Rainy triptych. Nikitskaya Cleft - Crimea Philosophy — LiveJournal
Just east of Massandra, within its village council, is the small village of Nikita, part of resort area Big Yalta. With such a “Slavic” name, but received from the Greeks, it is known on the peninsula primarily for its famous, contemporary with the war with Napoleon. But the village also has another tourist attraction - the stone Nikitskaya Cleft. In Crimea it is quite in demand among tourists.
Where is the crevasse located in Crimea?
The Ayan Rocks - as the crevice is also called - are located in small village Nikita, which is 10 km east of. Heading to this reminder along the South Coast Highway, you can also stop by - it is located right along the route.
Ayan Rocks on the map of Crimea
History of the attraction
This amazingly beautiful place is located very close to the trolleybus route and, in the form of a characteristic depression among the mountain slope, is visible even from passing cars. It looks as if a fairy-tale giant cut the rock mass with an unprecedented sword, forming a wide chasm about 200 m long and 30-40 m wide. Truly indescribable sensations!
The rocky walls of the Nikitskaya Cleft sometimes rise 25-30 m. Once upon a time, millions of years ago, the Main Crimean Ridge began to grow sharply, as a result of which some of its limestone massifs broke away from the main ridge and slid down through soft clays, like sleds on snow , to sea. Along the way, they could not withstand the stress and split into pieces. This is how the Ayan Rocks came into being.
Legends of the Nikitskaya Cleft
Like many notable Crimean places, the crevasse has its own legends. Some even go back to antiquity, but there are also relatively young ones that arose in our time. For example, there is a difficult climbing route on the local rocks called “Mashkin’s Kiss”.
They say that 40 years ago it was not passed by anyone. One day, during the next competition, beautiful girl Masha promised the guys: whoever passes this path will receive a kiss from her at the top.
The brave souls tried all day, but everyone failed. And only one was able to reach almost the top. Almost, because at the last moment, grabbing onto a dry tree, he fell and hung on the safety rope. So the route remained untraveled and received its name.
A small landscape miracle in Nikita
For the Ayan Rocks in Crimea, they have long become a training stand and competition site. It is full of a wide variety of routes - both difficult ones, similar to the one described, and easy ones for training. The convenience of the place is also explained by the fact that it is incredibly easy to get here: get off the trolleybus or minibus - and after a five-minute walk you seem to find yourself in a fairy tale kingdom.
The noise and bustle disappears, the rocks narrow sharply, and it becomes slightly gloomy. Even the air immediately changes, a cool, damp wind blows from deep grottoes and cracks. Thanks to this, the Nikitskaya Cleft has formed its own microclimate, noticeably different from what reigns quite nearby.
These factors have formed a special geomorphological zone here - with its own vegetation and climate regime. Just as climbers train here on the rocks, biologists and geomorphologists study the place, taking advantage of its uniqueness. More than a hundred species of trees and herbs grow in this tiny territory; specific species are found in single specimens. Some trees literally stuck to bare rocks, surprising with their vitality. Even the characteristic stone covering the upper entrance to the chasm is named after the famous landscape expert Solntsev.
What else do the Ayan Rocks hide?
The unique expressiveness of this place was fully appreciated by creative people. 
Probably, in terms of the number of movie scenes filmed here, the Nikitskaya Crevice towards the Crimea has no equal. “The Children of Captain Grant”, the film fairy tales of Alexander Rowe, “The White Explosion” - these are just a small part of the films that, albeit partially, were filmed here.
At the entrance to the chasm you can see a small fresh spring - Ayan-Koba. Unfortunately, now its waters almost immediately go into the hydrological reservoir. And having risen above the Solntsev rock, you are amazed to see the suddenly wide open space in front of you.
The endless blue of the sea, the highway winding below like a beautiful asphalt ribbon, the entire Yalta Valley ending with Cape Ai-Todor - all this remains in the photos of tourists. If you wish, you can go even higher into the mountains, along one of the many paths winding among the huge limestone blocks.
