Map of Crimea Mount Kolan Bair. Dolgorukovskaya yayla
Location:
9 km southeast of the village of Olenevka, on the Black Sea coast.
Each of us has our own most unforgettable place. That place that you sometimes dream about at night, that you want to return to again and again. Surely Tarkhankut will be such a place for you. In the everyday speech of tourists, Tarkhankut refers to the village of Olenevka, itself, the sprawling steep coastlines, and the Dzhangulskoye tract. That is, everything that is located on the Tarkhankut Peninsula.
Where is it, the mysterious, magnificent Tarkhankut Peninsula? In the extreme western part of Crimea.
Probably one of the few places on sea coast Crimea, not affected by civilization - Cape Tarkhankut...
This part of the peninsula is the least developed by tourists and vacationers; the resort and tourism infrastructure is poorly developed here. Accordingly, there are significantly fewer vacationers here than in the traditional resort and tourist centers of Crimea. This is what allowed the nature of this region to preserve its pristine beauty and purity. Today this is the most environmentally friendly area of the Black Sea.
Located on the Tarkhankut peninsula, the cape of the same name is the westernmost point of the Crimean peninsula with captivating cliffs, caves, the clearest sea, a mysterious underwater world that tirelessly attracts lovers of active recreation and extreme tourism.
The most unusual thing in Tarkhankut is the sea. You will not find such a clear, bright sea on the North Black Sea coast anywhere else. And the inhabitants of the sea, without being modest, without being embarrassed or afraid, show themselves and their home to everyone. If you go to Tarkhankut, be sure to take a mask and snorkel, this will allow you to plunge into amazing world seas.
And if you dream of exploring the sea deeper, then on Tarkhankut you can do this for a reasonable fee. After all, the best, most experienced divers in Ukraine are going to dive there. Tarkhankut is a place of passionate, strong people.
Transparency sea water allows you to hold competitions in underwater photography.
The coast itself on Tarkhankut is also of unusual beauty: strictly vertical lines of limestone cliffs that break off right next to the sea. It seems that the endless steppe, heated under the Crimean sun, decided to take a swim and immediately, without delay, jumped into the cool waters of the sea.
When traveling by car, in 15 minutes you will get from Olenevka to Big Atlesh. A picture of extraordinary beauty opens before you: snow-white 40-60-meter cliffs, yellow beaches in small cozy coves, blue sky and sea, greenish-white caves and grottoes. The coastline here bends in an arc, forming small bays. It's hard to imagine, but the white rocks and limestone deposits are the bottom of an ancient sea. Here you can trace how sedimentation proceeded (the process of deposition on the bottom of the sea, lakes of the remains of organisms that lived on the bottom and in water mass, as a result, over time, sedimentary material is formed from these residues rock) in the distant geological past. Areas of rocks located above sea level are younger.
Blocks separated from the shore rise bizarrely above the water.
One of these rocks is called Turtle. At the western end of the Bolshoi Atlesh Bay, a rock protrudes into the sea, in which a huge Arch, the symbol of the Bolshoi Atlesh, has been pierced by waves and winds. A metal staircase, which was built quite recently, leads to it. Not far from the Arch, another two-flight staircase breaks into the sea, which in ancient times was carved out of limestone by unknown creators. It was along this road that she went down to the boat main character film Taman (based on the story of the same name by M. Yu. Lermontov). Bottom part the stairs were toppled by the waves. Not far from the Arch there is a grotto with a peculiar shape. Episodes of the films “Amphibian Man” and “Pirates of the 20th Century” were filmed here.
Atlesh is divided into two parts: Bolshoy (located 6 km southeast of Olenevka) and Maly (one kilometer from Bolshoy). The name Atlesh comes from the Persian word atesh (fire). The name is obviously related to the fact that since ancient times, fires were laid on the coast of steep rocky areas, which in inclement weather and at night showed ships the way to the shore. The rocks of Tarkhankut are very dangerous for seafarers, and the coastal waters can easily compete with the waters of Sevastopol and Kerch in terms of the number of sunken ships. At the same time, since ancient times, the small bays of Atlesh served as a reliable shelter for pirates and smugglers.
Between the Bolshoi and Malyi Atlesh capes there is a three-kilometer cliff of spongy Sarmatian limestones. It is easily recognized by the changed color of the stone. Before this, the cliffs are yellow, yellow-orange in color. And between the Bolshoi and Maly Atlesh capes there are blocks of milky, almost white color. And the entire coast is replete with caves, grottoes, and bizarre boulders.
