Diana fiolent's grotto how to get down. Cape Fiolent, Diana's grotto: history, legends, description, interesting facts and reviews. What is interesting about Diana's grotto on Fiolent

In the vicinity of Sevastopol is located one of the most amazing and beautiful places on the Crimean Peninsula - Cape Fiolent. But the main attraction for tourists is, photo which we have posted in this article. The through-hole, which amazes the imagination of travelers, is located not far from Cape Vinogradny and the Lermontov dacha. The second name of the hundred-meter ledge, inside of which the arch was formed, is Cape Lermontov.

Fun fact: You can easily reach the ledge by driving along the coast. But Diana’s grotto itself (Crimea) will remain inaccessible, because the banks of the stone arch are almost vertical. You will have to admire the object from afar; the second option is to take a ticket for a pleasure boat, the route of which runs through the grotto. Especially for you, in the last section of the article we will indicate the coordinates of the attraction.

Some historical facts

Scientists claim that not only the cape itself, but also the grotto described can boast of volcanic origin. In essence, the cape is a tongue of lava that extended into the sea at the dawn of time. Wind and water influenced the rock, forming half-caves and caves. This is how Diana’s grotto (Fiolent) was formed, which became not a cave failure, but a through hole. Part of the grotto is hidden under the surface of the water, and part of it is available for public viewing.

The goddess Diana, after whom the landmark is named, corresponds to Artemis in Greek mythology. This is the goddess of the hunt, to whom bloody sacrifices were allegedly made - young girls were thrown from a cliff into the sea. The grotto is mentioned by the Roman geographer Strabo and the “father of history” Herodotus. However, modern historians doubt the ancient origin of the name of the object. There are several reasons:

1. The Romans did not establish sanctuaries on the Black Sea coast.
2. The Greek deity was called Artemis, not Diana.
3. The cult of Artemis does not involve human sacrifice.

Some historians associate Diana's grotto (Sevastopol) with the legend of Iphigenia. We are talking about an ancient Greek priestess who was destined to sacrifice her friend Pylades and brother Orestes to the gods. All three escaped. But the temple of Iphigenia was supposedly located on Cape Fiolent. Herodotus has a description of the marble altar and temple colonnade, but archaeologists could not find anything similar in the vicinity of the arch.

However, it was not possible without sacrifices, but it was not the Hellenes who were engaged in this matter, but the Taurians. As you know, the Tauri tribes became famous for their cruelty - they threw sailors and land traders from the cliffs who were careless enough to be captured. Some victims had their heads cut off, others were buried in the sand - all this was done purely for entertainment. The Taurians worshiped a goddess named Virgo, so a version appeared about the transformation of this name into Diana.

Modern mythology

Many traditions and legends of a later period are associated with Cape Fiolent. For example, evil tongues claim that Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was once in these parts and met with a married girl named Odel. The beauty's betrayal, however, does not explain the duel with Martynov - he fought with the poet because of Mikhail Yuryevich's refusal to marry his sister. The story with Lermontov also does not decipher the origin of the name of the grotto.

As for modern myth-making, it is based on very ominous facts. The fact is that in the vicinity of the cape, someone constantly dies. Perhaps people who decide to visit Diana's grotto (Fiolent) do not know how to get down there, and end up crashing on the rocks. Local residents associate a series of tragedies with the will of the goddess Diana, who continues to demand victims.

There is a logical explanation for the dark glory of Fiolent - lovers of extreme jumps gather here. Near the grotto, the depth is very uneven - the crack has wide and narrow places. Hence, there is an increased risk of hitting your head on a rock. It is worth considering other factors:

• lack of sun;
• the presence of cold currents;
• temperature changes;
• excitement.

It turns out that the legends have nothing to do with the real picture of things - many tourists die in the vicinity of the cape due to negligence. Waves pose the greatest danger to swimmers - they can stun, seriously injure or kill a person when they hit a rock. So it turns out that Diana annually collects her victims. We categorically do not recommend swimming in such places - there are well-maintained and safe beaches for this.

Why are tourists interested in the Diana Grotto?

Let’s immediately make a reservation that Cape Lermontov is the official name of the rock formation within which it was formed. Locals call this object the Arch, which is technically true. The length of the through passage is 15 meters, the width is enough to fit a medium-sized boat inside. Beaches adjoin the cape on both sides; from there, vacationers swim up to the Arch in rubber boats. Sometimes yachts moor next to the grotto.

