Location: Yalta municipality Map
Elevation: 1234 meters (4049 feet)
Ai-Petri (Ай- Петри) is located in the Crimean Mountains, Crimea. Ai-Petri is a peak and a mountain range with an area of more than 300 km2, one of the table massifs (they are also called yayls), stretched along the southern coast of Crimea and making up the main mountain range. The Ai-Petri massif extends from east to west for 25 km.
The highest point of the entire massif is Mount Roca with an absolute
mark of 1346 meters above sea level, a little less (1320 meters) Mount
Quail (Benede-Kyr). Mount Ai-Petri itself is much lower - its height is
1234 meters above sea level.
The silhouette of the mountain
completes the line of the picturesque amphitheater from the sea itself -
Cape Ai-Todor with the Swallow's Nest - to the famous figured
battlements. The teeth of Ai-Petri consist of four large (60-80 m high)
and a number of small ledges on the ridge, formed during the weathering
of heterogeneous reef limestone. On Ai-Petri, the maximum number of
foggy days in the Crimea is observed (in 1970 - 215 days). The maximum
amount of precipitation on Ai-Petri (and in the Crimea) - 1718 mm - was
noted in 1981. Ai-Petri is the windiest point of the Crimea (in 1949,
the wind at a speed of over 15 m/s blew here for 125 days). Ai-Petri
also recorded the highest wind speed - 50 m / s.
The vegetation in the mountains is truly rich and varied. On the southern slopes, a beech forest grows with an admixture of pine. From a height of 1000 - 800 meters above sea level, the Crimean pine belt begins, which grows with oak in the first tier, and with prickly juniper in the second. Below 400 meters begins a belt of shrub communities of junipers, hornbeam, derzhidereva and many other shrubs with an admixture of oak. Here you can find a pistachio tuliposus, a strawberry tree with a kind of smooth reddish bark, the thin outer layer of which changes annually, and with evergreen leaves, yellow-flowered jasmine, a shrubby species of elm, bladderwort and much more. There are many fruit and berry trees and shrubs in the forests. Almost all common types of mountain ash grow on the slopes of Ai-Petri and on the plateau: ordinary, large-fruited, bereka, Greek and others.
The climate of Ai-Petri is characterized by sharp contrast. The
average annual air temperature at Ai-Petri is +5.9oC. In the mountains
in the same month, the average daily temperature can be very different.
On Ai-Petri in January it is + 11.4 ° C ... -20.4 ° C, in February +
11.5 ° C ... -26.5 ° C, and in August + 27.1 ° C ... -2.3 ° C. The
warmest month on the Yayla is July, less often August. The average July
temperature is 15.6°C, but the maximum is much higher - it reaches 32°C.
The coldest month is February, with an average temperature of -3.8°C.
40% of precipitation on the Ai-Petrinsky plateau falls in the form
of rain, 60% - in the form of snow. On average, 1052 mm of precipitation
falls on Ai-Petri per year (only 635 mm in Yalta), and only in January
160 mm. Steady snow cover lasts from mid-December to March. Due to thaws
in the whitish areas of the yayla, the snow melts completely by 50-70%
several times during the cold period of time.
By cable car
The upper station of the cable car (Miskhor -
Ai-Petri).
By minibus
From the bus station of
Yalta or from
the lower station of the cable car. The price is on average equivalent
to the fare on the cable car.
By car
The 65-kilometer
Bakhchisaray highway TO117 passes through Ai-Petri, starting in Yalta
and going to the village of Zheleznodorozhny in the suburbs of
Bakhchisaray.
From Yalta, the road is a thin winding serpentine.
From the north, the road is more gentle and crosses the villages of
Tankovoe, Kuibyshevo and Sokolinoe. Under difficult weather conditions
and during the fire hazard period (July-August), the road is often
blocked by the traffic police for safety reasons. Sometimes only light
vehicles pass.
On foot
Walk along one of the trails described
below.
Contributions and passes
No. They may ask for an
entrance fee for climbing to the highest point of Ai-Petri.
A number of climbing routes of 1-5 category of difficulty have been
laid to the top of the mountain, including through the teeth of
Ai-Petri.
