Stunning beauty of the mountains amphitheater surrounded the city of Big Yalta in the Crimea.
The sharp white teeth of Ai-Petri, the main peaks of the Ai-Petrinsky massif, are familiar from films loved since childhood and are one of the famous Crimean sights.
If possible, it is worth visiting Ai-Petri in order to explore the surroundings from a height of 1234 m. How to get to Ai-Petri from Yalta, this article will tell.
Mountain name
The famous Crimean mountain got its name because of the Byzantine temple, which the ancient Greeks erected on its top and dedicated to St. Peter. Ai-Petri Temple existed until the XV century.
Mountain legend
What mountain will do without the tragic legend of love ?! Ai-Petri is no exception. In local folklore there is a story about how in ancient times a guy and a girl fell in love, but their parents forbade them even to dream of a wedding. The lovers decided to commit suicide and climbed a high mountain. The guy jumped first, and the girl shouted: “Ay, Peter!”, But she was afraid to jump, returned home and was unhappy all her life.
A bit of geography
In the past, the oceanic coral reef, Ai-Petri, thanks to tectonic processes, rose to a height of 1234 m.
The mountain range stretches for 25 km from west to east, protecting Yalta from the winds and bad weather. The total area of Yaila (as the Crimean table mountains are called) is 300 square meters. km, most of it is a mountain forest reserve.
Ai-Petri landmarks in winter and summer
If you know how to get to Ai-Petri from Yalta, it is worth doing both in winter and in summer - the mountain deserves attention.
In summer, it is a wonderful observation deck where you can take unique photos. The surface of the plateau is covered with picturesque green meadows and forests, which make it pleasant to walk on a hot day.
One of the vacationers' favorite pastimes is a walk along the adrenaline bridges, which are suspended from the main Ai-Petri plateau to the white calcareous ledges on the top. Four teeth are separated from the plateau by a wide crack several tens of meters wide, the cleft depth is more than a thousand meters. Walking on the suspension bridge leaves an unforgettable experience.
In the warm season, it is interesting to walk along the plateau to the caves; there are about 300 of them on Ai-Petri. The most famous and equipped is Trekhglazka, where snow does not melt even in summer. An unforgettable adventure will be a hike to the Taraktash rocks, where the path leads from the Wuchang-Su waterfall.
In winter, people come to the Ai-Petri plateau to go skiing, snowmobiling, snowboarding. Dense snow cover appears on Ai-Petri in December and lies until March. Ski slopes are equipped for skiing on the gentle northern side of the plateau, their length is 120-1030 m. The tow lifts are open from 10 to 15 hours.
What to consider when visiting
If you are going to conquer one of the Crimean peaks, you should take this seriously:
- Pick up shoes. No slaps, heels, slippery sole is not suitable.
- It’s always windy on the mountain - it’s better to grab a windbreaker or jacket.
- Ai-Petri is much cooler than in Yalta, so you need to warm yourself. Even in summer, the temperature rarely rises above + 15-18 ° C. In winter, the plateau is covered with snow, the air temperature drops to -20 ° C.
- In winter, you need to take spare shoes - there is usually a lot of snow on the plateau, legs get wet quickly.
- When taking photos, it is worth remembering about your safety and not approaching the very edge, from where a strong gust of wind can throw down selfie lovers. In addition, the rock is slippery.
- On holidays and weekends, large queues form at the lower station.
- A visit to Ai-Petri is quite expensive, but there are no ATMs at the top.
Who has not been to Ai-Petri - he has not seen Yalta!
From the top of the Ai-Petrinsky ridge, an amazing view of the Big Yalta opens: you can see the snow-white building of the Swallow's Nest, Cape Ai-Todor, rocks and forests. For 130 km into the distance you can look at the sea surface with boats and motor ships.
To get to the Ai-Petrinskaya peak is much easier than to any other Crimean mountain.
