Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Crimea: description and location

The botanical garden is usually a purely local attraction, which can be found in any large city, and even the locals do not always know where it is. In this regard, the Nikitsky Botanical Garden is an amazing exception to the rule, since it, located in the resort and comprehensively interesting Yalta, is considered one of the main attractions not only of this resort, but of the entire Crimea as a whole. If you are not fond of botany, it probably makes no sense to go here especially for it, but if you are already in these parts, be sure to visit this kingdom of flora.

Among other botanical gardens Nikitsky is distinguished by the fact that it is "the most" in many respects. It's worth starting at least with the fact that it has a huge area of ​​1100 hectares - unlike many other similar places, it is quite possible to get lost here. Besides, at least on the scale of Eastern Europe, this is the oldest botanical garden - its founder Christian Steven planted the first trees here back in 1812... Finally, the garden is located in the south in relation to both Russia and Ukraine, it is located in the subtropical zone, which for most of the citizens of these countries is already a wonder in itself, which means that thanks to the peculiarities of the climate, various southern plants from all over the world.

These are not only banal greenhouses, but also a full-fledged arboretum, that is, an arboretum - a place where woody and some other plants are grown directly in the open field. The planting of botanical species is carried out in accordance with a certain system, therefore, walking here, you can very naturally imagine that you are in a completely different country, and make a virtual, but very plausible trip around the world in just one day.

Nikitsky Botanical Garden, like the entire Crimean Peninsula, is the subject of a territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine, but in both cases its high status is recognized. Within the framework of the Russian definition, it is assigned regional significance within the Crimea, as for Ukraine, it does consider it to be an object of national significance.

In 1811, at the request of the Kherson military governor of Richelieu, Count Vorontsov and the chief inspector for silkworm breeding, Biberstein, Alexander I signed a decree establishing a state botanical garden, for which he ordered to allocate 10 thousand rubles annually. The foundation date of the institution, however, is considered to be the next year, 1812, when in March the first director, the already mentioned botanist Steven, was appointed, and in September the first plants were planted.

At first, the arboretum was conceived for a practical purpose - mainly fruit and ornamental trees of exotic varieties were planted here, which in the mild subtropical conditions of the Crimea could be propagated and gradually acclimatized to Russian conditions. Already in 1815, the first catalog of the garden was published, which included 174 plant species - however, 95 of them were apple varieties, and another 58 were pear varieties. The usefulness of the institution quickly became apparent, and the directors began to be sent on foreign trips at public expense to better study the local flora.

The successors turned out to be no less active - the collection continued to grow, and in 1828 a special school was even opened here, where one could learn practical gardening. At the same time, vineyards first appeared here, which later became the base for a whole research institute of viticulture and winemaking.

At the end of the 19th century, the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens experienced a certain decline. - they began to finance it less, because the collection grew more slowly, selection experiments were practically not carried out, and the main emphasis was placed on teaching students in the adjoining school. Only in 1907, with the advent of prominent botanists Kuznetsov and Wulf, the research resumed, and the latter, a few years later, also collected a unique Crimean herbarium of 100 thousand sheets.

During the Second World War, the arboretum was close to destruction - the military did not care at all about the safety of the arboretum, and the Germans also removed the famous Wulf's herbarium. He, however, still managed to find and return.

On most maps, especially if they are not particularly detailed, the Nikitsky Botanical Garden is not marked. Moreover, Nikita is usually not indicated there - this is the name of the village of 2 thousand inhabitants, to which the arboretum is "assigned". However, the settlement in the administrative-territorial plan is subordinate to Yalta, and that one is already much larger and more famous, therefore it appears on most maps.

If you even have no idea where it is, look for Yalta in that part of the map where the Crimean Peninsula is sandwiched between the Black and Azov Seas - roughly speaking, it is to the south and a little to the west (down and slightly to the left) of Moscow. Yalta, and with it Nikita and the botanical garden, are located in the southernmost part of the Crimean peninsula, on its famous southern coast, almost directly south of Simferopol.

