Ay-Petri Mountain Ai-Petri Plateau: winter sports and mountain tourism. What the ai-Petri plateau will look like after reconstruction (photo) Important! message from the State Educational Institution of the Republic of Crimea "Crimea-Spas"

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Mount Ai-Petri, one of the most beautiful places south coast Crimea. This majestic peak is located as part of the Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla.

Its height is 1234 m, consists of four teeth approximately 12-15 meters high, large in size, and there are also small ones resulting from the weathering of heterogeneous limestones. The weather on the plateau is different from the coastal areas of the southern coastal zone.

Climbing the South Face of Ai-Petri, where the ascent will take place along the classic climbing route-2A of difficulty category.

In the summer, the weather here is hot, sometimes precipitation falls in the form of rain, which has a beneficial effect on the flowering of some types of green spaces and various plants growing in the highlands of the Ai-Petri Yayla.

Climate on the plateau

Also, during the summer and autumn, after the rains, when the sun’s rays warm the earth, many mushrooms appear, such as white mountain mushrooms, somewhat similar in quality and structure to boletus, also a lot of saffron milk caps, honey mushrooms, butter mushrooms, and the entire plateau is generally dotted with them. Medicinal herbs such as oregano, fireweed, peppermint, and thyme grow on the plateau.

Fans of alternative medicine greatly value the collection of herbs in this highland, due to the altitude of their growth and the purity of the air present in this highland. Winters on the Ai-Petri plateau are cold, the thermometer drops to a temperature of -15-20 degrees. Winds during this period are fierce, sometimes the wind speed reaches 20-25 m/s.

What to see on the Ai-Petri plateau

Winter on the Ai-Petrinsky plateau looks much more impressive than in Yalta and its environs. Here in winter you can go skiing, sledding, relax in winter huts and meet New Year in that amazing place. There is a work on the plateau that connects the peak itself with Sosnovy Bor and Miskhor.

You can also climb Ai-Petri on foot along some mountain paths, where the walk will take an average walk - about two hours one way, but this option is not for the lazy, because you constantly have to move uphill, and sometimes climb steep rock rapids, blocking the path.

But along the way you can see trees, and maybe entire groves of wild dogwood, pears, small wild apples; in general, a trip to the plateau for optimists will seem like a walk that will be remembered as one of the best in your life.

On the Ai-Petrinsky plateau, there is interesting places, where you can see monuments created by nature, like, and a little further along the road towards Bakhchisarai, you can get to another attraction, where you can swim in the summer in the bath of youth at a water temperature of 9 degrees and immediately rejuvenate by 10 years, but this is other than that another topic that I will describe perhaps soon.

On the Ai-Petri plateau there are many different eateries where you can taste Tatar cuisine and drink good wine infused with rose petals.

If you walk deeper into the plateau, you can see domes that appear in the form of white balls; this is the patrimony of the military, where they monitor space objects. Well, in general, visit this wonderful corner created by good impressions about relaxing in this wonderful place.

Ai-Petri on the map of Yalta

Photo of the Ai-Petrinsky plateau

The famous Ai-Petri has always attracted tourists. Majestic peaks that are visible from almost all points of the southern Crimean coast, mountain slopes covered with relict forests, beautiful panoramic views from the upper plateau have already made Ai-Petri one of the most visited tourist sites on the Crimean Peninsula. And where there is an influx of tourists, there great amount offers for entertainment. So on top station The cable car "Miskhor - Ai-Petri", which is located on a large plateau, gradually formed an entire entertainment town with peculiar streets, where instead of houses there are numbered restaurants and cafes, fast food outlets and shops with souvenirs, clothing stores and trays with homemade wine.

Donkeys, camels and vintage cars

There are stables on the plateau, so you can always organize a horse ride, because the territory of the Ai-Petri plateau is more than three hundred square kilometers. In addition, here you can ride ATVs or jeeps, take pictures in front of retro cars and various animals.

A colorful Crimean Tatar atmosphere reigns in the mini-town itself.

Here you can see walking donkeys and even camels, and many cafes serve lagman and beshbarmak, pasties and kebabs, samsa and belyashi, honey baklava and Crimean wines.

Currently, the authorities are trying to fight this colorful town, which has become a unique landmark. The reasoning is simple - illegal trade and low quality of services provided. In return, a full-scale reconstruction is proposed, as a result of which a helipad, a rock park, a walking area, observation decks made of glass, equipped parking, zapline, bicycle and snowmobile rentals.

The conclusion is simple. Whether the Tatar town remains or is replaced by modern buildings, the most important attraction of the Ai-Petri plateau still cannot be taken away. These are the indescribable beauties of the southern coast of Crimea from a bird's eye view.

Ai-Petri plateau video

Contacts

Address:	Yalta, Koreiz
How to get there:	Directions: You can get to the Ai-Petri plateau by cable car from Koreiz, or by car along the mountain road. You will get a lot of positive emotions on the cable car. On the way - this Mountain road, with constant bends. If you take a minibus/taxi, many people end up feeling sick
GPS coordinates:

You can appreciate the beauty of the Ai-Petri plateau only once you get there. Rarely is nature so close to man. Having felt one with the environment, it is unlikely that anyone will not set a firm goal to return here again.

