Impressions from Alushta
The seaside city differs from pompous Yalta, ancient Sudak and small Alupka. Alushta is loved for its picturesque landscapes and special microclimate. Thanks to the mountain winds that blow through Kebit-Bogaz and the Angarsk Pass, even at the height of summer the coast is fresh. According to reviews from tourists, a holiday in Alushta is a real salvation for everyone who cannot tolerate extreme heat or wants to receive treatment in a mild, warm climate.
Gagasa: “My deepest dream is to have a small bungalow on the Black Sea coast in Alushta. This is an amazing city in its location, where the humid sea air is replaced several times a day by cool, dry and crystal clear mountain air, which smells of pine and juniper.”
Demerdzhi massif near Alushta. It is especially beautiful in cloudy weather, when the mountains are shrouded in fog.
House of merchant Stakheev in Primorsky Park
This ancient mansion, built in the 19th century, is one of the most beautiful buildings in Alushta. Previously, it belonged to the wealthy merchant Stakheev, who did a lot for his beloved city: with his funds, the first theater was opened in Alushta and the embankment was landscaped, which today is a place of attraction for all vacationers. At one time, the house of the merchant Stakheev was visited by many famous cultural figures.
The seaside park which this mansion is located is a popular place for relaxation and leisurely walks along the shady alleys. There are many attractions here that will delight both children and adults.
What is the sea and beaches like in Alushta?
Alushta is a beach resort. The strip of pebble and sand-pebble beaches stretches for 80 km. They are free, but sun loungers and umbrellas cost 100-150 rubles per person. Some have free showers and changing cabins.
The beaches are not wide and there are quite a lot of people during the season.
If you like to sunbathe on the sand, come to the beaches in the Professor's Corner area. Sea water is clean everywhere. Not the most transparent in Crimea, after all Alushta is a city, but tourists are happy.
UTKONOS-IK: “The sea is unusually clean, especially in comparison with other domestic beaches. Even at a distance of 2 meters from the shore, you can see jellyfish swimming past through the water.”
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Panorama of the beach in Alushta
Jur-Jur waterfall
Address: Alushta, Generalskoye village.
The sights of Alushta are represented by many natural beauties. Not far from the city, in the picturesque, wooded Khapkhal gorge, there is the deepest waterfall in Crimea - Dzhur-Dzhur. Its height is about 16 meters, formed by the Eastern Ulu-Uzen River. Translated from Turkic languages, the name of the waterfall means “murmuring”.
Jur-Jur waterfall is a popular tourist destination. Next to it there is a cave 750 meters long with the same name. If you go up from the waterfall, you can see three natural bowls with clear water. According to legend, each of these bowls has healing and magical properties: if you take a bath in the first, all sins will be forgiven, the second bath will give you youth and health, and the third will give you good luck in love. It is not surprising that there are always a lot of people who want to take a dip here, despite the fact that the water is very cold - no more than 10˚C.
When is the best time to go?
Alushta is located in the center of the southern coast of Crimea - the warmest place on the peninsula, but due to the winds there is no sweltering heat here, as in Yalta. The swimming season lasts from June to early October. At the beginning of summer, the water in the sea is already warm +21…+23°С, however, according to reviews, “low temperatures” occur in Alushta. This is the name given to cold currents or surges of warm water when the sea temperature drops to +14...+16°C.
If you want to have a good rest on the beach and save money, come to the resort during the high season - in September. Alushta sanatoriums operate all year round, because climatotherapy and mineral water treatment are available both in summer and winter. Most precipitation falls from October to February.
veronikam76: “We went in July for 8 days. The sea is cool and clean. One day we saw jellyfish and even touched them. There were 3 storms and they stopped in the evening.”
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Alushta
Park Crimea in miniature
Website: park-miniatur.ru Address: Alushta, st. Gorky 7. Opening hours: from 09.00 to 23.00 (May-September), from 09.00 to 20.00 (October-April). Ticket price: 600 rubles, children from 3 to 12 years old - 400 rubles, free for locals (with a passport).
When listing the sights of Alushta, one cannot fail to mention the famous miniature park, where you can see all the architectural objects of Crimea in a reduced form and without leaving the city.
This open-air park is located in the very center of the city, not far from the Alushta Aquarium. Its exhibits on a scale of 1 to 25 represent all the famous palaces of Crimea - Vorontsovsky, Livadia and Swallow's Nest. After getting acquainted with the miniature structures, you can choose which of them are worth seeing in reality.
