Kutuzovskoye Reservoir is a lake under the slopes of Demerdzhi. Kutuzovskoe - lake of Crimea, unusually beautiful in spring Kutuzovskoe lake of Crimea

Initially we planned to go to Khibiny. We even purchased an excellent storm tent for this purpose in winter. But since nearest vacation fell on September, Khibiny had to be abandoned due to the peculiarities of the northern weather, and pay attention to more southern mountains.

How possible options were considered - Norway, the Alps and Caucasus. There was even a spare option again go to the Tatras, but this time from the Slovak side. Option with Crimea was there too, but far at the end list, due to high prices for the flight. But after the events of March 2019, we reconsidered this solution.

Mountain Crimea has always been especially attractive for fans of such types of active mountain tourism, such as rock climbing, caving and bouldering.

Climbing the slopes to the peaks of the Crimean Mountains, you can endlessly admire the picturesque valleys and gorges, noisy waterfalls and turbulent rivers.

The Crimean mountains undoubtedly inspire admiration for their grandeur, but they also amaze with their inaccessibility and unpredictability. Every tourist should know what dangers they can expect in the mountains, how and where to register, and what hiking equipment is needed.

Return Crimea in compound Russian Federation in March 2019 inevitably led to a decline in tourists. Which, in turn, led to fall prices for goods and services. The journey was relatively inexpensive: tickets Aeroflot from Kaliningrad V Simferopol, through Saint-Petersburg(and back through Moscow), they cost us 15 520 rubles.

This takes into account the fact that we bought them for three months before the trip. There were no direct flights due to Poland’s ban on planes flying over their territory to Crimea. Difference I was in transit, and there was plenty to choose from. We chose most convenient options, With night flights so as not to waste time during the day.

The Kutuzovskoye reservoir is located near the village of Nizhnyaya Kutuzoka (Alushta), on the Demerdzhi River. It is the last reservoir built in Crimea. Reservoir type - natural flow.

The volume of the reservoir is 1.11 million m; mirror area 9.38 hectares; reservoir length 520 m; maximum width - 280 m; maximum depth - 29 m; average depth 11.8 m. Earthen dam. The height of the dam is 36 m; length 265 m; width along the ridge 7 m. Length coastline- 1.3 km.

First we wanted to buy tickets Russian low-cost airline Dobrolet, but there were no tickets for September - “ Dobrolet"sold tickets in batches, 2-3 weeks in advance.

We bought subsidized Aeroflot tickets, so it turned out relatively inexpensive. As it turned out later, quite successfully - on August 4, “Dobrolet” ceased to exist due to With superimposed sanctions against him.

We drove along this route on a Sunday in mid-June this year.
The start was supposed to be early, so the night before we camped in a clearing near Kutuzov Lake on the Angarsk Pass. This lake is a shallow, but quite large (by Crimean standards) body of water. Despite the fact that there are several springs around, the lake usually dries up by summer. But this winter there was almost no snow and the lake was completely dry.

And this is what it looked like in March 2000

The top of Chatyr-Dag Angar-Burun that evening was covered with clouds from which it rained from time to time.

Old beeches on the lake shore

In the evening it began to rain heavily, and, despite the starry sky that appeared at two o'clock in the morning, it continued in the morning with renewed vigor.

Our camp with a “view” of Chatyr-Dag in the morning

I didn’t want to get up, let alone pack up wet tents in the rain. But I had to.

Despite the rain, I took a couple of photos of the wet, foggy forest

Having stuffed our wet things into the cars, we headed downstairs.

Vineyard next to the Izobilnenskoye Reservoir

Our further route passes along the old Romanovskaya road, which separates the lands of the Alushta forestry and the Crimean nature reserve.

“Full House” - stand at the Ai-Yori spring

The Ai-Yori spring is quite powerful. Does not dry out even in dry years because It is fed not by karst, but by underground, slightly mineralized waters from great depths. Foresters have set up a recreation area here. Near the spring there is a viewing platform from which a panorama of the Alushta coast opens. And on the top of Mount Ai-Yori there was an ancient fortification. But today with beautiful views we were unlucky.

From the spring our path again continues along the Romanovskaya road.

We pass an old dilapidated bridge. This time we don't even stop. And the photo of the bridge was taken during our bike trip in 2005.

We go down to the village of Vinogradny and quickly get along the South Coast Highway to the turn to Partizanskoye. From there another section of the route begins along the old Romanovskoye Highway. Here the road passes through the Yalta mountain-forest reserve and passage, much less travel, is prohibited for mere mortals.