The easiest way to get here is from neighboring Yalta - the distance along the highway does not exceed 10 km anywhere, and with normal driving on your own or rented car, you can get here in 20 minutes. In this case, you need to focus on the routes leading towards Gurzuf and Alushta.

Naturally, such a popular and demanded attraction could not remain devoid of public transport - it is included in the Yalta city system. Here is the final stop of not only buses 29 and 34, but also intercity trolleybuses 2 and 53. A big plus of public transport is that you will not get lost with it - it will drop you off right in front of the entrance gate. There is an even more romantic way to get here - to sail by boat, and although they go much less often and move more slowly, this draws on a separate adventure.

If you are coming from other settlements, it is most logical to choose the transport that goes to Yalta. The city does not have its own railway station, and in general in Crimea it is tough with railway communication, however, the city is connected by direct bus routes to all ends of the peninsula, as well as to many cities of the European part of Russia - Moscow, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don , Sochi and many others. For those arriving from afar, it will be logical to use the Simferopol airport, which is connected with 70 cities of Russia by direct air communication, and from there go to Yalta in any convenient way.

Nikitsky Botanical Garden is a whole complex of not only botanical, but also auxiliary infrastructure. It is extremely difficult to list everything that is in it, therefore we will select only the most important objects.

• Upper and lower gardens. Together, these two sections make up the Arboretum - the main part of the garden, where the predominant part of the woody exotic plants of the botanical garden grows. It was from here that a nursery of cultivated fruit and ornamental plants once began, eventually growing to a whole botanical garden per thousand hectares.

• Park "Montedor". This part of the arboretum was closed to visitors for a long time, but it was reopened a few years ago. From the outside, this is a typical Crimean park, only slightly supplemented by exotic plants, but it was created by the hands of professional landscape designers, which is why it can be considered a real example of gardening art.

• Cactus greenhouse. Anyone who enjoys the typical Mexican landscapes should come here - there is a truly huge collection of various succulents, consisting of more than a thousand species. A separate ticket is not sold here - this is a kind of bonus to the Montedor park.

• Reserve "Cape Martyan". This protected area is, as it were, a separate object of particular interest due to the preserved juniper forest, which is at least 5 centuries old. The territory of the reserve is adjacent to the botanical garden, whose researchers are conducting scientific experiments here.

• Health Center. Not every botanical garden can boast of its own sanatorium, but Nikitsky even has this. The building is relatively small, but equipped with everything you need, and here you can really improve your health, because the sea, the beach and the reserve are located nearby, there is no industry nearby, and the air is crystal clear.

• Research and Innovation Center (SIC). This facility was created specifically so that experts in the field of agricultural sciences could gather at conventions and conferences, improve their own skills, or even undertake postgraduate practice after graduation. Such visitors do not need to look for a hotel somewhere in Yalta and solve transport issues for travel there and back on a daily basis - the SIC itself provides a hotel for such cases.

Nikita's botanical fund consists of thousands of varieties of trees and smaller flora, which are intelligently grouped in such a way that it gives an idea of ​​a certain region of the earth and allows you to create an example of attractive landscape design.

Even today, the collection of presented plants is still being replenished, including due to new imported species, but in general, the park has long since begun to reproduce itself, therefore local gardeners themselves grow seedlings and seedlings in specially designated places. In addition, botanists working in the structure of the botanical garden carry out experiments and selective experiments, due to which new varieties of well-known plants are still being developed.

In addition to large sections of the botanical garden, there are also relatively small exhibitions, a visit to which can leave no less vivid impressions than the entire park as a whole. Some of them work constantly, others receive guests only in a certain season, but it is worth going for a short run at least through the main ones - suddenly for you they will become the main highlight and the best memory.

• Dinosaur exhibition appeared in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden relatively recently, but almost immediately won the crazy love of children, and even among adults she is interesting to many people. In principle, the organizers simply placed in the Primorsky Park life-size sculptures of ancient reptiles, which here and there peep out of the thickets, frightening some visitors, and plunging others into delight. This is one of the most popular photo zones in the entire botanical garden.

