One of Anapa's most popular landscape tourist attractions is Bald Mountain
, from which the famous Caucasus Mountains begin. This mountain height, reaching more than 300 meters in height, is located in the southeast of the city of Anapa, in the area of the villages of Supsekha and Varvarovka.
Villages of Anapa: where is the best place to relax?
Bald Mountain in Anapa is a very interesting landscape landmark
This mountain is famous for its easy-to-walk trails and magnificent viewing platforms, which offer beautiful views of the sea, Anapa and Bolshoi Utrish, as well as other mountain peaks. And on the top of Bald Mountain there are mysterious silver-white balls that excite the imagination with their alien appearance. But first things first.
History of the formation of Bald Mountain
Bald Mountain, located approximately 8 kilometers from the Anapa center, has a long history rich in legends. It is believed that once upon a time, during the heyday of ancient Gorgippia - the predecessor of Anapa - this not very high mountain was covered with forests and abounded in springs that connected their waters in the Serebryannaya River, which ran along the mountain slope to Malaya Bay. This river was the main source of fresh water for the inhabitants of Gorgippia, the history of which can be read here.
Bald Mountain was once not so bald
As the years passed, gradual deforestation led to the disappearance of many springs and the drying up of the river itself, the bed of which was finally filled up in the 19th century. Today, rare surviving trees in the form of Pitsunda pines, Koch pines and junipers remind us of the former lushness of the forest. Basically, the vegetation on the top of Bald Mountain is quite sparse and practically absent, hence its current name. Due to the fact that winds almost always blow on the mountain, the type of active recreation such as hang gliding is very developed here.
Boris Yamushev is considered the first Anapa paraglider
. After his retirement, this former military pilot and experienced paratrooper took up paragliding professionally. He made flying into the sky a popular and active form of recreation, but he himself died in one of the flights in 2008. Yamushev’s grateful followers erected a monument to him, which all tourists visiting Bald Mountain pass by today.
A monument to the first Anapa paraglider was erected on Lysaya Gora
Unknown facts
The date of construction of the monument is not reliably known, but there are rumors among local residents that the construction of the “800 steps” was carried out at the expense of one of the customers. Perhaps the owner of the villa wanted such a staircase. The benefactor kept his name secret, clearly a modest man. But the creation itself quickly gained popularity, first among local residents, then among visitors.
The engineers clearly took care of safety and comfort during descent/ascent. The steps are comfortable and not steep. Along the edges there are benches and seats where you can relax and admire the view at the same time. Each 800-step “conqueror” captures this important moment by taking a photo or video.
Going down you can see a beautiful beach. It is wild, with a minimum of amenities. Having gathered their remaining strength, people can walk further along the sea and find a comfortable place to rest. A great place to retire and be alone with nature. Only the sky, sea and stones underfoot.
Sources
- https://anapaguru.ru/lysaya-gora-anapa.html
- https://russo-travel.ru/landmark/anapa/lysaya-gora-anapa/
- https://yugarf.ru/lysaya-gora-v-anape/
- https://turvopros.com/lysaya-gora-v-anape/
- https://yugarf.ru/lastochkino-gnezdo-v-anape/
- https://www.tourister.ru/world/europe/russia/city/anapa/mount/37305
- https://sochi-fornia.ru/800-stupenej-k-moryu-anapa/
- https://anapacity.com/dostoprimechatelnosti-kurorta/800-stupenej-v-anape.html
Sights of Bald Mountain
One of the iconic sights of Bald Mountain is a stele with a sculptural image of an Eagle, which appeared here in 2013
. This stele symbolizes that this is where the Caucasus Mountains begin, stretching to the very outskirts of Sochi and bordering all the Black Sea resorts of the Krasnodar Territory.
The stela “The Beginning of the Caucasus Mountains” was installed on Bald Mountain
Since there are no trees providing shade on the mountain, it is better to go to the observation decks in the early morning hours or after 3-4 o’clock in the afternoon, when the main heat subsides. And when climbing the mountain, you need to remember about the local winds, which can carry sandstorms.