How to get to the natural monument?
It’s easy to get to the Ayan Rocks by public transport. There are trolleybus No. 2, minibus No. 2 and buses No. 29 and 34.
The easiest way to get to the Nikitskaya Cleft by car from Yalta is this:
Note to tourists
- Address: Nikita village, Big Yalta, Crimea, Russia.
- Coordinates: 44°31′8″N (44.518867), 34°13′44″E (34.228979).
Here it is, the Nikitskaya Cleft in Crimea - small miracle, a corner of mysterious nature, hidden so close to civilization! An excursion to these regions will definitely be remembered for a long time. Finally, watch a short video about this attraction of the peninsula.
2004 information
Many thanks compiler, Andrey Vedenmeer, Yalta, for the materials provided.
NIKITA CLIMBING CENTER
The village of Nikita is located 3 km from Yalta. On the opposite side of the highway from the building of the environmental complex is the Nikitskaya Cleft. This natural monument is a clear illustration of the enormous power of earthly forces that change the relief of the landscape. As if cut by a giant sword, the rocks form a dark, cold gorge. Sheer walls 25-30 m high hang overhead, and a forest grows along the upper edge of the gorge. The 20-meter Nikitskaya chasm stretches from east to west for almost 200 m. The kingdom of gloomy rocks is complemented by stone chaos and scree, deep cracks in the limestone mass displaced along the mountain slope, from which cold emanates even in hot weather. summer days. These rocks are a kind of natural condenser and moisture accumulator. All three exits from the Nikitskaya cleft are cluttered with majestic pyramidal salas. The steepness of the gorge attracts rock climbers, and the romantic beauty of the rocks attracts artists and filmmakers. Nikitsky rocks are the only and unique rock climbing center in Crimea. On Nikitsky rocks There are 85 hooked routes of categories from 4 to 8c+.
| № | Name | Length | Col. from. | Category |
| Sector A | ||||
| 1 | Scam | 17 | 8 | 6b+ |
| 2 | Ratchet | 16 | 8 | 6a |
| 3 | Goliath | 19 | 10 | 6c |
| 4 | Fandanga | 22 | 10 | 7c |
| 5 | Repeat | 22 | 11 | 7a |
| 6 | Hype | 15 | 8 | 6b |
| 7 | Marilyn | 26 | 13 | 7a+ |
| 8 | Limpopo | 14 | 8 | 6b |
| 9 | Wise | 19 | 10 | 7c+ |
| 10 | Wanderer | 19 | 11 | 8a |
| 11 | Union | 18 | 10 | 6c+ |
| 12 | Esaul | 27 | 14 | 8a |
| 13 | Asteroid | 25 | 12 | 6c+ |
| 14 | Chameleon | 24 | 12 | 7a |
| 15 | Agate | 25 | 11 | 6b+ |
| 16 | Balm for the soul | 22 | 13 | 6c |
| 17 | Gusto | 21 | 11 | 7a |
| 18 | Indiana Jones | 21 | 11 | 6b+ |
| 19 | Tomboy | 22 | 12 | 6b+ |
| 20 | Matador | 14 | 8 | 8c+ |
| 21 | Centaur | 15 | 8 | 8b+ |
| 22 | Fantastic | 16 | 8 | 8a+ |
| 23 | Pilgrim | 26 | 13 | 7c |
| 24 | Caravan | 26 | 12 | 7b |
| 25 | Nerve | 27 | 13 | 7a |
| № | Name | Length | Col. from. | Category |
| Sector B | ||||
| 1 | Aborigine | 27 | 14 | 6b+ / 7a+ |
| 2 | King of the Hill | 27 | 12 | 6c |
| 3 | Scythian | 26 | 13 | 8b+ |
| 4 | Squadron | 25 | 11 | 8a |
| 5 | Helicopter | 21 | 10 | 7c |
| 6 | Car kiss | 19 | 9 | 6b+ |
| 7 | Quarry | 19 | 10 | 6c+ |
| 8 | On horseback | 23 | 11 | 7c+ |
| 9 | Anniversary | 22 | 11 | 7a |
| 10 | Benefit | 22 | 11 | 7a |
| 11 | Don't throw grandma into the nettles | 22 | 11 | 7c |
| 12 | Last rollout | 20 | 10 | 7a/7b |
| 13 | Monkey | 20 | 9 | 6b+ |
| 14 | The daring Pashka | 19 | 9 | 8a |
| 15 | Love games | 18 | 10 | 7a+ |
| 16 | Breeze | 17 | 8 | 8a+ |