Also in the immediate vicinity of the summit are the
beginnings of several freeride trails.
From about the end of November
until the end of March, snow lies on the mountain. There are six tracks
for skiing and snowboarding, with a length of 120 to 1030 m and a height
difference of 20 to 170 m. With two lifts and eight towing devices. Ski
rental - about 400 rubles, sled - 200 rubles. (2015). But before going
to the mountain, it is advisable to call the KSS station on Ai-Petri and
clarify what is the snow layer and whether it is sufficient for skiing;
you can also check it yourself by looking at the webcams installed on
the mountain.
Two suspension bridges were stretched to the teeth of
Ai-Petri, connecting the teeth and the main plateau. There was a
"bungee" and jumping. Removed in 2014 due to security concerns.
Ai-Petri trails for descent
Taraktashskaya (goes to the Uchan-Su
waterfall, from there along the Shtangeevskaya and Botkinskaya trails
you can get to the Glade of Fairy Tales in Yalta);
Koreizskaya or
Miskhorskaya (located under the cable car and leads to Koreiz, Miskhor);
Malay-Bogaz (on the western side of Ai-Petri, closer to Alupka);
Shanghai Eastern and Western (both lead to Alupka, the western one is
more difficult);
"Jew" (will also lead to Alupka).
The most
convenient way to get to the high mountain plateau of Ai-Petri is by
climbing the Iograf. Iograph is a ridge, a narrow path along which
gradually gains height and leads you to the very top. Such a smooth
climb makes climbing the mountains accessible to middle-aged people and
people without special training. Route: Yalta city - Temiar spring -
Iograf ridge - Yerakh-Hul rock - Yalta city. Range: 13 kilometers.
There are no ATMs, bank branches, currency exchange points. But there are a lot (several rows) of souvenirs, including products made from fur, juniper, herbal tea sets.
Near the exit from the cable car there are a sufficient number of
cafes, restaurants and stalls-layouts. They work all year round. Called
a lot. Basically - Crimean Tatar and standard Russian-Ukrainian cuisine,
even more often mixed.
The second group of restaurants is located
in the Okhotnichye village on the Ai-Petri plateau.
Cafe "Baron
Munchausen" (300 m from the top station of the cable car). ☎ 6182 +7
(978) 018 6182, 6175 +7 (978) 018 6175. BBQ 250 g - 200 rubles, borscht,
okroshka, pilaf, lagman, shurpa - 150 rubles. Lots of positive reviews,
but some think it's expensive. The owner Viktor, among other things,
offers to stay at his cafe for free, there are no separate rooms, it is
offered just to spend the night in the common room of the cafe, but for
free. Wi-Fi is working.
On a plateau near the Shishko rock (a famous observation deck) there
is a small village of Okhotnichye 1 The highest mountain settlement in
Crimea - the height of the center of the village above sea level is 1160
m.
Also, in the area of the upper station of the cable car,
some cafes offer accommodation for the night, the cost is about 1000
rubles for a separate room for two people (2014).
Tourist shelter "Ai-Petri", pos. Okhotnichye, Bakhchisarai highway, 9. ☎ 10 82 +7 (978) 806 10 82.
Tents are not allowed in the reserve. Except for one exception: in the area of the Ai-Petri cordon and only with the permission of the foresters.
If you decide to climb the mountain in any known way, it is strongly
recommended to bring warm clothes (sweater or windbreaker) with you. If
it is hot at the foot of the mountain, this does not mean at all that it
will also be hot at the top - most likely it will be very cool there,
and if fog comes up (and this is an ordinary cloud), it can become quite
uncomfortable and you stop your walk very quickly. ..
The
importunity of local barkers and taxi drivers pretty much spoils the
overall impression. Moreover, they are often aggressive. But it is worth
pushing through their crowd - and everything changes dramatically, only
nature and, maybe, some rare tourists remain around. They are
concentrated near the lower and upper stations of the cable car (and
within a radius of 500 meters from them), they are also present in small
numbers in the village of Okhotnichy, but they are already more
good-natured there.