"Swallow's Nests"
There are several viewing platforms on Bald Mountain, but the most visited of them is the plateau called “Swallow’s Nests”. It got this almost Crimean name for the presence of numerous calcareous relief rocks with rather large holes, which until recently were used by shore swallows for nesting and raising chicks. Today, due to the large number of tourists, swallows have stopped nesting here.
Swallow's Nests - the most popular observation deck on Bald Mountain
In addition to these holes, the rocky steep slope has horizontal protrusions that resemble fancy teeth. Birds of prey in the form of eagles, gulls and cormorants soar above the observation deck. Here you can also see soaring multi-colored paraglider canopies. In the clearly visible sea you can see dolphins jumping out of the water.
From the sea, the protruding calcareous teeth of the mountain are clearly visible
The landscape of this place against the backdrop of the sea surface and the suburbs of Anapa stretching up to 30 km is truly fantastic. This favorite place for photo sessions is visited by local residents, newlyweds, and, of course, all vacationers. Tourists are brought here in jeeps. You can also climb on horseback, fortunately, the horse route is offered directly at the foot of the mountain. But even without horses and jeeps, it’s quite easy to climb to this sacred place.
The views from the top of Bald Mountain are truly stunning
It's beautiful here not only during the day. Many people like to watch the sun set and watch it rise from here. Artists and professional photographers come here for incredible landscapes and impressions. And here you can go paragliding yourself, of course, together with an instructor, and film these amazing surroundings from a bird's eye view on camera.
Paragliding is one of the popular entertainments of Bald Mountain
White balls
The limestone silhouettes of Bald Mountain and the unknown white and silver domes located on it, shaped like balls, look mysterious. Similar, almost alien structures can be seen in Crimea on the famous Mount Ai-Petri.
The white balls of Bald Mountain, visible all the way from the Anapa lighthouse, are becoming less and less
These white domes serve as protection for the radars of the radar stations located underneath them, which are located territorially at the military base. Recently, the number of domes has been sharply reduced, but in Soviet times there were much more of them, and they were guarded more carefully.
Today you can get quite close to them - right up to the fence, although you won’t be able to go inside.
400 and 800 steps
The slope of Bald Mountain from the sea is quite steep, and below, near the coast, there is a very attractive strip of wild beaches. Near the village of Supsekh there are two very popular descents to this clean and pristine coast. These are the famous 800 steps located directly under the observation deck of the Swallow's Nests, and 400 steps starting near the Autocamp with the symbolic name “Paradise”.
Going down to the coast even by stairs is not the easiest task
You can read about the 800-step staircase descent in the article What to see in Anapa. The descent, called 400 steps, is a little steeper, but half as long. The wild beach to which they lead vacationers is characterized by sparse crowds and clean water. These are quite attractive factors, which also have a few drawbacks.
The 400-step descent is shorter but significantly steeper
The pebble surface of these beaches is quite large and rocky in places, which is not very comfortable for movement and poses certain dangers when entering the water. In addition, the most basic beach attributes such as changing rooms, toilets, and showers are completely absent here. In this place you will not find any attractions, no food and drink outlets, no rescuers or doctors. And swimming itself is officially prohibited here.
The beach, reached by 800 steps, is wild in the truest sense of the word
Nevertheless, lovers of such extreme sports come here, swim and sunbathe. There are also natural slopes on Bald Mountain, not suitable for movement, on which it is not advisable to walk in order to avoid accidents.
Camping "Paradise"
The campsite has many gazebos with tables and benches, cool views, each with its own grill. There are showers and toilets. The territory on the sea side is fenced with a wooden fence. Almost all the gazebos are located in the shade of bushes, but the places for tents were a little confusing - it felt like they were offering to camp under the scorching sun. Well, it looks like this summer is not for the faint of heart.
