The ‘cavern fortress’ Chufut Kale is one of the most shining and the best-preserved medieval landmarks of the peninsula. It is located near Bakhchisaray (around 3 km, or 2 miles) on a mountain plateau with precipices 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) above sea level. It may be said that nature created this fort, and people have only strengthened and improved its defenses. To be fair, it should be mentioned

Local residents call Demerdzhi the peninsula’s most valuable treasure. And no wonder: it is one of the most attractive and mysterious mountains in Crimea. The mountain gets its mystery from the unyielding haze that changes its colors like chameleon, dressing up Demerdzhi in multi-colored ‘clothes.’ In the Middle Ages, the mountain was named Funa, which means ‘fuming.’ The present name of the moun

Located not far from Yalta, the Nikitsky Botanical Garden is a real outdoor museum, one of the most unique landmarks of southern Crimea. This man-made park is recognized as a masterpiece of landscape art and is one of the oldest and the most famous botanical gardens in the world. It is rightfully called the ‘green treasure’ of the peninsula: unique types of plants from all regions of the planet ar

Ai-Petri (Greek for ‘Saint Peter’) is one of the most famous Crimean mountaints. Its picturesque peaks, which fence off Yalta from the outer world, have become the symbol not just of the southern coast, but also of the entire Crimean peninsula. This legendary massif is attractive for tourists because from its peaks, one can get an amazing view over the whole southeastern coast of Crimea. In order

The Chatyr-Dag mountain massif is one of most famous and most visited in Crimea. It is one of the five tallest mountains on the peninsula, standing at over one and a half thousand meters (4,920 feet) high. In clear weather, you can see nearly all of Crimea from the top of Chatyr-Dag. The name of the massif is translated from the Turkic as ‘tent-mountain,’ and from afar, this stone giant’s silhouet

Balaklava is a small town near Sevastopol, nestled on the coast of an extremely beautiful bay. This serene harbor, hidden from strangers’ eyes by jagged mountains, is a unique piece of nature. Due to its favorable location it, it sheltered different peoples for thousands of years, and in the post-WWII period, it became a secret base for Soviet submarines. Today, Balaklava, with its amazing landsca