There is such a monster standing on the forest cordon

Another angle

In August 2007, a similar car burned down during a forest fire that started from the signal fire of a would-be tourist from Kharkov (who, by the way, received 10 years in prison). Unfortunately, at the same time, a married couple of foresters died while putting out a fire.

We approach the old bridge

Look at the masonry!

If you replace the logs, the bridge can be used without fear

Judging by the fresh track, someone continues to drive on it now

A woodpecker is posing for us

Just above the bridge there is a large crepida

Also in excellent condition

Another turn...

And suddenly we go to the so-called Artekovskaya glade

Ahead is the Gurzuf saddle pass

Camomile field. May the botanists forgive me - I know that these are not daisies :) Or, after all, daisies?

Clouds are quickly creeping in from below...

And it starts to rain again

And here it is, the Gurzuf Saddle pass. We enter the territory of the Crimean Nature Reserve

At the very beginning of the 80s, while laying a gas pipeline, builders accidentally came across an ancient sanctuary (3rd century BC - 3rd century AD) and the ruins of a medieval temple.
For 10 years, archaeologists from the Yalta Local History Museum carried out excavations there. The finds were unique: twenty bronze and silver figurines, more than 200 coins from all over the ancient world, glass, tools, kitchen utensils, jewelry and even a set of pharmaceutical instruments. Now all this is kept in the museum.
The choice of the site for the sanctuary was not made by chance by the ancients - the route to Chersonesos passed through the Gurzuf saddle.

We drive onto the asphalt highway going through the reserve to Yalta and after a few hundred meters the Gazebo of the Winds appears out of the fog

We turn to the gazebo

Below are clouds

The Gazebo of the Winds was built at an altitude of 1450 meters in 1956 during the reconstruction of the highway. The peak on which it is located is called Shagan-Kaya (from Crimean Tatar - “falcon rock”). IN good weather It offers a magnificent view of Gurzuf and Ayu-Dag.

But not today

Near the gazebo we meet several minibuses with tourists

You can visit the reserve, but only accompanied by a tour guide. And not a step out of the way! Visits to the reserve are strictly controlled - and rightly so. Thanks to this, it was possible to preserve nature and animal world these places. Very often, right from the car, you can see mouflons, roe deer and deer. I will dedicate several separate stories to the Crimean Nature Reserve - I have been here at all times of the year and in different weather.

In the meantime, admire the surroundings of the gazebo

In some places on the plateau you can find low man-made stone walls. This wall was slightly higher and blocked a rocky crack in front of the cliff. Such walls were built in order to retain snow on the plateau, usually blown away by the winds. In addition, as a result of snow melting in the spring, huge volumes of water flow down the slopes into the sea. And the walls hold the snow on the plateau, giving it the opportunity to gradually melt and penetrate underground into caves that store moisture.

I return to the gazebo

While I’m photographing the flowers, a huge cloud approaches the gazebo...

And it covers us

We enter the Yalta yayla and in the continuous rain we follow to Ai-Petri

See the long wall?
These are snow retention walls built according to the design of engineer Sikorsky at the beginning of the 20th century.

In some places the wall is well preserved (photo from 2010)

Even in our time, the wall, built a century ago, fulfills its functions. And if you patch it up, it will cope even better. But no one needs this. Everyone just talks about the fact that there is not enough water in Crimea. But for some reason they don’t want to use the experience of their ancestors.

Our journey ends

Ai-Petri battlements - the end point of our route

The most recently constructed reservoir in Crimea is located at the southwestern foot of Mount Demerdzhi and bears the glorious name of the greatest commander of our country, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. It is not distinguished by its outstanding size among other fresh water bodies, but it attracts with its natural beauty, real living energy and silence, broken only by the rustling of leaves and birdsong.

The name of the reservoir came from the village of Nizhnyaya Kutuzovka, which began to be called that after 1774, when in one of the battles of the Russian-Turkish War, the then commander of the grenadier battalion, Mikhail Kutuzov, received his famous wound in the eye area. After those memorable events, a memorial was erected here, and the village immortalized the name of the future thunderstorm Napoleon.

In 1985, on the outskirts of the settlement, in the valley of the Demerdzhi River, a reservoir appeared, built mainly for irrigating vineyards and other agricultural land. Later, its waters begin to be transferred to the neighboring Izobilnenskoye (Alushta) reservoir to supply Bolshaya Alushta. In 2017, it is planned to reconstruct and clean the lake due to mudflows carried by the river flow.

Peculiarities

The length of the reservoir is 520 meters and the width is 280. Maximum depth reaches 29 meters, and the average is 11.8. Nutrition comes from precipitation and meltwater flowing from the mountains. To go around you need to cover a distance of 1.3 kilometers.

