What to see in the Marble Cave in Crimea and how to get to it?

Crimea is not just a vacation on comfortable beaches and swimming in the warm sea. Many tourists prefer to climb the mountain peaks, and even more visitors combine both types of these activities. Such enthusiasts will be interested in the famous Marble Cave. It is known that the Crimea hides many miracles miracles, and deep in its depths there is no less interesting than on the surface.

The Marble Cave is the main attraction of the Chatyr-Dag mountain range. It is located on the lowest plateau, the complex itself includes three caves, which are recognized as the most beautiful on the territory of Crimea and are included in the TOP-5 of the most interesting in Europe. The cave is recommended for visiting all vacationers on the peninsula. The marble cave was discovered relatively recently - in 1987, and a couple of years later it was opened for visiting tourists.

It should be noted that the history of this unique place is completely different from the usual stories about serious speleological expeditions. The cave, which at that time was called "Afganka", was discovered by an ordinary shepherd, who was looking for a sheep that had lagged behind the flock on the mountainside. However, the official honor to be considered the pioneers of this natural monument belongs to the Simferopol cavers.

The Marble Cave got its name immediately after it was established that approximately 90% of its entire surface is made up of marbled limestone. The entrance to the cave is located at an elevation of 920 m. It has been established that it appeared many millions of years ago, as a result of the erosion of rocks.At present, the cave is fully adapted for visiting excursion groups: paths have been laid here, lighting has been organized, and protective fences have been erected. Tourists can follow one of several routes of varying degrees of difficulty.

The total length of the Marble Cave is about 2 km, and includes 3 tiers. It should be noted that not all grottoes of this unique place are accessible for visiting - to be in some areas, you need serious climbing training, which not every visitor to the Marble Cave can boast of.

However, this is not the only reason why many of the grottoes of the Marble Cave are closed to tourists. The fact is that people can cause significant harm to a natural monument even by being in it - together with drafts, gusts of wind, carbon dioxide and dust, green algae penetrate inside, which, under illumination lamps, begin to grow, destroying the fragile rock.

Of course, the servants of the cave periodically clean off the growths, maintain the required temperature and a given level of lighting in the room, but still it is difficult to resist nature. All this led to the fact that in the cave there are not only closed, but even cemented halls, to which only selected scientists have access, and even then every few years. This precaution is by no means superfluous - the fact is that natural gems perish not so much from human touch as from heat, light and breath.

The marble cave consists of several levels, each containing several rooms. At the very top you can find the Gallery of Fairy Tales - all routes start from here. You can find here The owner of the cave, the Frog Princess, the Mammoth, and even Santa Claus - they all seemed to be frozen in stone... These figures were created by nature itself, and in all their appearance they resemble the favorite heroes of children's books - hence the name of the cave.

Some other sculptures look more like beautiful stone flowers growing right on the walls. Huge stalactites with giant druses hang everywhere, taking on the most intricate forms.

On the side of the Gallery of Fairy Tales, the Tiger Pass with a length of about 400 m opens. It was discovered in the 90s of the last century, and was named after the remains of a large animal found here, which at first was mistaken for one of the most dangerous ancient predators - the saber-toothed tiger. Later it turned out that it was a cave lion, but they did not change the name of the passage. Tourists note that the Tiger Pass is much more beautiful than all the other passages of the cave.

Of great interest and Perestroika Hall length of 150 meters. Here you can find stalactites called Minaret, Dragon, and Zombies.

Returning to the Gallery of Fairy Tales, you can move to the second level. Opened for visitors since 2006 The Pink, Luster and Theater Halls, as well as the Hall of Hopes and the Vernadsky Hall. Their total length is 600-700 m. The Pink Hall got its name from the stone flowers that look like roses - they literally covered the vault of the cave. By the way, it is over this place that the Tiger Run passes.

In the Hall of Hopes visitors can see cascades of streams of golden color, which form something like altars, where the inhabitants of the most ancient civilizations left their sacrifices to higher powers. Outwardly, these altars vaguely resemble giant jellyfish, which sent their stone tentacles into the depths of the cave.

