White Mountain ak kaya. White Rock (Crimea): address and photo

White Rock, or in Crimean Tatar, Mount Ak-Kaya is one of the most beautiful places Crimea. And for my taste, this may be the most beautiful thing! At the same time, it is not as well-known as the attractions of the tourist South Coast, but the views that open up here will delight even those travelers who have been to many places in the world. White Rock is located in the vicinity of the city of Belogorsk, just four kilometers from the main highway of Crimea connecting Simferopol and Kerch. This massif is a sheer wall formed as a result of the erosion of Paleogene limestones and sandstones, formed in that distant, distant time when modern Crimea was the bottom of an ancient ocean. The height of the rock from the foot to the top is 100 meters, and it looks unusually picturesque at any time of the day. During the day it is white, and if you arrive early in the morning or at sunset, then, illuminated by the soft sunlight, the mountain shimmers with gold.

The bizarre topography of these places is somewhat reminiscent of the famous landscapes of the Western United States, and thanks to this similarity, White Rock became the filming location for many famous Soviet “westerns”. The films “The Headless Horseman”, “Mustang Pacer”, “Armed and Very Dangerous”, “The Man from Boulevard des Capuchins”, the detective “Mirage” of the Riga Film Studio and many other Soviet and Russian films, the action of which, according to the script, take place on " Wild West." White Rock is an incredibly interesting place, so I went there twice: first just to take pictures by car common types, and then drove to the very top of the rock in a UAZ, examining the caves, grottoes and admiring the views from the highest point of the rock massif.

1. On the road to the White Rock there is another unique natural and historical monument - the Suvorov Oak. This tree is about 800 years old! And it was under it that more than 300 years ago Suvorov’s headquarters was located during the battles with the Turkish Sultan Shagin-Girey in 1777. Here the commander received envoys of the Turkish army during negotiations. Despite the fourfold numerical superiority of the Turks, the battle ended in victory for the Russian army and became an important stage in the events that culminated in the annexation of Crimea to Russian Empire.

3. White Rock. The landscapes are incredibly beautiful. Let's just admire it!

4. A mighty vertical wall of whitish color seems to hang over and dominate the surrounding area.

5. On the opposite side of the ridge there is a rock resembling a sphinx.

8. The steep slope of the White Rock is dotted with caves and grottoes formed as a result of weathering of rocks. Some of these caves can only be accessed with climbing equipment.

17. Perhaps the most famous “postcard” photograph of the White Rock.

18. Now let’s climb to the top of the White Rock from a gentle slope, examining several interesting places. The first of them is the ancient Scythian fortress Ak-Kaya, dating back to the 3rd century BC - 3rd century AD.

22. In addition to the remains of fortifications, some interesting adaptations of the daily life of the Scythians have been preserved. Here, for example, is a hole in the rock where food was placed so that it would not spoil. A kind of ancient “refrigerator”.

24. From here the rock begins to rise smoothly - right up to that very high and steep cliff on three sides, which is photographed in all its glory in photo 17. There are magnificent views from the top Central Crimea.

25. Those distant mountains beyond the steppes are already South coast. Behind them is the Black Sea. 25 kilometers in a straight line.

27. Rocks make up a mountain in layers. Each layer is its own era. In some places, the underlying rocks are looser than the upper ones. This is how caves, grottoes or rocky vaults hanging overhead, like this one, are formed.

28. Millions of years ago, Crimea was the bottom of an ancient ocean, then a gradual uplift of the rocks occurred. But the memory of those distant times is alive. The slopes of the White Rock are made of ancient shell rock.

30. Let's examine another grotto in the rock.

31. In plan it is almost circular in shape. It’s cool here even in the heat, and water drips down the walls of the cave.

34. Another cave in an inconspicuous ravine between neighboring hills. Archaeological research claims that it served as a refuge for ancient Neanderthals.