And walking in the surrounding area is a pleasure. The bowl of the reservoir is framed by green hills where rare and endangered plant species grow. The crowns of trees serve as homes for various water birds, and waterfowl often glide along the surface.

Even further away there are stunning views of the Demerdzhi peak. On its slopes and within the nearby Dolgorukovskaya Yayla there are many interesting sights for tourists. For example, Kizil-Koba, or Red Caves, famous for their underground waterfalls, ponds and river. Paths go from here to Chatyr-Dag from its Marble Cave. But you never know what other interesting things these places have in store for you.

The fauna of the lake pleases fishermen. Most often, crucian carp end up in the cage. Before you go to try your fishing luck on these shores, it is worth checking whether there is a fishing ban.

How to get there

From Alushta to Nizhnyaya Kutuzovka there are only about ten kilometers. The route is frequently served by public transport. The village is also penetrated by a direct road from Simferopol.

Area – 9.38 hectares.

Nature

Restrictions

Guides nearby

Community

Crimea

Small Lighthouse. Silence and solitude.

Rustiano, 12 Feb 2017

Community

Moscow tourists

Like many reservoirs of Crimea, Kutuzovskoye Lake is such only in the cool season. In the summer, in the heat, it is almost guaranteed to dry out - guests see only a hollow, which has time to be thoroughly overgrown with grass. But in spring its surroundings are beautiful.

Where is Kutuzovskoe Lake located on the map?

It is located at 850 m above sea level, almost on the border of the urban district and Simferopol district. Nearest locality, from which almost all excursions start here - Verkhnyaya Kutuzovka.

Geography and legends

Kutuzovskoye Lake can be considered half artificial. It is located in a natural basin filled with water from several springs, but at the same time by human hands A small dam has been built to help maintain the level of the water surface. The maximum depth here is 2 m.

Bolshaya Alushta needed an additional reservoir, but the economic effect of the lake was insignificant - it is filled only in the cold season, when problems with water supply become fewer. In the heat, the lake dries up completely or largely - the springs that feed it dry up. Consequently, it is used more as a tourist landmark; on its banks, groups traditionally set up camps going to Babugan-yayla or (or from there).

There have been cases when, after a dry and snowless spring, tourists discovered a green meadow with flowers instead of a lake. More often than not, just a small reservoir remains. IN last years position with water resources in Crimea improved (for weather reasons), and the lake did not completely disappear.

Legend of the commander

The name is associated with the name of the famous field marshal, but this connection is legendary. It is known that in 1774, when repelling an attack by a Turkish landing force in the Alushta region, M.I. Kutuzov (then a colonel) received a serious wound to the head, which cost him an eye. An undoubted fact was quickly overgrown with folklore layers. Most tales are associated with various sources with the help of which first aid was provided to the wounded. The storytellers' fantasy went so far as to claim that the wounded man was near death, but the miraculous Crimean water immediately put him on his feet and forced him to take command of the detachment again.

Of course, such writers are unlikely to have ever suffered serious injuries themselves. But in the Alushta region several springs are traditionally associated with the name of Kutuzov. The most famous of them is where a kind of memorial was erected to the commander and the soldiers of his group. The Turkish landing was repulsed successfully - the enemy was unable to turn the tide of hostilities in their favor. Crimea also connects the springs that form Kutuzovskoye Lake with this event - the reservoir is located near the village of Shumy (now V. Kutuzovka), where the battle between the Kutuzovites and the Turks took place.

Forest trails of Kutuzovskoye Lake

Holidays near Lake Kutuzov cannot be recommended to spoiled lovers. You can drive up to it, but definitely not in a Ferrari. The only shelter on the shore is a tourist site, that is, a place for setting up tents and making fires.

Usually hikers stop there, hiking along standard routes to the nearby Chatyr-Dag or plateau. The parking lot is also available for “amateur” wanderers traveling at their own peril and risk. You don't have to pay for it. Water can be collected locally in the spring, but in a dry summer it won’t hurt to take care of the supply.

Reviews from experts say that it is best to visit the lake in the middle of April or at the beginning, when leaves bloom on the trees in the forests and gardens bloom.
You can also visit here in winter: it looks picturesque, you can even try ice skating (usually the ice cover here is reliable), but the road can be difficult. After the snow melts, the basin is completely filled with clean water, and wild pears, apple trees and hawthorn bloom in the forest around.