The average depth of the grotto varies within 2 meters, but there are also 12-meter dips. This is explained by the presence of the same crack that we wrote about above. In some places you can walk along the bottom, but you need to do it carefully - you risk stepping on a shell and injuring your leg. Here are some more interesting facts about the grotto:

1. Many divers come here specifically for the underwater vegetation.
2. Experienced divers love to snorkel in the grotto.
3. A sunken minesweeper is located nearby - another diving attraction.
4. The Caravella tourist center is located nearby. Previously, from there you could go down stone steps to Diana’s grotto, but the flights of stairs collapsed.
5. If you are relaxing on the Caravelle beach, the grotto will be visible right through.

The main reasons for visiting the site continue to be photography and diving. The arch is a very recognizable place, so the photographs turn out bright. You can show off these shots to your colleagues at work or during a friendly conversation. As for diving, you shouldn’t even think about it in stormy weather.

There are a lot of ledges near the Arch that divers use for their purposes. Divers are attracted by the clear water and complex bottom topography. The most experienced athletes swim to the minesweeper to explore its shell-covered decks. Vacationers also love to take underwater photography - amazing pictures taken in the depths of the Arch periodically appear on social networks.

Let us note that the grotto is a very beautiful and romantic place, so it is definitely worth seeing. You can easily stay at one of the local camp sites and combine a beach holiday with sightseeing. If you consider yourself to be an experienced diver, then Cape Fiolent will be a real find for you. We recommend that all other travelers monitor their health, do not climb steep slopes and do not dive in places where the bottom topography has not been studied by you.

How to get there

Since you have decided to visit Diana’s grotto, we will now tell you how to get there. Please note that the attraction is located outside of Sevastopol, and you will have to change several modes of transport. From the city center, trolleybuses number 12, 2 and 13 go in the right direction. But from the Central Department Store it is better to take buses 72 and 19. The final stop for you will be “5 km”.

If you reach the “fifth kilometer”, change to a minibus going in the direction of Cape Fiolent (there is also a third bus going there). You can get off at the “Briz” and “Tsarskoe Selo” stops. If you decide to drive your own car, save the GPS coordinates of the grotto: N 44.303500 E 33.284100. All this time your route will run along the Balaklava highway. Have a nice trip!

Photos of Cape Lermontov

More photos of Cape Lermontov"

Description of Cape Lermontov

Does vacation in Crimea attract you with the opportunity to absorb the aesthetics of pristine nature, enjoying the purest sea air and emerald waters? In this case, you should include a visit to Cape Lermontov in your Crimean itinerary. This delightful place is located between Sevastopol and Balaklava, literally a few kilometers from Cape Fiolent. It got its name because of its proximity to the village of Lermontova Dacha. True, the owner of a small Crimean settlement is united with the outstanding writer of the golden age of Russian poetry only by a common surname. This settlement has not survived to this day, but the name of the picturesque cape formed by volcanic rocks is firmly entrenched.

The main attraction that Cape Lermontov can rightfully be proud of is Diana’s Grotto - a vivid example of incredible Crimean landscapes that attract tourists from all over the world to this paradise. Locals often call this place the Arch. The amazing arch is the fruit of thousands of years of work by the main architects of Mother Nature: sea waves, wind and sun. The length of the through hole, located in the central part of the cape, does not exceed 15 meters, the height of its arches is about 10 meters. The depth of the underwater part of the grotto is not uniform. The deepest part is located in an underwater crack that goes 14 meters under the water, but one of the walls of the arch forms a fairly wide underwater threshold, the platform of which is only half a meter below the surface of the water. By the way, it is worth noting that the water is cold even on the hot days of the Crimean summer. The sun does not shine here, into the grotto, and therefore the water temperature here is always noticeably lower than on the luxurious beaches of Cape Fiolent. If desired, you can move to the threshold from the side of the boat, which passes freely under the arch. But this must be done carefully, since the rocks of the cape are covered with colonies of mussels - there’s no way you can spoil your vacation in Crimea with injury. For the same reason, it is not recommended to go to the grotto when the sea is rough. In the majestic beauty lies powerful energy accumulated over millions of years. Rocks do not forgive mistakes.
There is no land approach directly to the grotto. But an excellent view of the arch opens from the nearby wild Caravella beach.

What's in a name

Why Diana's Grotto? According to legends, there was once an ancient temple here, where sacrifices (including human ones) were made to the goddess Virgin (aka Diana, aka Artemis) on a snow-white marble altar. The sanctuary stood on a cliff, from which the bodies of the unfortunate were handed over to the sea waves. True, historians do not present any material evidence of the existence of the temple, and their exact location is not even named.