Caves and grottoes

Archeology

Story

Excursions to the White Rock

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A white vertical rocky wall rises above the valley of the Biyuk-Karasu River and is visible long before approaching it at a distance of a kilometer. The height of the peak above sea level is 325 m, and the height difference between the valley and the top of the rock reaches 100 m.

The bulk of the rock resembles an impregnable fortress and is better visible from its south side. The rock is a symbol of Belogorsk.

Over many millennia, the sun, water and wind have done their job, creating bizarre shapes formed through the process of weathering and destruction by water and temperature changes. Especially on the western wall of the rock, the so-called aeolian grottoes, formed under the influence of winds, stand out.

Caves and grottoes

Of particular interest are the Ak-Kaya caves - lower and upper. The lower cave is a grotto in the middle of the western wall - Bob. Signs belonging to the Sarmatians, who lived here in the first centuries of our era, were discovered on its walls. It is believed that this cave was once a sanctuary - ancient temple. The Upper Cave - which means “Golden Burrow” in translation - has become overgrown with legends and traditions over many years. The cave is difficult to access: the entrance to it in the form of a round hole is located 52 meters from the base and 49 meters from the edge of the cliff.

Archeology

The cave is especially interesting for archaeologists, because it was possible to establish that many thousands of years ago it was a habitat ancient man. Ak-Kaya served him both as a shelter from bad weather and as a corral while hunting animals (according to excavations in the 1960s).

In one of their expeditions, four sites of primitive man of the Mousterian era (100-40 thousand years ago) were partially excavated. Interested archaeologists will be interested in the book by Yu. Kolosov “White Rock”, Ed. Tavria, 1977. The author describes in detail how cultural layers with a mass of materials were found, as for the first time in the territory former country They found a Neanderthal skull and other rare and valuable finds for science, which proved that civilization arose not only in Europe, but also on our territory.

Story

It is believed that in the Middle Ages Ak-Kaya was a place of execution. There is a legend that young Bogdan Khmelnytsky, captured in 1620, was twice brought to this rock and the prisoners were dumped before his eyes in order to force Bogdan to hurry up with the ransom.

During the Russian-Turkish wars, the headquarters of A.V. Suvorov was located in these places. On the White Rock, the result of the centuries-old struggle of the Russian state for Crimea was summed up. It was here on June 10, 1783 that Prince G. A. Potemkin ordered the Crimean beys and murzas to appear in order to take an oath of allegiance to the Russian state from them.

Excursions to the White Rock

Ak-Kaya is also good because it offers an amazing view of the mountain range in the south and the endless steppe expanses with ridges of ancient mounds in the north. And how beautiful it is here in May, when the peonies bloom. It becomes clear why the beam located north of the rock is called Red. And what does the Kalliston pass look like from here, which lies in the south between the two cone-shaped mountains Shuvri and Hrikol!

I recommend climbing the rock in the late afternoon. It’s not hot anymore, the lighting is soft, the distances open up for observation. For those who like to explore all the holes, I recommend taking the path that runs under the very rocks on west side rocks. Along this path you can go to the lower grotto and take great photos, especially at sunset. You will also hear the cries of swifts and hawks who have built nests on inaccessible cliffs.

There are many sights and beauties in Crimea, but Ak Kaya overshadows them all. Rising impregnably above the Biyuk-Kasu valley, a river that has seen many, the White Rock or, as the aborigines call it, Ak Kai, dazzles with its purity and brightness.

It would seem that there are ridges and peaks here, much higher than Mount Ak Kaya, which is just over 325 meters, but the limestone rocks and elaborate shape natural monument attract the gaze of travelers and force them to gaze with rapture at the gray-white rock protruding like the bowsprit of a frigate. Millennia have not broken the spirit of the mountains; this is a special, wild and majestic beauty that amazes with its inescapability and unbridled pride.

Located next to Belogorsk, by the way, the city is named after the white rock Ak Kaya, the elevation is part of the Inner Ridge and continues with a chain of the same limestones that are visible when looking to the east.