A rather dense beech forest grows along the banks, where there are old trees of bizarre shape. Another local “tree” attraction is a small grove of American sequoia. She was planted here as an experiment, which for unknown reasons was not completed. Few “Americans have taken root” - they will not soon reach the gigantic sizes characteristic of them in adulthood (sequoia lives for several thousand years), but they are already surprising passers-by with the strange smell of pine needles. The aroma has nothing to do with resin, reminiscent of carrots.

The lake is not lifeless, but fishing on it does not promise much. Since it regularly dries out, only small fish are found in it. But there are frogs, newts and other amphibians that can tolerate drought without problems.

How to get there (get there)?

GPS coordinates: 44.739030, 34.336242.

Use on the farm is not the only important quality of a reservoir. First of all, water should give life, and only then wash dishes or rotate turbines. As you can see from the photo, Lake Kutuzov in Crimea copes well with its main responsibility. Life is in full swing on its banks even when it itself turns into a tiny spring. In conclusion, as usual, we offer interesting video material.

Description of the trip.

Much has been written about the Chatyr-Dag plateau and it is very difficult to add anything new. For some tourists, this place has become a kind of mecca. I know several people who only go to Chatyr-Dag, others Crimean mountains for them no. Convenient location and easy access public transport made this plateau very popular. Climbing Eklizi-Burun as a weekend hike is very attractive, as it allows you to conquer one of the highest mountain peaks Crimea. So we decided to climb this one and a half thousand meter mountain again, especially since our leader found a new route for us.

We start from the Angarsk Pass and go along route No. 117 towards Kutuzov Lake. I’m ashamed to admit, but I had never seen this lake, so I walked towards it with great interest. The road is easy, route No. 117 goes with a slight elevation difference. With measured, calm steps, we reached the lake within an hour. Just before the lake, I decided to check the condition of the Burchu-Chokrak spring and with great regret I saw that it had dried up. And when I got up from the spring, I saw that all that was left of the lake was only a small and shallow puddle, smaller in size than the one that was behind the neighbor’s house, where all the boys in the surrounding yards used to launch boats as children. Not only man-made reservoirs in Crimea suffer from the lack of rain and snow, but also natural ones.

Near the lake there is another important attraction - a sequoia grove. It is surprising to find such an exotic tree in the thicket of the Crimean forest. The tourist camp, which was located right in the grove, did not allow me to photograph the grove. Or rather, the smoke coming out of it. The group lit a fire, which frankly made me angry. Even though I can understand that I want to put up tents in such a picturesque place, but lighting a fire in a dense grove is very reckless and thoughtless. Absolutely negligent attitude towards nature. From a distance it seemed to me that the grove was on fire. His hands shook with anger and the frame turned out blurry.

The grove was planted by Nikitsky employees Botanical Garden. Nearby there is a second, similar grove, but pine. Trees are numbered for record keeping.

From the grove we went to the Chatal-Khaya-Chokrak spring. The water flow is good, two liters filled up in about 20 seconds. From the spring we climbed to a nice place for parking under a lonely tree.

And from there we moved along route No. 118 towards Mount Kazu-Kaya. The road is well traveled, the climb is insignificant, and walking is easy. First you will encounter a green and white barrier.

Then under the road you can see the Bathakh spring, which is currently dry.

And behind the spring there is an exit to a clearing, from where Babugan-yayla is visible.

Here, in a clearing, we were met by a forester, who inquired about our direction of travel and, after a short conversation, wished us a successful journey, and he got into the car and drove off about his forestry business. And we continued to climb and after 40 minutes we were at the top of Kazu-Kaya (1108.2 m). The mountain itself is located to the left of the road and if you are carried away by the climb, you can completely miss it. A barely noticeable overgrown road leads to the top. And from the mountain you can see Babugan-yayla a little better, and it is here that a view of Eklizi-Burun opens up, as we have never seen it. From below, it looks like an impregnable fortress, towering above the surrounding landscape.

But today it is from this side that we will conquer this one and a half thousand meter peak. We return to the road and continue to move in westward, until we see a well-trodden path to the right. This is our way up.

Here I would like to add a description of the weather, because this is important for visiting Chatyr-Dag. And we were very lucky to have her. And although the sky was covered with clouds, it was even for the better. It was neither hot nor cold. The climb was easy. There was absolutely no wind. And this calm, the silent beauty of the peak above you, the creeping juniper, which became more and more numerous as you gained height, created a unique feeling of beauty and tranquility, some kind of mental balance and joy. The joy of the surrounding views, the joy of successfully gaining altitude, the joy of the entire hike. I write so often that I don’t feel any special energies in places of power, but here, on the climb to Eklizi-Burun, this energy overwhelmed me. And the impregnable wall, which the mountain seemed like from below, was taken so easily, as if it had lifted us to its peak on wings.