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

How to climb the Ai-Petri plateau

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

You can use the Baydarsky Pass, arriving from the direction of Sevastopol or Foros. The fact is that the Baydar Gate pass is a natural border between the Ai-Petrinskaya and Baydarskaya yayla.


Baydar Gate - car route on the Ai-Petri plateau

There is an opportunity to get into the very heart of the Ai-Petri plateau by arriving in Rodnikovskoye by regular bus, which you should take on the Yalta-Sevastopol highway near the turn to Tylovoe.

If you see the goal of tourism in overcoming the hardships of the journey solely with your own feet, then well-trodden and popular passes are at your service. The same cable car station can be reached along the Koreiz trail, which, as the name suggests, leaves from Koreiz.

The climb will allow you to get into the rhythm of the hike and enjoy the beautiful pine forest, through which the path runs.

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

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

Tourist sites and routes of Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla:

Borders of the Ai-Petri plateau

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

Defining the northern limit of the plateau is more difficult, but having slightly expanded the boundaries allowed by the definition of the term “yayla” itself, we can assume that it will become a strip along the mountains a kilometer or two deep on the segment Baydarsky Pass - Mount Balchik-Kaya and then an ever-expanding area up to five kilometers in the Besh-Tekne - Bedene-Kyr area, where the Ai-Petrinskaya yayla merges with the Yalta.

Geological features of the Ai-Petri plateau

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

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

The ridge of the Ai-Petrinsky Mountains is a visual cuesta, that is, an alternation of gentle and steep slopes. The steep ones face the sea and are subject to constant erosion; they represent an uplift of rock that often crumbles, causing landslides. The gentle slopes end in small beams, behind which a smaller ridge grows again. If you move along the Ai-Petri plateau from the south and not north in areas, for example, of the Spira or Dome mountains, you will get the impression of sailing on waves, where ascents alternate with descents. It’s not the same feeling, however, when driving along the line of mountains, when finding a flat road is not at all difficult.

The basis of the Ai-Petri plateau is composed of Upper Jurassic limestones, which affects the nature of the yayla to this day. While walking along its routes, pay attention to the shape of the stones protruding from the ground. They are often rounded at the edges and have oval holes. Limestones became the cause of total karst formation, when water over the course of many centuries literally ate its way deep into the rock, depriving the soil of life-giving moisture. Therefore, the interest of scientists in the Besh-Tekne basin, which is located not far from Mount At-Bash, is understandable.

Springs flow here and small lakes fill. The reason is the presence of clay lining the bottom of the basin and retaining water. It is no wonder that two trails through the passes lead to this oasis - Evreiskaya and Eski-Bogaz. But as soon as you move a little to the north, you find yourself in the kingdom of karst formations, which is almost completely devoid of water lingering on the surface.

Peaks of the Ai-Petri plateau

As befits any yayla, Ai-Petrinskaya does not have clearly defined peaks. The most accurate definition that begs to be spoken is plateau. Therefore, looking at the map, you should not imagine that Mount Kilse-Burun is a pointed peak. A small hill above the surrounding plane will be its top.

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

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

The next significant peak will be Merdven Kaya (688 meters), also easily accessible from the west. And this mountain was not abandoned by climbers.

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


Ai-Petri plateau in the region Merdven-Kayasy mountains

Even further east, the road will lead us to Mount Balchik-Kaya (945 meters), on which passive signal reflector structures stand and rust.

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

Morcheka is one of the most famous peaks of Crimea. This is an important attraction for both climbers and tourists. A cross is installed on one of the rocks of Morcheka.

WITH western edge The Kerezla trail goes down from the mountain. A grandiose panorama opens from its top to the southeast, where small lakes sparkle among the rocks in the greenery of the forests. And in the area of this mountain and to the east, the scale of rock falls is amazing. Between the Morcheka and Spirada mountains, below, closer to the village of Opolznevoye, there is a whole scattering of huge boulders and rock fragments, which is commonly called the Kuchuk-Koi stone chaos.

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


Trail to Mount Spirada along the Ai-Petri plateau	Ai-Petri plateau in the region Spira Mountains

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

The next notable peak in our movement in westward there will be Mount At-Bash (1196 meters). Views from highest point This mountain, whose name translates as “Horse Head”, requires you to spend time on a short climb.

Ai-Petri plateau, Mount At-Bash:

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

Weather on the Ai-Petri plateau

In winter and spring, Ai-Petri can make you feel your bad character. It’s quite cold here, the entire area is constantly covered in fog, strong winds awaken in the spring, so even in mid-May you can bundle up against the cold.

Tourists who prefer winter hiking know that between Ai-Petri and the Dome there is fog and rain more often than in the Morcheki area. And the entire Ai-Petri plateau, compared to the rest of its Crimean counterparts, is the coldest. Winter can overtake the traveler in early October. While not a single snowflake will fall on the coast all year and the temperature will always remain above zero, on the Ai-Petri plateau frosts and snowdrifts are a common occurrence.