Ak Kaya becomes especially beautiful at sunset, when the mass acquires a golden hue and literally begins to glow.

It is interesting that it is in this part of Crimea that the limestones have a slightly yellowish color, but upon closer examination it becomes clear that the yellowness is imparted by shells and other remains of life forms of the Cretaceous period, when these rocks were formed.

Legends and history of Ak Kaya

The legends of White Rock have been sung for centuries. According to one of the tales, a long time ago the Ak Kaya rock was the refuge of a dragon or the Serpent-Gorynych. He flew freely, carried the shepherds' cattle, slaughtered domestic animals and, as usual, fell in love with a young girl of unearthly beauty. He grabbed the charming girl and brought her to his cliff. The young woman disliked the monster, refused her love, but was cunning.

And, after crying a little, she decided to be flattered by the snake and ask about his death. The monster said that in one of the houses there was a hero stronger than him, and besides, there was a real treasure sword hanging on the wall. The girl tore off the sleeve from her clothes, wrote on the fabric everything that the Serpent told her, wrapped a stone in her sleeve and threw it down from Ak Kai.

Of course, the message was found, but no one rushed to the rescue. After a while, the young woman carried her son, and the monster took care of the golden cradle. People heard the cry of the baby snake and found the hero and challenged the Snake to battle. Both died, the girl took the life of her child and also threw herself to the ground. But the golden cradle remains and still excites the minds of jewelry hunters.

The story is, of course, mythical, but Ak Kaya White Rock keeps reliable facts. In particular, during the reign of the Tatar Khanate, the place became disastrous for thousands of people disliked by the khan’s view, who were thrown down without trial or investigation.

And in 1777, Ak Kaya was the location of Russian troops under the command of Suvorov. Already in 1783, the great Russian commander Prince Potemkin took the oath of allegiance from the beys and murzas to allegiance to Russia.

White Rock in Crimea, like most of the spurs and ridges of the Inner Ridge, is a cuesta, the shapes of which are not symmetrical. Sheer slopes compete in beauty with gentle slopes. As a result of weathering, grottoes, pillars, niches of various shapes were formed in the massif, and screes turned into gentle slopes. Great amount natural caves and the grottoes amaze with their beauty. Since 1981 White Mountain in Crimea it is recognized as a Natural Monument and is therefore carefully protected.

It is interesting that the Ak Kaya rock provided answers to many questions of historians. In particular, it was here that a fragment of the skull of an adult Neanderthal and various artifacts dating back to later periods were found. The entire area of ​​the mountain was very favorable for life: water, comfortable shelters for animals, rich flint deposits. The fauna of those times was distinguished by a wide “assortment”: cave bears, deer, saigas, bulls, onagers - the fossilized bones of these animals were generously scattered throughout the caves and grottoes.

Mount Ak Kaya is a monument of nature and for geologists. In the layers you can find the fossilized remains of sea animals, even the teeth of a giant shark that lived in the place of a shallow sea that once spilled its waters quite widely.

The Sarmatians, one of the most warlike tribes on Earth, did not bypass Ak Kaya. The discovered tamgas, which are tribal signs of the tribes, give reason to state that the Ak Kaya rock was the residence of numerous clans and the burial place of Scythian leaders. And there is documentary and visual confirmation of this - the Scythian fortress White Rock! It is located on the western slope and the road there is difficult to access. Not everyone would dare to try to climb into a hole, the entrance of which is located 52 meters from the base and 49 meters from the edge of a steep cliff.

The caves and grottoes of Ak Kaya are a different story. Many believe that an extensive network of caves will lead the traveler far to the sea, and the labyrinth ends at the southeastern part. And along the way you will come across a lot of buried treasures, chests with jewelry and other pleasant and useful things. On the one hand, the Scythians could really hide their wealth here, but on the other hand, geologists have already examined many caves and it is impossible to find anything valuable for a person without preparation. But did these considerations push anyone away? And tourists wander through the caves, looking through literally everything that is under their feet, in the hope of finding Scythian gold.