A steep high cliff protrudes between capes Vinogradny and Fiolent, at 1.5 km to the north-north-west of the latter near the village of Lermontova Dacha (Gagarinsky district of Sevastopol).

The name of the cape is not connected with the name of the great Russian poet M. Yu. Lermontov: he never visited Crimea. At the beginning of the last century, a small village was formed above the cape, called Lermontova Dacha, named after the owner - the poet's namesake. Hence the name of the cape.

This narrow rocky cape with steep slopes stretches to the west and is notable for the fact that in the center it has a through hole at sea surface level, into which a boat can freely pass, and which has its own name - Diana's grotto.

Diana's Grotto

The cape on which Diana's grotto is located is officially called Cape Lermontov. This is a long dark volcanic rock protruding into the sea for a hundred meters, in the center of which is a high through grotto, which has a surface and an underwater part, with a depth of 2 to 12 meters. The length of Diana's Grotto is small - about 10-15 meters, but the temperature of the water in it is sharply different from that outside - due to the lack of sunlight it is colder.

Diana's Grotto (the Sevastopol residents themselves usually call it simply “The Arch”) is amazingly beautiful. There are small beaches on both sides of Cape Lermontov, but the grotto is visible only from the western beach, to which previously a very steep and not entirely safe staircase descended from the tourist base “Caravella”. Almost every year, landslides brought down parts of the spans, but each time, with constant persistence, the staircase was restored, until the landslide completely blocked the approach to Diana’s grotto. Now it is possible to get to it only from the neighboring beach - “Tsarskoye Selo”.

From the Caravel beach, Diana's grotto is visible right through. However, it is impossible to reach the Arch by land. From above, going out to Cape Lermontov, there is no way down, the rocks are steep and inaccessible, and from below the grotto is surrounded on all sides by water.

However, there is no shortage of visitors on the cliffs next to the Arch.

There is no better place for cliff diving, snorkeling and fin diving than Diana's Grotto. The height of the arches is about ten meters; under them, along the entire grotto, there runs an underwater crack from 3 to 6 meters wide and 12–14 meters deep! One of the walls of the grotto turns into a wall of a crack and goes steeply into the depths, while the second forms an underwater threshold a couple of meters wide, on which you can stand knee-deep in water if you are not afraid of injuring your feet from the mussels, of which there are countless numbers.

Here you can find “towers” ​​for diving from almost any height, admire the beauty of the underwater world and the view of coastal rocks from an unexpected angle. The water in and around the grotto is always transparent and clean, but if there is strong excitement, it is better not to go into the grotto - it can hit you hard against the rocks. Nearby are the remains of a sunken minesweeper.

In these places, as legends say, the ancient sanctuary of Diana was located (in Greek mythology, the same goddess was called Artemis, in Taurus - the Virgin).

In the west, Fiolent is known as Parthenium (Parthenite, Parthenium) - Maiden, Virgin. Great historian of the 5th century BC. e. Herodotus claims that the Virgin had her own sanctuary, where there was an altar of sacrifice; sacrifices were made to Diana, including human ones. This temple was located on a cliff, from where the unfortunate were thrown into the sea directly from the steps of the sanctuary.

And according to Strabo, the ancient Roman historian, the location of the temple of the Virgin was also on Cape Parthenium (maiden). In the area of ​​Cape Fiolent, there are several microtoponyms reminiscent of the myth: Diana's grove, Diana's grotto, Diana's beam.

However, the exact location of the temple is unknown. As ancient legends say: “It was a huge building supported by numerous columns. A wide, forty-step marble staircase led to it. The altar was made of snow-white marble.”

How to get there?

There are two ways to go towards Cape Fiolent from Sevastopol: from the 5th km and from the 50th Anniversary Square. It is more convenient to go from the 5th km. Any transport goes up to the 5th km from the railway station. From the 5th km, bus No. 3 to Cape Fiolent, stop cooperative "Briz" or "Tsarskoye Selo".

In Crimea. It is precisely these cozy beaches with small grottoes and reefs protruding from the water that the coast from Balaklava to Sevastopol is famous for. Diana's Grotto is located in a rock jutting out far into the sea called Cape Lermontov. You can swim into the grotto on an inflatable mattress or a small boat.

Diana's Grotto on the map:

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Cape Lermontov (Diana's Grotto)

Diana's Grotto is located in a rock jutting out far into the sea called Cape Lermontov. You can swim into the grotto on an inflatable mattress or a small boat.