On Maly Atlesh, a gigantic 98-meter tunnel, pierced by waves in the thickness of the cape, attracts attention. The height of the tunnel from the water level to the top of the arch is 8.51 m, the thickness of the arch is about 10.7 m. This is an amazing natural formation, the journey through which will take your breath away. The hero of the film "Pirates of the 20th Century" passes through this tunnel to the pirate island. Atlesh fishermen in the past were burdened by the fact that they had to drag the caught fish on their shoulders up a steep and dangerous staircase; they came up with the idea of punching a wide hole into the tunnel from above, and this made the work of the fishermen much easier. Now boats with fish drove into the tunnel and there they dumped them into large baskets, which, using a gate, were easily pulled through the hole to the surface of the earth. The hole in the tunnel, in other words, a through well on the surface of the earth can be seen while sailing through the tunnel itself. This exciting journey You can do it on a small boat, an inflatable mattress, or by swimming. The area where the well is located is not fenced off from above, so it is better not to come close to this through hole. Do not throw stones down, remember - people can swim below.
Near the entrance to the tunnel there is the lowest 150-meter cave in Crimea, known to specialists, but not yet explored, the entrance to it is 10 m below sea level. It ends in a small hall with a miniature sandy beach. You can only go to the cave in calm weather.
Be sure to take a swim in the bay - the “Bowl of Love” aquarium. This is a natural pool surrounded on all sides by boulders. And it got its name because of the heart shape formed by the surrounding stones and natural rocks. The depth of the sea here reaches 6 meters. WITH open sea The Love Cup is connected by a small underwater tunnel. Main character film Amphibian Man - Ichthyander - followed it to his father's house. Popular belief explains the name of this picturesque area this way: before getting married, local young people had to check whether their union would be strong. Holding hands, they jumped into the Cup of Love together. If their hands open under water, then the marriage bond will not be strong. If not, the union will be strong.
Since ancient times, this area has been chosen by fishermen. The Atlesh coast has a magnificent autumn and spring run of mullet and mackerel. There is still a fishing camp on the territory of Bolshoi Atlesh.
In the Atlesh area the water is clean and clear. Picturesque underwater world beckons and attracts. People have created amazing and unusual creations here. This is a museum at the bottom of the sea, an underwater gallery of busts - “Alley of Leaders”, which is located a hundred meters from the shore at a 12-meter depth. The scuba divers built busts of Lenin, Kirov, Dzerzhinsky into the stones... Nearby there is a sign that states that the museum was opened by Vladimir Borumensky on August 25, 1992. Then the first bust was installed. His initiative was supported by fellow scuba divers.
Sculptural images of cultural figures, writers, poets, and composers appeared next to the busts of revolutionaries. You peer with interest at familiar faces: Pushkin, Yesenin, Dobrolyubov, Beethoven, Blok, Mayakovsky, Tchaikovsky. And around there are piles of blocks overgrown with algae and mussels. There is no such underwater museum anywhere else in the world.
The territory of Atlesha attracts not only those who like to relax, sunbathe and scuba dive. Scientists also come here: archaeologists, hydrologists, biologists, paleontologists. Tarkhankut can rightfully be called an inexhaustible storehouse of various scientific discoveries. Thus, paleontologists in one of the limestone outcrops discovered the imprint of a fossil fish that lived in the distant geological past. The length of the fish is more than 1 meter. Another unique find is a colony of fossil oncolites (rounded limestone nodules) - the size of individual specimens reaches more than 40 cm in diameter. This is the paleontological museum on Atlesh.
The sea is perceived here in a special way. Severe in its pristine beauty, it delights and attracts a person’s gaze, at the same time alarming and as if warning of the unpredictable power hidden in it. Light reflections breaking on rocks sun rays fancifully reflected in the azure surface of the sea, as if competing with the grandiose shadows cast into the depths of the waves by boulders. And near the shore, among the stones and small sandy islands, the sea surf rules, subject only to laws known to it. In inclement weather, the water boils and foams, the waves overwhelm the rocks, crashing against the limestone piles with great force. Do not try to measure your strength with the sea elements at such a moment.
Tarkhankut attracts more and more lovers every year wild holiday. However, there are few convenient parking places here, and the descent to the sea is not very convenient. But it’s simply impossible not to visit this magnificently beautiful coastline and bypass it. The inconvenience of access roads, dusty roads - all this will be repaid a hundredfold by the received positive emotions. The splendor of Tarkhankut will not leave anyone indifferent.
How to get there:
from Olenevka you need to drive 9 km by your own or hired transport to the south-west along a dirt road along the sea, and then to the east along a dirt road (stick to the coast all the time). You can also get there by walking (4.5-5 km south along a dirt road through the steppe), which will improve your health, but on hot days the road can be too exhausting.