And the value of Ak Kaya is in the caves themselves. Only here you can see incredible and unique connections of limestone layers that belonged to different eras of our planet. Each layer is a millennium. There are still remains of shells, and if you look a little closer, you can see the transition of shades from pinkish to gray, ashy and white - differences between periods.

The Ak Kaya grottoes are a refuge from the scorching summer sun; it’s nice to sit in them and think about what the White Rock fortress was like in its heyday. The steep edges provide a complete understanding of the futility of attempts to capture the highest sloping point, for which there is a lot of historical evidence. The flat top provides a huge overview of the Crimean lands. The higher you rise, the fresher the wind becomes, filled with the aromas of flowering herbs and shrubs. And at the very peak of Ak Kaya, the panorama, breadth of view and all the beauty of the picture literally takes your breath away!

How to get there

If you want to see exactly where such famous films as “The Man from the Boulevard des Capuchins”, “The Leader of the Redskins”, “Mustang Pacer”, “Armed and Very Dangerous” were filmed, estimate the size of the height from which the characters in the movie “Mirage” jumped ”, and also get into the fairy tale “Chippolino”, you definitely need the White Rock! Getting to Ak Kaya is easy if you set the coordinates in your navigator: N 45.5.53 E 34.38.00 or drive to the Belogorsky district - Ak Kaya is visible from the highway, which is very convenient for all travelers.

Exact location: 50 km from Simferopol and 5 km from the Simferopol-Kerch highway. Buses go to Belogorsk quite often, the trip is inexpensive. And, by the way, you cannot drive a car only from the south side; from the north this can be done without any problems. And it’s better to drive not to the village of Belaya Skala, but a little further, to Vishenny (village), where the road to Ak Kaya begins.

And to make the journey pleasant, at the entrance to the road there is a grotto with a source of delicious water.

Except independent travel, you can accept the offer from travel companies Simferopol, where they offer a variety of tours for parents with children over 4 years old.

It’s not for nothing that Crimea is called the Earth in miniature; it has everything: subtropics and steppes, deciduous forests and relict pine trees, sea and lakes, lowland rivers and turbulent mountain streams, waterfalls and mountains of indescribable beauty. And many of these beauties are covered in legends.

The White Rock or Ak-Kaya in Crimea is one of these wonders. It is located near Belogorsk, in the valley of the Biyuk-Karasu river, in the east of Crimea. This place is little known to tourists, although it has a very rich history.

The giant White Rock in Crimea, 120 meters high, was once the bottom of an ancient ocean. When the water receded, the rock rose above the steppes of Crimea. And since then, for thousands of years, the winds blew and washed the rains, turning it the same age as mammoths into a semblance impregnable fortress with caves and bizarre towers, grottoes and niches, relief patterns, columns and “honeycombs” that have been knocking out particles for thousands of years rock carried by the westerly winds.

The age of the White Rock in Crimea is judged by the fossilized remains of ancient animals and fish. Not so long ago, in one of the Ak-Kaya quarries, the remains of an ancient whale were found, which had lain in the limestone for more than 50 million years, while the numerous remains of mammoths, a primitive bull, a saiga antelope, and a cave bear are innumerable.

Historical past of Ak-Kai

People have always lived on the White Rock in Crimea. Fresh water, many caves and grottoes, a lot of flint - all this was favorable for people, even a steep cliff cliff helped during hunting. The very first inhabitants of the rock caves were Neanderthals - not so long ago, archaeologists found the perfectly preserved remains of a mother and child, and the age of the bones is 150 thousand years.