When crossing the 1400-meter mark, the remnants of a few gray snow began to appear.

And of course primroses. What would it be like without them?

Nature also favored us on the top of Eklizi-Burun. There was no wind. Calmly. There are almost no people, and those that exist did not interfere with each other, slowly moving to different viewpoints and admiring the scenery, fortunately the cloud cover was high and visibility was good.

From the top of Eklizi-Burun we moved towards Angar-Burun along the standard route.

We got to Hangar-Burun quickly. I couldn't be happier with the weather. It is rare when there is such peace and grace on the plateau.

But on Angar-Burun it became noticeable how clouds were rolling over Kastel from the sea and were already beginning to cover Alushta.

We started getting ready to descend, but before that we decided to look into the Cold Couloir. We haven't walked this path yet and it was interesting what it was like. This is what the Cold Couloir looks like from above.

There was no more snow, it seemed passable to me, but we didn’t dare go down it. We saw where the path goes out onto the plateau and approached this place. We looked down and I saw the couloir like this:

But many women quickly moved away from the edge and the couloir seemed to them like this:

Leaving the couloir, we saw that the clouds were rapidly approaching and hurried to descend. We passed the well-known “pepelats” and moved down route No. 116.

It's funny that neither route No. 118 nor route No. 116 is indicated on the atlas from Soyuzkarta. No. 115 is there, No. 117 is there, but No. 116 and No. 118 are not marked. But there are fresh markings and even a plate with a number on one of the stones. As it turned out, route 116 was canceled and removed from the maps after part of the Chatyrdag massif was included in the boundaries of the Crimean Nature Reserve. The route formally ceased to exist, but the marks on the trees remained, and tourists are in no hurry to leave this well-trodden route. Near the sheep sheep sheds once again looked around, assessed the approaching cloudiness and hurried to the pass in a race with the clouds.

We passed through the Bukovaya Polyana village, I looked at the Aleksi-Gol spring, which pleased me with a decent flow of water. And then through the forest down to the pass. The road was nothing remarkable, until near the Shkolnaya Polyana camp we saw a wonderful character.

In a fur hat, in a bright folk costume, with a sword (or whip), he sat near a tree and smoked, like a guest from some other world.

Trip statistics.

Trek map:

Let's take a look at the key points of the route traveled:
3.0 km.- Kutuzovskoye Lake;
3.4 km.- sequoia grove;
3.8 km.- spring Chatal-Khaya-Chokrak;
7.7 km.- the top of Mount Kazu-Kaya;
10.2 km.- the top of Mount Eklizi-Burun;
13.7 km.- the top of Mount Angar-Burun;
14.0 km.- look at the Cold Couloir;
16.9 km.- t/c Beech Glade and Aleksi-Gol spring;

Interactive trip report:

We add a fourth dimension to the map and get an interactive report on the trip.

Virtual tour along the route traveled:

We fly over our track and watch a virtual tour along the route traveled.

Elevation profile graph:

It can be seen that from the Angarsk Pass you need to gain a little altitude, and then up to Lake Kutuzov the altitude profile changes slightly. And after the lake, the climb is very smooth all the way up to Mount Kazu-Kaya (7.5 km of travel). But then up and only up. Highest point- Eklizi-Burun. We descend to the upper plateau and then a slight climb before Hangar-Burun (13.7 km of route). We look at the Cold Couloir from above and begin our descent along route No. 116. The loss of altitude slows down a little at Bukovaya Polyana, and then accelerates again up to the Angarsk Pass.

Minimum height: 752 meters.
Max Height: 1527 meters.

Speed histogram:

The graph is as beautiful as Eklizi-Burun.

Summary statistics.

Start of the hike: 08:12
End of the hike: 16:43
Total travel time: 8:30:39
Stops along the way: 3:25:13
Traffic on the way: 5:05:26
Average speed: 3.5 km/h.
Average speed including stops: 2.2 km/h.
Distance traveled: 19,040 km. (45% of the marathon distance).
Total altitude gain: 1060.0 m. (12% of the height of Mount Everest).

This trip turned out to be one of the most amazing. We haven’t climbed the plateau from this side yet and I liked this route. It was on this hike that one could understand how the places visited can be discovered again and again. Chatyr-Dag is a place of power where I draw energy and good mood. And we were absolutely lucky with the weather. The entire hike took place in a calm and contemplative manner. Without haste, confidently and slowly we walked the entire route. And I think many returned home happy and with pleasant impressions. I definitely came back like this. I’ve rested and want to go to the mountains again.