• Tulip parade - a traditional spring exhibition showing how diverse these beautiful flowers can be. In recent decades, similar events have been organized even in some large cities abroad, attracting thousands of tourists during the flowering of tulips, and it would be a shame for a real botanical garden not to have something like that. As a rule, the opening is scheduled for the first half of April, but in each year certain chronological shifts are possible due to the peculiarities of the weather.

• Chrysanthemum ball in terms of semantic content, it resembles a parade of tulips, only it is appointed for autumn - during the flowering period of these flowers. They are usually perceived with a little less reverence than tulips, but the efforts of local botanists, who re-create impressive flower beds every year, create a real work of art. In Japan, they have already realized that such a flower bed can look very interesting, but it is not always necessary to go so far - there is no worse at hand. This event takes place in November, when even the subtropics have already largely succumbed to the influence of autumn, because the last bright colors have a special magic.

The beauty of the botanical garden in Nikita is that you can come here at any time of the year - there is always something interesting here.Of course, in winter and in February-March, the local flora may seem poorer than from April to October, but then it becomes possible to see in bloom, albeit in a greenhouse, those plants that simply do not grow in our climate. That is why avid lovers of botany do not visit the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in a certain season - for them it can be interesting at absolutely any moment.

The same roses bloom here almost all year round, not to mention greenhouse crops, which may have their own, completely different from the usual flowering schedule for us. Various tropical vines may not bloom in spring, as might be expected, but in the New Year, delighting visitors with bright colors. Of course, if you are not too well versed in botany, and arrived at the botanical garden in the cold months of the year, it makes special sense to study the situation in advance or book an organized excursion, otherwise you can pay for a simple walk through the winter forest.

Nikitsky Botanical Garden allows both independent visits and ordering excursions. Experienced visitors are advised not to be greedy and to use the services of a guide - only he can really reveal everything interesting, tell a lot about plants that you might seem unremarkable against the background of the rest of the greenery. At the same time, a beginner, even if he is an experienced botanist, cannot figure it out without a map, so if you walk on your own, it is better to download the map in advance or buy it at the entrance.

The park's opening hours change three times a year. The institution works longest in the summer - from 8 to 20 hours, in winter the working day is greatly reduced - from 9 to 16 hours. October is a special month, it has its own schedule - during this period the arboretum is open from 8 to 18 hours.

Please note that there are a large number of temporary and permanent exhibitions on the territory of the botanical garden, which are not included in the price of the main ticket. There is no universal ticket to all expositions, except perhaps as part of a large excursion, so it is worth stocking up on money - the price tags are not shocking, but they also do not offer an overview of at least half of the territory. An adult will be admitted to the Arboretum for 300 rubles, and a schoolchild - for 150, in the Montedor park - for 150 and 100 rubles, respectively. The dinosaur exhibition, located in the Primorsky Park, will require 500 rubles per person, but discounts are provided not only for children, but also for students with retirees - 300 rubles will be taken from each of them.

A full tour of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden will cost the visitor several thousand rubles, but, as we can see, there are discounts for children. At the same time, a number of visitors are offered free admission to most branches of the botanical garden. In most cases, these are categories of citizens who enjoy preferential rights also in many other situations. Perhaps the most demanded benefit is for children under 7 years old; if you have three or more minor children, you can also apply for a free admission.

The rules of conduct on the territory of the arboretum are logical, but still we will briefly go through them again. You cannot enter the territory on your own transport, and you are also not allowed to walk on the lawns or have a halt or a picnic on them, or walk pets. It is forbidden to collect any plant materials for any purpose, even if it is fallen leaves, all the more it is not allowed to cause any harm to local vegetation. Professional photography in the botvny garden is possible only after agreement with the administration of the institution. Violation of any of the above rules will result in a monetary fine. Park employees have the right at any time to demand the presentation of an entrance ticket, therefore, the cashier's receipt must be kept.

Description and location of the Nikitinsky Botanical Garden in the video below.