| 17 | Clown | 16 | 9 | 7b |
| 18 | Mowgli | 15 | 8 | 7a |
| 19 | Call of the Jungle | 13 | 6 | 6b+ |
| № | Name | Length | Col. from. | Category |
| Sector C | ||||
| 1 | Thorn | 5 | 3 | |
| 2 | Tile | 9 | 5 | |
| 3 | Myth | 10 | 6 | |
| 4 | Red Fox | 25 | 13 | 7a |
| 5 | Little vampire | 16 | 8 | 6c+ |
| 6 | American Gregory | 21 | 11 | 7a |
| 7 | Abyss | 19 | 11 | 8 ? |
| 8 | North Pole | 20 | 11 | 5a |
| 9 | Bastion | 20 | 11 | 5b |
| 10 | Painter | 21 | 11 | 5b |
| 11 | Firefly | 18 | 10 | 5b |
| 12 | Cornice | 5 | 3 | |
| 13 | 9 | 5 | ||
| 14 | Kant | 5 | 3 | |
| 15 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 16 | KONG | 19 | 9 | 5s |
| 17 | Pinery | 18 | 9 | 5b |
| 18 | Fresh breeze | 15 | 7 | 4 |
| 19 | Chafer | 15 | 7 | 4 |
|
Name
We ask everyone who has already been to our climbing walls more than once and those who come for the first time to pay attention to the following information:
1. Length of routes (even familiar ones) and number of quickdraws. That is: it is advisable to have a rope 60 meters long and a set of guy lines of 15 pieces.
2. In connection with the equipment of climbing walls with modern descending devices - rigidly fixed carabiners - to organize the “top belay”, a quickdraw is additionally used, which is snapped into the descending device (carabiner) when setting the route, and then the top rope is snapped into the quickdraw.
This allows you to save the trigger carbine.
3. Route categories are pre-defined. The information will be updated throughout the year. Current information on rock routes can be obtained from Andrey Vedenmeer (Yalta).
4. Carefully read the documents regulating your stay at our climbing walls. This will help create comfortable conditions for everyone: RULES for staying at the climbing walls of Big Yalta, RULES for safety when conducting classes at the climbing walls of Big Yalta
Best regards, M.S. Panferova, Honored Trainer of Ukraine, International Master of Sports.
When I emerged from the forest and saw THIS, I couldn’t help but sigh “Wow!” After all, we were very close so many times and were too lazy to walk a couple of hundred meters from the stop to look at this miracle. And the place is truly amazing - very close to the road there is such exotic rock! At the entrance, as if stone guard.
The boulders that fell from above at the bottom of the rocky corridor formed a stone chaos along which the path whimsically meanders, leading to the upper edge of the gorge. From here, from the side of Yalta, it is visible through and impresses with its wildness: on the cliffs here and there single specimens of juniper and Crimean pine manage to grow. The cracks sheltered the Crimean liana (evergreen ivy). About a hundred species of plants grow in a small area of the tract, among which you can see the red trunks of the evergreen small-fruited strawberry.
In the middle of the gorge, in the southern rock, there is a deep crack covered with a protective net. From here, even in the summer heat, it is constantly cold. And the rays of the sun do not penetrate into the crevice itself for most of the day. Cold rocks act like moisture condensers. Therefore, even in the hot summer, it feels cool here. Small narrow cracks and grottoes are also found on the northern side of the gorge. In the western part of the gorge there was a medieval settlement, as evidenced by fragments of ceramics.