Aluston Fortress
The only historical attraction within the city are fragments of the Aluston fortress, built in the 6th century. Its founder is considered to be the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. His outpost was located on a 45-meter hill 210 meters from the sea and had important defensive significance. A city began to form around the built fortress. The next owners of the fortress were the Khazars. They, however, could not resist the Pechenegs, and they could not resist the Golden Horde raids, during which the fortress and city were destroyed.
During the rule of the Genoese, the fortress and the city were restored, but not for long. After new destruction by the Turks in the second half of the 15th century. Aluston fortress was never restored. Only at the end of the 19th century. At the expense of the philanthropist Stakheev, the tower that was threatening to collapse was strengthened. Only part of the fortress wall has survived to this day.
The current state of the monument is unenviable: it is surrounded on all sides by residential buildings. You have to get to the tower through private courtyards, asking locals who don’t really like it. There is nothing special to see: only the tower’s considerable age inspires respect.
Aluston Fortress Tower
Address: st. April 15th, 17A. Relatively close to the city is the Trolleybus Station, which is accessible by trolleybuses 1, 2, 53 and 59 and minibuses 5,6, 26 and 34.
Temple of All Crimean Saints and Theodore Stratilates
This temple was built in 1842 by order of Count Vorontsov and designed by the famous Odessa architect Toricelli. The appearance of this Alushta temple is very unique. Experts find in it similarities with English rural churches with an admixture of Gothic. The temple is named after the Roman military leader who preached Christianity among the pagans. Before the eyes of Emperor Licinius, he smashed many pagan idols, for which he was executed.
Unlike many other churches, after the establishment of atheistic power, the temple functioned for a long time, but several of its clergy were repressed. Attempts to close the temple were made in 1936 and 1938. In 1944, as part of the warming of relations between the state and the church, worship services resumed. In 1964, during Khrushchev’s persecution of the church, the temple was closed, the bell tower was destroyed, and the building was given over to a club.
The current appearance of the temple is the result of restoration begun in the 90s of the last century. It is slightly different from the original appearance. During the new consecration, Crimean saints were added to the name.
Temple of All Crimean Saints and Theodore Stratilates
Address: st. Khromykh, 14. Opening hours: 8–20. Directions: by trolleybuses 51 and 53 or minibuses 2, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 26 to the Sovetskaya Ploshchad stop.
How to get to Alushta and where to stay
There are no trains from Simferopol to Alushta, only road transport. You can get from the capital of Crimea by trolleybus, which follows a beautiful mountain road for 1 hour and 40 minutes, during which time you can enjoy gorgeous views from the window of the transport.
For those who like to drive fast, there are buses and minibuses; such transport will reach Alushta in 50 minutes. On the way, your ears will become blocked due to pressure changes and the mountain road. The bus will take you to the bus station, from which you need to walk 2 km to the sea. The trolleybus will take you straight to the sea.
If you come to Alushta and don’t know where to stay, then it’s better not to use the services that will be offered near the station - such housing, as a rule, costs several times more. It is better to use websites specializing in rental housing to find a suitable option. In the summer there are a lot of options, you can easily find where to stay.
Alushta - interesting and useful video
Read about the sights of Sochi here.
Palace of Princess Gagarina
Another beautiful creation of the architect Krasnov is located 14 km from Alushta, in the village of Utes.
Kutaisi military governor, Lieutenant General Alexander Gagarin, after the death of his first wife in 1951, married the Georgian noblewoman Taso (Anastasia) Orbeliani. Despite the large age difference of 24 years, the couple were happy, but not for long: Prince Gagarin died in Svaneti. After this, the inconsolable widow did not leave the house for a year, and then moved from Kutaisi to her husband’s modest Crimean estate, which he inherited from his first wife. During his lifetime, Alexander Gagarin planned to build a beautiful palace there to live together with Anastasia.
Having taken control of the estate into her own hands, the Dowager Princess spends most of her income on charity and caring for the sick in the hospital she founded. Having learned about the princess's dream to build a castle in memory of her beloved husband, her rich nephew gives his aunt a gift for her 70th birthday - funds for construction. In 1907, having realized her dream, the princess passed away. The palace, built in the village of Utes, became a monument to her beloved husband who had passed away.
After the death of the princess, the palace passed to her niece, and after the revolution it was nationalized and given over to a sanatorium.
Palace of Princess Gagarina
The palace looks like a fairytale castle with battlements, turrets, thin spiers with weather vanes, and window arches. At the entrance, which is guarded by two stone knights with shields, a sculpture of Anastasia Gagarina was installed to mark the 100th anniversary of her death.
Statue of Anastasia Gagarina
Now Gagarina's palace is occupied by a sanatorium, so it is only accessible for external inspection along with the surrounding park.