Winter fogs on the Ai-Petri plateau:

Clouds move from the sea onto a mountain peak Ai-Petri plateau	View from the Ai-Petri plateau to the village of Pokrovskoye

Given the terrain, you need to be very careful off the beaten path. In winter, ravines and depressions are covered with snow; sharp stones are not visible from under the snowdrifts. But this primarily applies to places remote from the canopy. In summer, it is not as hot on the yayla as below, but you can hide from the scorching sun only by stopping under a tree; a constantly moving tourist will be constantly exposed to the sun's rays. Rain in summer is rare on the plateau.

Hiking trails along the Ai-Petri plateau

Now it’s worth talking about the trails of this plateau. The simplest route giving greatest number impressions and photographs, is the one that runs along the mountain peak. Moving along the Ai-Petri plateau from the Baydar Gate through the Foros Church, we will ride the eighth tourist route. To be fair, it should be said that it starts from the Laspi tourist camp, but this is already the Baydar Yayla. The eighth route will take us along the edge of the ridge through the previously mentioned mountains Kilse-Burun and Merdven-Kaya.

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

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

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

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

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

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

From the Shaitan-Merdven pass there are two popular tourist routes- Kalendskaya and Kapurkayskaya trails, however, they almost immediately leave the yayla and go deeper into the dark beech forest.

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

For those who like to scream in the mountains, the canyon will echo six times. People get to the top in whatever way they can. “Horseless” - either on your own along the path with the strange name Taraktashskaya, or by cable car from Miskhor (ticket cost about 8 dollars one way). Owners of iron horses - along mountain serpentine roads. The first two options are recommended - they provide an opportunity to better see the beauty of these places. But in the case of the funicular you will have to stand in line. On the way up you will meet the Wuchang-Su waterfall, the largest in Main ridge. The water here falls from a height of about 100 meters. True, in the summer only a few streams flow there, since Wuchang-Su is fed by karst waters. But the purest Mountain air and the peaceful silence of the forest more than compensate for this small “overlay.”

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

One of the most famous - the Ai-Petri plateau - holds the title of the snowiest and windiest place in Crimea. The wind here sometimes reaches 50 m/s. Despite the apparent habitability, the mountain can show its wild side, as soon as you move away from the well-trodden paths. If you have no experience in such hikes, you should refrain from attempting to independently explore Ai-Petri. Mountains do not forgive mistakes, even such “small” ones. The teeth of Ai-Petri will be imprinted in your memory forever, constantly reminding you: “ Better than the mountains There can only be mountains that you haven’t been to before.”

More information on the website about Mount Ai-Petri .

Photo

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

SIMFEROPOL, March 30 – RIA Novosti (Crimea). In Crimea, several projects for the reconstruction of the Ai-Petri plateau are in development: it is planned to create the world’s longest zip line, a small eco-town and a rock garden, said Anri Kanunov, a freelance adviser to the head of the Yalta administration.

Earlier, the head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, promised by May to restore order on the plateau of Mount Ai-Petri, which is chaotically built up with hotels, cafes and retail outlets. One of the reconstruction projects was developed on behalf of the city mayor Andrey Rostenko.

"IN this moment this project is also being approved by the ministries of the Republic of Crimea and will subsequently be presented to the head of the Republic of Crimea Sergei Aksenov,” the press service of the mayor’s office quotes Kanunov as saying. According to him, several ideas are currently being considered to create a small eco-city on Ai-Petri , intended for recreation and entertainment. At the same time, no permanent buildings are planned on the plateau. Among the projects to be implemented, the most interesting, according to Kanunov, are a rock garden, glass observation platforms and. stone labyrinth from gabions (volumetric products of various shapes from twisted wire mesh with hexagonal cells).

The world's longest zip line with a length of 2.6 kilometers may also appear here (currently the longest such structure is located in the Copper Canyon of Mexico - 2545 meters). Zip-line is a descent along a steel rope with a lift off the ground through the air.

In addition, in the area of the cable car on the plateau, it is planned to make a special area for relaxation and walking, where a dry fountain will be located. The issue of holding international competitions is being considered balloons, construction of the chapel. The plateau will also have bike paths and tracks for downhill snowmobiles, parking for cars and excursion buses, Helipad. “But there will be no numerous catering establishments and souvenir stalls on the plateau. There will only be one stationary cafe, located at the upper station of the cable car and the adjacent souvenir rows,” assured Kanunov.

Ai-Petri plateau reconstruction project

The Ai-Petri plateau is located above Yalta at an altitude of approximately 1200 meters above sea level, where a high-altitude cable car is laid from the coast. Part of the plateau territory is included in the Yalta Mountain Forest Reserve. During the Ukrainian period, illegal trade facilities were built on Ai-Petri without permission, which Crimeans call “shalmans”. The cafe offers tourists food and draft alcohol, which is often not certified. Attempts to ban illegal activities on the plateau have previously met resistance from traders. Buy winter slides