Later the Scythians came here, this is proven by the many Scythian burials on the White Rock plateau in Crimea. Then the Sarmatians lived here, and their family signs - tamgas - were found on the stones. In the Middle Ages, Tatars lived here, and in 1783, on the Ak-Kaya plateau, Prince Potemkin took the oath of Russia from the Tatars.

The White Rock in Crimea is overgrown with all sorts of legends about treasures, ancient dragons and tunnels that stretch for many kilometers. The most famous legend tells about the treasures of the Golden Nora. On the sheer wall of the White Rock in Crimea, at an altitude of 52 meters, there is a cave that is almost impossible to climb into without climbing equipment. They say that robbers hid a treasure in this cave, which has not yet been found. The second popular legend says that a tunnel leads from the Golden Nora to Feodosia; this is also, of course, fiction. But anyone who sees White Rock in Crimea, especially at the moment of sunset, he will doubt - what if it’s true?

How to get there

Getting to Ak-Kai will have to take place in several stages:

• There are buses from any city in Crimea to Belogorsk;
• at the Belogorsk bus station you need to take minibus, going to the village of Belaya Skala;
• Once in the village, you need to walk several kilometers north, towards the bridge over the river;
• There is a path leading to the White Rock plateau; it is better not to look for it yourself, but to find a guide, since the path is quite steep.

Ak-Kaya or White Rock - not the most popular tourist place in Crimea. Meanwhile, its history is rich in significant events. Since ancient times, the snow-white fortress has served as a refuge for both beast and man. The caves and grottoes of Ak-Kaya hide many secrets and archaeological discoveries, and the picturesque snow-white slopes of the mountain are a wonderful natural setting, which is actively used by directors and artists.

Hospitable Mountain

In the south-eastern part of Crimea above the valley of the Biyuk-Karasu river, remote from popular resort places corner, stands the magical Ak-Kaya - a snow-white rock, the same age as mammoths and Neanderthals.

Once upon a time, the mountain was under water, at the bottom of an endless ancient ocean. In the thickness of its limestones, archaeologists found confirmation of this - the fossilized remains of ancient mollusks and fish. The sensational discovery occurred more than 20 years ago. In one of the mountain quarries, bones of an amphibian whale with a shelf life of 50 million were found!

When the waters of the mighty Tethys receded, the land rose, raising Ak-Kai above the Crimean steppes. Blown by the winds and washed by the rains over hundreds of centuries, the rock changed its appearance, eventually acquiring a bizarre shape with pillars-towers and caves, similar to the loopholes of a fortress. Here, in harsh prehistoric times, all kinds of earthly creatures found refuge, including primitive man. In the upper cave Altyn-Teshik (translated as Golden Nora), located at a height of 52 meters, many animal bones were found, among which the majority were the remains of mammoths, as well as stone tools. Not long ago, another sensational discovery occurred: during excavations in Zolotaya Nora, researchers discovered perfectly preserved skeletons of a Neanderthal woman with a child, which are 150 thousand years old!

Despite the inaccessibility of Altyn-Teshik, the flow of curious guests visiting the cave does not decrease. The Golden Hole is overgrown with a lot of legends, according to one of which its 20-meter grotto was once the lair of a weresnake. The cave supposedly has a secret hole that stretches all the way to Feodosia. Another tale explains the “golden” nickname of the cave. According to it, a chest of gold is hidden in Altyn-Teshik. There are many people who want to find the treasure, however, so far no one has found the treasure...

The fairy tale is a lie, and not even a hint. It is likely that precious caches are indeed hidden in the hidden depths of the White Rock. During the exploration of the upper and lower caves, tamgas were discovered - ancestral signs of the Sarmatians, indicating the presence of a warlike tribe in the Ak-Kaya caves. Who knows, perhaps one day some lucky person will find a treasure of Sarmatian gold.

The Ak-Kaya foothills are no less attractive for treasure hunters. Closer to summer, a variety of people with shovels flock to Karasubazar (as Belogorsk was called in ancient times), near which there is a rock. It is not surprising, because here is the largest concentration of ancient Scythian burial mounds, and among them, perhaps, there are rich tombs of the Scythian kings.