Esotericists value Tarkhankut for its places of power. Divers - for the clear aquamarine sea. Kitesurfers - for the stunning wind. Cyclists - for excellent up-and-down dirt roads. It doesn’t matter if you are not a fan of scuba gear, sails or two wheels, be sure to go on a trip to the wild west of Crimea. If you don’t like it, at least all the sunsets will be yours!
1.Sunset in Olenevka
Tarkhankut: where it is, how to get there, where to stay
The Tarkhankut Peninsula is the westernmost in Crimea, and here, as you might guess, is the westernmost point of the entire peninsula - Cape Priboyny. Until 1953, the cape was called Karamrun (“Black Cape”), and the peninsula itself, by the way, was never renamed. Tarkhankut is translated as “corner (kut) free from taxes (tarkhanov).”
Tarkhankut has still not been systematically studied by archaeologists, so to this day it conceals many mysteries. For example, big number ancient settlements suggests that two thousand years ago the local lands were comfortable for life. And the numerous deep gullies that cut through the peninsula are more reminiscent of parallel river beds than simple soil erosion. Now there is a big deficit in Tarkhankut natural water. Largely for this reason, it is one of the most sparsely populated areas of Crimea.
There are several villages here that can be reached by regular transport. The largest of them is Chernomorskoe. Smaller ones are Mezhvodnoe, Olenevka and Okunevka. Due to the long distances, Trakhankut is difficult to travel on foot. The best option What remains is a bicycle or personal vehicle with a high suspension.
In all populated areas In Tarkhankut, you can rent housing from local residents (for many of them, this is their only income). You can, of course, stay with a tent.
2. Steppe roads of Tarkhankut
Jangul of my soul
Since Tarkhankut occupies a considerable area (along the coastline alone - about 40-50 km), then, of course, the peninsula is very diverse in terms of relief. Geographers even distinguish several zones on the coast. One of these zones - Dzhangul - has a very romantic translation from the Turkic language, namely Dear (Beautiful) Rose.
Dzhangul landslides stretch for 8 km along the seashore. Closer to Olenevka the cliffs are steeper, reminiscent of the chalk hills in Scotland from my English detective stories. Here the Tarkhankut Upland is pierced through and through with almost parallel dry ravines running from one another, flowing into the sea in secluded coves.
3. Someone leased the land and built a small estate with a pier in one of the bays
4. Chalk cliffs of Dzhangul
5. Kastel settlement in Bolshoi Kastel Bay
6. On the walls of an ancient settlement
7. The work of a modern master
8. In summer, the sea water warms up to 28 degrees in these places
Atlesh, Big and Small
To the south of Olenevka the coast of Tarkhankut is called Bolshoy and Maly Atlesh. Scientists associate this toponym with the word “atesh” (fire) from the Persian language. For a long time, during inclement weather, local residents lit fires to warn sailors about dangerous shoals in the area.
Here the banks are not so high, there are many more descents to the water. It was in the Atlesh area that “Amphibian Man” was filmed. A business card Atlesha is a series of through grottoes in rocky capes.
9. Random rock relief or potter's wheel buried in the ground?
10. Rock ship
11. A little later I’ll sign the name when I determine it from the reference book
13. On this through cape there is a dolphinarium
14. Layered pies of the Tarkhankut cliffs
15. This walk-through grotto is so huge that a sailing yacht could pass through it.
16. The elements also “weathered” a hole on top of the grotto. I look inside - I can see the sea below
17. This is roughly how the previous shot was taken. It is no coincidence that the area around the hole is fenced off, because recently a car got stuck there!
18. One of the local attractions is the so-called Cup of Love
What else to see on Tarkhankut
19. Of course, the famous lighthouse and the sunken cargo ship opposite it
The lighthouse on Cape Tarkhankut was built in 1816 and was one of the first in Crimea. B built according to the same project.
The cargo ship "Sirius", which ran aground 30 m from the coast on the night of February 28, 2005. The crew was saved, but the ship was not. As a result of winter storms, the Sirius split in half, the bow sank, and the stern is still drifting on the shallows.
20. Karavia
Do you see four structures in the sea? These are fishermen's towers to which a special rectangular net is attached large size called kezne for catching mullet and mackerel.
The tower piles are driven into the sea. A kezne is attached to them with ropes, spread along the bottom of the sea. Karavia called the network lift, preserved in these places since the 18th century. Three edges of the net are raised above the ground, through the fourth, schools of fish enter the net, after which the fishermen constantly on duty instantly raise the fourth edge of the kezne.
And, of course, on Tarkhankut it is worth visiting the ruins of ancient settlements: and.