Address: pos. Utes, st. Gagarina, 5. Opening hours: 8–23. To enter the park you need to pay 250 rubles. Directions: by trolleybuses 52, 53 and 55 to the Kiparisnoye stop.
Entertainment
Alushta has entertainment for adults and children. One of the most popular places is the water park at the Almond Grove , located in the Professor's Corner at st. Embankment, 4a. The water park features various attractions , a VIP area, wave pools, children's pools and play pools.
The cost of entry depends on the time of visit and length of stay: adult tickets - from 1100 rubles, children's tickets - from 600 rubles, admission for children under 1 meter in height is free.
Also, young travelers can visit the largest children's entertainment center , which provides entertainment for children from 2 to 12 years old: carousels, swings, trampolines, a labyrinth with a climbing wall and a bungee jump, and a soft area for kids.
The cost of visiting is from 200 to 700 rubles. depending on length of stay.
There are two dolphinariums in the city : NEMO and Aquarelle . Both dolphinariums offer their visitors vibrant shows with the participation of charismatic artists - dolphins and fur seals, swimming and photography with dolphins and dolphin therapy sessions.
The cost of tickets for the show program at NEMO is 500-800 rubles, at Akvarel - 500-1000 rubles.
On Gorky Street, 4 there is a real underwater world - Aquarium , where visitors can admire 250 species of fish, look at crocodiles, crabs and turtles. In the trolleybus ticket office building, behind which the Aquarium is located, the exhibition “Jungle World” . The small wilderness area is home to monkeys, raccoons, turtles, rabbits and several species of birds.
The cost of entrance tickets is 400-600 rubles, a visit to the “Jungle World” is included in the price of tickets to the Aquarium.
You can also look at the animals in Alushta Animal Park , located at Embankment named after. Lenina, 13. A large climatic pavilion, adapted to the natural living conditions of animals and birds, accommodates more than 50 species of inhabitants, including fennec fox, arctic fox, lemur, porcupine, emu and many others.
Ticket prices are 400-600 rubles.
Valley of Ghosts
On Mount Demerdzhi, 12 km from Alushta, near the village of Luchistoye, the Valley of Ghosts is located. It represents dozens of bizarre stone figures, sculpted by nature itself through weathering and erosion from the inside of the rock by moisture.
Official entrance to the Valley of Ghosts
Independent travelers entering the valley through the official entrance purchase a ticket here for 60 rubles. In the photo to the right of the entrance gate on the banner you can see an episode of the film “Prisoner of the Caucasus”, a number of scenes of which were filmed in these very places. Almost now, after passing through the entrance, the guide shows the “Varley boulders”, on which Nina sang a song about bears, and “Nikulin’s nut”, from which Balbes threw nuts at Shurik. Not everyone knows that during the planned fall from it, Nikulin broke his arm, because it was not the previously cut branch that broke off, but another one.
The miraculous entrance to the Valley of Ghosts is called the Guardians of Demerdzhi and puts travelers passing through it in a mystical mood. After this, miracles really begin.
Guardians of Demerdzhi
Stone sculptures, especially under the rays of the sun and in frequent foggy haze, give a wide scope to the imagination of tourists, changing depending on the time of day. Readers will understand the emotions of travelers in this fantastic place by watching the video.
In the Valley of Ghosts
Having covered several kilometers, tourists reach a plateau with a wonderful view of Alushta and the sea.
It is known that travelers who spent the night here experienced hallucinations in the morning. As scientists have found, some types of local vegetation release substances that contribute to this at dawn. Other tourists claim to have clearly seen large moving ghosts in the valley. As it turned out, this is not a figment of fantasy. The Valley of Ghosts is the only place in Crimea where the Brocken Ghost phenomenon is actually observed.
Ghosts in the Valley
This is the observer's shadow on the surface of fog or clouds in the direction opposite to the Sun. It may appear to move due to density fluctuations in the cloud. So the name of the valley has good reason.
The Valley of Ghosts is an outstanding natural attraction of the entire Crimea. Therefore, excursions are organized to it not only from Alushta, but also from other Crimean cities. It is completely unforgivable, being in Alushta, not to visit the Valley of Ghosts. You can book an excursion from Alushta, for example, here and here.
An independent visit to the valley without a vehicle begins with a ride on minibus No. 107 from Alushta to the village of Luchistoye. This is followed by a half-hour walk on asphalt to Mount Demerdzhi. True, weary travelers can book more than just a walking tour at its foot. You can also rent a horse for 1,500 rubles. or a jeep with a driver for 3500–4000 rubles.