By the way, Karasubazar was once a rich trading city through which the famous Silk Road passed. In 1666, the famous Turkish traveler Evliya Celebi, who visited Crimea, wrote: “This city is located in the very center of Crimea. A river flows through it, and on it there are more than 100 rotating water mills. Throughout the city, springs gurgle and wash gardens. There are a total of 8 bridges made of wood... The countless gardens and vineyards located on both sides of the city, to the right and left of Karasu, are worthy of praise. In general, if we describe this city in detail, we will end up with countless books, and this will become an obstacle to the journey...”

A significant section of the Great Silk Road from Sudak and Kafa through Karasubazar and Solkhat to the north - to Veliky Novgorod, was controlled by the powerful Tatar clan Shirin. In honor of the owner of the surrounding rock, a descendant of Genghis Khan, it was given another name - Shirinskaya. The noble family consisted of more than 300 Murzas, the eldest of whom was elected at the top of the White Rock. The Shirin Beys were so influential that the Girays gave their daughters as wives to their sons.

During the reign of the Khanate in Crimea, the slave trade became one of the main sources of income for the local population. The surroundings of the White Rock were filled with the sound of shackles. Those sentenced to death were mercilessly pushed from a height of 100 meters. Innocent hostages were often killed, demanding a ransom through blackmail. Bogdan Khmelnitsky, captured in 1620, was brought to the White Rock twice. Before his eyes, prisoners were thrown from the mountain, forcing him to ask the hetman not to delay the ransom.

During the Russian war for Crimea in 1777, White Rock became the headquarters of the famous Russian commander A.V. Suvorov. A talented military leader, controlling an army of 10 thousand soldiers, managed to snatch victory from Kalgi-Sultan, who had several times superior forces. The enemy was taken by surprise. First, the Tatar courtyards, which were clearly visible from the mountain, were hit with cannons, and then the cavalry rushed from behind the rock, scattering the Shirin army across the surrounding mountains. Afterwards, on the White Rock, the Crimean Khan Sahib Giray signed an agreement with Prince Dolgoruky, according to which Crimea was declared a Khanate independent from Turkey.

The result of Russia's 10-year war for Crimea was also summed up on White Rock. On June 10, 1783, Prince G.A. Potemkin took the oath of allegiance to the Russian state of the Crimean Tatar nobility. Then the city of Karasubazar became administrative center peninsula.

At the top of White Rock

There is a trail leading to White Rock along the eastern corner ledge. Being part of the Inner Ridge Crimean mountains Ak-Kaya, from the plain side, has a height of 100 meters. In some places, the climb makes travelers sweat a lot, but the efforts are rewarded with stunning views. The top of the White Rock is a flat surface. In the east there is a chain of ancient mounds. On the other side is the valley of the Biyuk-Karasu River and Belogorsk, as if in the palm of your hand. In clear weather you can see eastern part Simferopol, and in the distant haze, the ridges of the Main Ridge and the high Karabi-Yayla massif stretch closer to the horizon.

White Rock is beautiful at any time of the day. At night, especially on a full moon, the mountain looks mysterious and mystical, shining in the darkness with the whiteness of its ledges. It is no coincidence that Ak-Kaya - favorite place filming adventure films. Everyone’s favorite Soviet feature films were filmed against the backdrop of the White Rock: “The Headless Horseman”, “Mirage”, “The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain”, “Business People”, “Lobo”, “General Lukacs”, “Mustang Pacer” and even “Cipollino” and many others.

There's no better place to film a Western! By the way, those who want to feel like a cowboy can rent a horse. There is a horse farm at the foot of the White Rock. There, travelers will be offered to drink cool kumiss and ride a horse: In addition, there are rest rooms on the farm, so you can stay for a couple of days and try to find Sarmatian gold!