The upper entrance to the chasm is crowned by an original stone pyramid, named after the famous landscape specialist Professor Nikolai Adolfovich Solntsev, who explored these places.
Smooth and steep rock surfaces have become a favorite place for rock climbers to train. Their groups can be found here almost at any time. In the rocks themselves, if you look closely, you can find many clogged climbing pitons used for belaying. Some climbing routes from below are signed with humorous names, probably reflecting the climber’s posture and climbing style depending on the topography of the rock surface.
And of course, the relief of the Nikitskaya Cleft could not help but enter Crimean folklore. On website about Alushta(from which I took information about the gorge) you can read the legend about Mary and her seven brothers who died defending themselves in these rocks from the Janissaries who came to take the proud girl to Istanbul to the Sultan’s harem.
While I was walking around the crevice in an inner circle, studying the names of the numerous climbing routes, the marks of which dotted the rocks, somehow the fog suddenly descended and the rain began to drizzle. However, for some time I didn’t even pay attention to it - after all, the local exoticism in the blink of an eye was transformed into mysterious oriental landscapes. I take a few “Chinese” shots and run back to the entrance - I want to show what is happening in the gorge as widely as possible.
But the rocks in the depths are no longer visible - everything was hidden by fog. It's time to take a break and put on a raincoat. It looks like they won’t show me anything else here - I have to go to the tulips. How on time I arrived - if I was half an hour late, I wouldn’t have seen anything here - at all! So, we can say that my last April day in Crimea gave me a luxurious gift - in sunny weather, I think there would have been much less impressions...
It is one of the most favorite places for tourists. Except pure south sea and the variety of beaches, in this part of the peninsula all kinds of attractions are concentrated as much as possible, a visit to which leaves no time for boredom. Such places that definitely need to be visited include the Nikitskaya Cleft (Ayan Rocks or Nikitskaya Cleft). This attraction is so called because it is located next to the village of Nikita - in the part opposite coastline. From the Yalta-Alushta highway you can also easily get to the Nikitskaya Cleft, although it is not visible from the highway.
Geographic coordinates of the Nikitskaya Cleft on the map of Crimea GPS - N 44.5188 E 34.2282.
In the village of Nikita, an excursion path begins that leads to the Nikitskaya crevice. It passes through a cedar grove, constantly rushing upward. But very soon a flat area surrounded by rock formations opens before the travelers’ eyes. This is the Nikitskaya Cleft.
It is more than two hundred meters long, and the height of its walls in some places exceeds fifty meters. The distance from wall to wall is about thirty meters. 
On the one side Nikitskaya Cleft there is a rock completely entwined with vines. It remains richly green all summer, since the microclimate here is quite humid, and the bright Crimean sun practically does not reach here. By the way, such climatic conditions make it possible for juniper, pistachio, strawberry, oak, dogwood, hornbeam, wild pear to grow beautifully here - and this is far from full list plants that the Nikitskaya Cleft is rich in.
The western edge of the chasm is presented in the form of a stone blockage, the height of which is commensurate with the height of the tract itself. Also in this part, fragments of dishes of ancient people were found, for whom the Nikitsky crevice acted as a home. A deep crack has formed in the south. To prevent its expansion, it was reinforced with a metal mesh. Many small cracks and small grottoes cover the northern rock. An unusual fact is that all four sides of the cleft have different colors: black, gray, beige and even orange.
More Nikitskaya Cleft is a place for training climbers. They even equipped several routes for rock climbers with varying levels of training. Many champions were brought up in this mountainous part of Crimea.
And film crews have come here more than once. “Sportloto 82”, “Children of Captain Grant”, “White Explosion” - all these films were created within the Nikitskaya Cleft. Nikitskaya Cleft is one of the most beautiful
