unsafe for tourists to visit on their own, so you can only get there with a guide. It appeared millions of years ago and over many centuries nature itself has decorated its dungeon with bizarre stalactites and stalagmites. The Skelsk cave was discovered only in 1904, but the inhabitants of the village of Skelsk knew about it for a long time, and only at the beginning of the twentieth century, an inquisitive and inquisitive school geography teacher descended into this underground cavity, finding the entrance to the cave in a crack in the rock. After that, archaeologists and speleologists came here to examine the internal contents of the dungeon. To date, the Skelskaya cave has not been fully studied, but the space that scientists have already examined has given great food for thought. Bones of animals that died out centuries ago were found - a saber-toothed tiger, a forest cat, a saiga, and so on, moreover, new levels and hitherto unknown cave cavities were discovered that have yet to be explored and landscaped for tourists to visit.

Only since 2003, a part of the Skelskaya cave has been fully prepared for visitors: lights have been installed, stairs and railings have been installed. The cave stretches for a distance of about seven hundred meters, it has several levels: at the top, the temperature is kept at thirteen degrees, at the bottom - eight degrees.

Those tourists who have visited this cave at least once, even though only five halls are now open for visiting, say that they visited a real underground natural palace, the interior of which resembles a fairy-tale castle from a book cover. There are halls with speaking names: Knight's, Organ, Fireplace, Dolphin, Ghost Hall - they are not named so by chance, but in honor of unusual stone formations created by time, water and chemical salts. The fireplace hall attracts with massive columns that are similar to a real fireplace, only it has a huge size, and after placing the backlight there, the similarity only intensified. The Knights' Hall will surprise visitors with a stalagmite in the form of a figure of a knight in chain mail armed with a spear, as well as a stalagmite similar to the figure of a monk, whose head is covered with a hood. The Hall of Ghosts is famous for its absolutely fantastic blurry forms of stone formations, which is why it was called by such an ephemeral name. The "residents" of the underground castle - Skelskaya cave are mythical characters and animals: a dragon and a phoenix, a dolphin, a monkey, a gopher.

It is worth mentioning the danger again self-guided tour along the cave, as there are many sharp cliffs that communicate with the lower levels. Dangerous and water system dungeons, especially in spring, when snow melts in the mountains, and in autumn, during heavy rains, because the waters fill the cavities of the cave, it overflows and from its exit a swift stream of water rushes, dumping into the river. In summer, it is not so dangerous here in terms of water, but you should not forget about warm clothes, it is always cold here and it never gets warmer than eight degrees.

You can visit the equipped and open Skelskaya cave in summer from nine in the morning to eight in the evening, in winter - from ten in the morning to six in the evening. The ticket price for an adult is five hundred rubles, for children from five to twelve years old - two hundred and fifty rubles, for children under five years old - free of charge.

You can get to the Skelskaya cave on your own by car, because the road to it is excellent. From the city of Sevastopol, you need to go along the H19 highway to the village of Goncharnoye, then turn left, having reached the village of Orlinoe, turn east and drive through the small villages of Pavlovka and Podgornoye, reach the village of Rodnikovskoye.

You can get to the cave from Yalta by bus: 37, 41, 182, 37a, 41a to the bus station "Fifth kilometer" on the Balaklava highway in the city of Sevastopol, and then take the buses going to the village of Rodnikovskoye, from where you need to walk a kilometer following the signs, leading to the cave.

Kizil-Koba caves or the Red Caves on Dolgorukovskaya Yaila - The Kizil-Koba Cave, formed two and a half million years ago, is a whole complex of underground voids-cavities connected to each other, which, for the fiery red color of the mineral that forms the walls of the dungeons, have another name - "Red Caves". The caves are hidden in the western part of the Dolgorukovskaya yayla, in the Simferopol region, three kilometers from the village of Perevalnoye.

The six-level caves of Kizil-Koba occupy twenty-seven kilometers in length, and sixty-five thousand kilometers in area, therefore they are recognized as the largest in Europe. The lower level goes to a depth of one hundred and forty-five meters, numerous corridors, passages, halls, galleries rise above it, for people who have never been there, this is a complex labyrinth where you can easily get lost and even die.

Red caves are karst, as they were formed by the underground river Kizil-Kobinka, the waters of which break out to the surface and appear before us in the form beautiful waterfall Su-Uchkan. The process of washing out new karst voids is not over, the river continues its centuries-old work, regularly increasing the area of ​​the caves. Underworld The red caves impress with their beauty, the reddish stone on the walls in the rays of artificial light seems to be golden, which enhances the already strong impression of visitors from the underground beauties they saw: stalactites, stalagmites of various shapes and sizes, with bizarre tints and shades. There are many charming grottoes, interesting halls - Chinese, Indian, Argentine, as well as underground lakes and waterfalls, stone natural figures Viking, the Master of the cave, giant columns.

In the bowels of the Red Caves, people began to settle in ancient times, but to what people belonged the remains discovered by archaeologists, dated to the seventh century BC, and what kind of culture these people represented, scientists cannot say for sure to this day, therefore they called it "Kizil -Kobinsky. An extremely large number of finds were made here, including weapons, jewelry, household items, and it was stated about these artifacts that the people who created them had a fairly high level of development. Some scientists make assumptions that the people could refer to the Cimmerians, who were forced to hide in the Red Caves from the steppe inhabitants, the warlike Scythians, who were pursuing them.

I would like to talk about the mystical component of this place, because the Crimean caves of Kizil-Koba and the valley around them are, according to psychics, a place of power. There is a geomagnetic fault here and an underground river flows, which attracts otherworldly forces here, which can be seen at night in the form of luminous energy balls moving in the air. It is said that four times a year, during the change of seasons, a luminous ghost of a girl with wings appears near the cave, which the locals call the "Firebird", they say that seeing her is considered a good omen.

Excursion to the Red Caves starts from the main entrance, where there is a stone tower. The road goes along the underground river Kizil-Kobinka, along the giant Middle Halls - Kharanlykh-Kaya, Ilye-Koba, through majestic lakes, waterfalls, water cascades. At the same time, do not forget that the river is underground, and you are walking along ancient cave, whose walls are covered with graceful patterned outgrowths of quartzite, along the way you will meet fantasy growths on the floor and ceiling, created by nature itself. In the Red Caves grows the largest eight-meter stalactite in Europe, eight thousand years old.

A tourist group gathers at least five people, if you wish, you can order an individual tour, which will be much more expensive. Don't forget to dress warmly, because the cave is never warmer than nine degrees. This cave has extreme tours for trained and experienced amateur speleologists, when the five-kilometer route goes through galleries and halls that are completely unsuitable for travelers, here you will have to overcome steep, narrow paths, passages in the form of a bottle neck, and also dive into icy river water in wetsuits with special equipment.

You can get to the Kizil-Koba caves on your own from Simferopol by buses, trolleybuses, minibuses moving in the direction of the cities of Alushta or Yalta, you need to get off in the village of Perevalnoye, and the stop will just be called "Red Caves".