Cape Lermontov (Diana's Grotto) 44.509789 , 33.478582 Diana's Grotto is located in a rock jutting out far into the sea called Cape Lermontov. You can swim into the grotto on an inflatable mattress or a small boat. More about Diana's Grotto

Who is Diana?

One of the first questions that arises among tourists who find themselves in these places. This version is very common on the Internet - they say that the hole in the rock was named in honor of the fierce Greek goddess Diana, at the top of the cape there was a temple, from the stone steps of which unfortunate young girls were thrown into the grotto. This was precisely the price for the goddess’s mercy. But does this story have any basis?

It is quite possible that during the time that guides and local residents passed on the story from mouth to mouth, it managed to change a lot. There is no goddess Diana in Greek mythology. But in the Roman one there is. In general, these two religions are in many ways similar to each other; often the same gods in Roman and Greek mythology simply have different names. So the Roman Diana corresponds to the Greek Artemis, but both of these girls are not bloodthirsty, moreover, they are the patroness of forests and hunting. And in the area of ​​Cape Fiolent there are no forests.

We all know well about the Greek presence on the Crimean peninsula, so it is easy to believe that it was the Greek gods that were honored here. But were the Romans seen in Crimea? Yes, and this is a rather extensive layer of the history of the region. The Romans declared their right to rule in Taurica in the 1st century AD. At this time, Christianity had already begun to gain popularity in Ancient Rome, but it became an official religion only in the 4th century. So, perhaps the Romans really built a certain temple to Diana on Cape Lermontov.

How to get there?

On foot or by boat. If you want to admire the grotto from the water, then hire a boat or catamaran from one of the nearby beaches. You can go down to Diana's grotto on foot along the stairs; on both sides of Cape Lermontov there are two good beaches - “Caravelle” and “Tsarskoe Selo”.

About 150-160 million years ago, a large volcano erupted in this part of the coast, the emissions from which formed strong rock. Over the subsequent time, wind, rain and sea surf greatly indented the coast and led to the formation of bizarre pointed rocks. Not far from Diana's grotto, in the rocks of the cape you can find pieces of reddish carnelian, smoky chalcedony and beautiful landscape jasper.

The rock arch stretches for 10 m. It is curious that it has not only an above-water part. Diana's Grotto continues underwater to a depth of 12-14 meters. Due to the fact that the sun's rays do not fall under the rocky arch, the sea water here is a little colder than near the coast.

A boat can freely enter Diana's grotto on Cape Fiolent. These days, kayakers love to paddle through it. At the thin cape you can meet people who enjoy rock jumping, snorkeling and mussel fishing. Near the rocks are the remains of a wrecked minesweeper.

To the east of Cape Lermontov lies the Tsarskoye Selo beach, which is also called Tsarsky, and to the west is the Caravella beach. It is noteworthy that from the Caravel you can see right through Diana’s grotto. Closer to Sevastopol there are two more popular beaches - “Breeze” and “At the Mayak”.

origin of name

The poet M. Yu. Lermontov had never been to Crimea, and the cape got its name from the nearby small village of Lermontova Dacha. Diana's Grotto is named after the ancient Roman goddess of fertility Diana. It is believed that in the southwestern part of Crimea in ancient times there was a cult of Diana, and on the Heraclean Peninsula there was a temple built in honor of the revered goddess.

What to see around Diana's Grotto

For more than twenty years, a natural reserve has been located next to Diana’s Grotto. On the eastern edge of Cape Fiolent lies Jasper Beach. It is about 0.5 km long and covered with small pebbles. This vacation spot is valued for its clean water and is considered one of the best on the peninsula. To get to the sea, holidaymakers go down to the beach along a staircase consisting of 800 steps. In front of the pebble strip in the sea water you can see a large rock with a cross.

Near the beach, above the cliff, there is the Balaklava St. George Monastery. According to legend, it was founded at the end of the 9th century by the Greeks, who were forced to land on the shore to escape a strong storm. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Orthodox monastery was called “naval” because the local clergy looked after the sailors and officers of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. In 1820, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin came to the monastery. In memory of this, a beautiful rotunda gazebo was erected next to the monastery.

How to get there

Diana's Grotto is located 15 km from the center of Sevastopol, on the way to Balaklava. In summer, boats from Balaklava sail past Cape Fiolent several times a day.

It is easy to get to Diana's Grotto by car. The road from the central part of Sevastopol takes about half an hour. Regular buses and minibuses go to Cape Fiolent. It is convenient to get on them at the stops “5th km” or “Ploshchad 50 letiya Oktyabrya”, and you need to get off near “Cooperative Breeze” or “Tsarskoye Selo”.