The largest hall on the second level - Balcony, it is divided into two floors by a huge step.The upper compartment resembles a balcony, decorated with whimsical shades. Of great interest is the Chandelier Hall, the vault of which is decorated with hundreds of thinnest tubes, reminiscent of surreal chandeliers - some of them hang down almost to the floor.

The halls located on the first, lowest level are currently closed to tourists. Here, for millions of years, water has carved openwork pools at the bottom, so it seems that the entire space under your feet is covered with pearls.

For lovers of everything mystical and mysterious, there are a couple of grottoes here that will make you really start to be afraid of ghosts. For romantics in the Marble Cave there are stone pillars created by stalactites and stalagmites that have grown together with them; they are popularly called "kisses".

Currently, the issue of opening routes for people with speleological training is being considered. In the Marble Cave, concerts of symphonic music orchestras are often held, and each such performance is always accompanied by a full house. Connoisseurs of good music know that the acoustics of even the best halls cannot be compared with the sound characteristics of caves. In a place like this, classical music sounds more cameral, powerful and incredibly epic.

The Marble Cave is a rather unusual tourist attraction, therefore, for all visitors, there are strict rules that they must follow.

• It is forbidden to visit the cave on your own, only excursion groups are allowed inside, in which professional speleologists act as accompanying persons.
• When inspecting the cave, all visitors must stick together, any lag behind the group is fraught with the most dangerous consequences.
• It is strictly forbidden to visit the cave under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Tourists with animals and weapons are not allowed inside. Smoking is not allowed inside the cave.
• To visit a natural site, no special climbing equipment is required, but it must be borne in mind that a sharp drop in altitude can cause adverse symptoms from the cardiovascular system of visitors, many complain of tinnitus, like on an airplane, therefore it will not be superfluous to stock up lollipops that do an excellent job of this problem.
• Please note that the air temperature in the cave never rises above 9 degrees, while the humidity is 98-100%, and the minimum duration of the excursion is half an hour. Therefore, it is advisable to dress warmly in advance, children will need a hat. However, at the entrance to the cave, you can always rent jackets and sweaters.
• Tourists are not allowed to go to the first floor, but if the visitor nevertheless decides to go down there, then he will need sports shoes (we remind you that visiting the lower tier is possible only for people with professional speleological training).
• And, of course, do not miss the moment to photograph all the beauties of the place in which you find yourself - on the way back, the guide will not give you the opportunity to stop to capture all the works of miraculous art, which have no equal in the whole world.

The price of the excursion in 2019 is:

• Gallery of Fairy Tales - 30 minutes. /500 rubles;
• transition "Gallery of fairy tales - Pearls of the lake" - 50 minutes / 600 rubles;
• transition "Gallery of fairy tales - Tiger trail" - 60 minutes / 600 rubles;
• visiting all premises - 80 minutes / 700 rubles;
• excursion to the Chatyr-Dag caves - 1400 rubles.

Children under 5 years old can enter the cave for free... There is a 50% discount for children between the ages of 5 and 12. Some tourists seek to save money and buy a ticket for the cheapest excursion route, however, such an excursion turns out to be short, and neither morally nor financially does not “beat off” the effort and money spent on getting to the cave.

The marble cave is located immediately below the lower part of the Chatyr-Dag plateau, next to it there are a couple of other caves: Tysyachegolovaya and Kholodnaya. According to the map, the nearest settlement to the natural monument is the village of Mramornoye. The Marble Cave can be reached by car or public transport. To do this, you need to take buses going along the Alushta-Simferopol or Yalta-Simferopol route, get to Mramornoye, and then walk 8 km.

The easiest way is to take a taxi or sign up for an organized excursion, which includes travel on the ordered bus. This kind of service is provided by travel agencies of all cities of Crimea, including the capital.

The Marble Cave is undoubtedly one of the most attractive places in Crimea, which is very popular with all tourists who come to rest on this peninsula. This is one of the main wonders for which the Crimean peninsula is famous, and which attract tourists from different parts of our country, and not only to it. The Marble Cave has not completely revealed all its mysteries to people, you can come back here again and again, each time discovering something new and not previously known.

For information on how to get to the Marble Cave, see the next video.