Arriving in Yalta, how to get to Ai-Petri on your own? You can select several options:
- walking along forest paths;
- by cable car in the cable car cabin;
- by road.
Hiking
Going on a journey, one must understand that climbing a mountain 1234 m high is not a simple walk in the park, it requires physical training and appropriate equipment. On Ai-Petri mountain how to get from Yalta, fans of hiking know who trod to the plateau of the path. Each has its own name:
- Miskhor;
- Taraktashskaya;
- Botkin;
- Korean.
Hiking takes from 2 to 7 hours. It should be noted that there are no shops in the mountain forest reserve, so you need to take water and food with you. Another difficulty lurking travelers is the lack of clear track marking.
If you really want to walk to Ai-Petri (Crimea), how to get from Yalta to the foot? There are several options:
- You can take bus number 30 from the bus station to the Vodopad stop and climb the Botkin or Taraktash trails;
- along the South Coast highway on buses No. 107, 128, 142 to the fork near Koreiz to climb the Koreiz trail;
- by buses No. 107, 128, 142 to the fork in Miskhor.
Cycling
Fans of cycling will also enjoy visiting Ai-Petri. There is a little trick: it’s better to go up the cable car and go down on your own.
In addition, you can ride a bike from Ai-Petri not towards Yalta, but in the direction of the Grand Canyon and drive to Bakhchisarai along beautiful mountain roads.
Caution: mountain road! To the top by car
You can drive by car to the peak of Ai-Petri from Bakhchisaray and Yalta. The Bakhchisaray road is in poor condition, in winter the road is often blocked by snow, and you need to wait until it is cleared. Drive on it is possible only with all-wheel drive car.
How to get from Yalta to Ai-Petri?
- Drive along the South-coastal highway connecting Yalta and Sevastopol, before turning to Vinogradnoye and turn right following the sign. In Vinogradnoy, by the way, there is a theater of sea animals, and in summer dolphins, whales, seals, fur seals and walruses perform in the open.
- Through Vinogradnoe move along the mountain serpentine.
- The distance from Yalta to Ai-Petri will be 30 km. The road will take about an hour.
Mountain narrow serpentine is quite dangerous and requires increased attention from the driver. There are almost 300 turns on the Yalta-Ai-Petri road, many of which are closed.
Going to the top of the Crimean business card, you can make several stops:
- near the Wuchang-Su waterfall - a waterfall with the beautiful name "flying water" falls from a height of almost 100 m;
- near the Drunk Grove, where the trees grow at an angle;
- by the mountain lake Karagol;
- on the observation deck "Silver Arbor".
If you are afraid to climb the car yourself, you can get to the lower cableway station on Ai-Petri (Yalta). How to get here by car:
- to leave from Yalta to South Coast highway towards Sevastopol;
- drive on it for 14-15 km;
- turn left at the fork near the large concrete sign "Sevastopol - Yalta";
- go down the road SO-11806, winding serpentine, down about another 5 km.
In a small parking lot, the car can be left.
Cableway
There is no simpler or more convenient option how to get to Ai-Petri from Yalta by cable car. This unique engineering building, built in 1967, in itself is an interesting attraction:
- The Yalta cable car is the longest in Europe, its length is almost 3 thousand meters.
- The construction was created on an unsupported basis - a 1670 m span has no supports.
- near the mountain, the cabin elevation angle is almost 50 °.
Four spacious cabins, in which you can even transport bicycles, are designed for 30 people each. They move according to the principle of the pendulum - towards each other.
The cable car consists of 3 stations:
- lower in Miskhor;
- average in Sosnovy Bor;
- upper - on the Ai-Petri plateau.
At the middle station, a change is made, tickets are checked. The entire journey takes approximately 17 minutes.
The cable car runs seven days a week in the mode:
- from 11:00 to 15:00 - rise;
- from 11:00 to 16:00 - descent.
In 2017, tickets cost 400 rubles. adult, 250 rubles. child from 6 years old.
