What does the Crimean cave Emine-Bair-Khosar look like and how to get to it?

Emine-Bair-Khosar cave is better known as Mammoth. It is one of the most fabulous and unusual places on the Crimean peninsula. Upon entering it, you get the feeling that you are in the home of fabulous creatures that live in their underground world in peace and quiet, far from the bustle of the world. Every tourist should visit this unique natural monument.

The name Emine-Bair-Khosar, translated from the ancient Turkic language, means “a well on a mountainside near an oak tree”, but the people call it Mamontova. The fact is that it was here that the skeleton of a mammoth was once discovered, which today can be seen in one of the halls.

This unique cave owes its appearance to a whole set of factors:

• geological processes lasting millions of years;
• natural conditions of the Crimean mountains;
• the originality of the landscape;
• the structure of the rocks that make up the rocks.

A large amount of precipitation turned the depressions into deep wells, and the latter transformed into long tunnels, which gave rise to underground rivers that grind stone from the inside.

The age of Emine-Bair-Khosar is estimated at 10 million years, but the study of the Mammoth Cave, scientists began only in 1927. Since 1970 speleological expeditions there have become regular, however, if you listen to the local folklore, it becomes obvious that people knew about the existence of this cave much earlier.

One very beautiful legend is connected with the cave, according to which a beautiful young beauty Emine, in love with the shepherd Bair, lived near the foot of the Chatyr-Dag mountain. The young people dreamed of getting married and planned a wedding after the harvest. But the cruel Khan Selyamet saw the girl and wanted to get her for himself. To achieve his insidious goal, he decided to get rid of the shepherd, for this he ordered the guy to go to the wild forest and exterminate the wild boar living there.

Only in this case was the khan ready to give his consent to this wedding. Bair rushed to the top of the mountain, leading the angry angry boars away with him. He knew there was a deep well there. His horse easily jumped over, and the boars, one after the other, disappeared into the funnel. Bair felt tired and decided to settle down for the night on the stones nearby, but in the middle of the night he woke up and accidentally fell into a well.

The shepherd's faithful horse was very smart, he himself returned to the village and galloped straight to Emine, who immediately felt trouble. The beauty rushed in search of her beloved. When the horse brought her to the well, she carefully went down - there she found the groom, wounded, but alive.

With an effort, overcoming the terrible pain, the young people went upstairs and returned to their village, and when Bair recovered, they played the long-awaited wedding. The locals have since nicknamed the mysterious cave Emine-Bair-Khosar.

One of the most beautiful caves of the Crimean peninsula, Emine-Bair-Khosar, is located at the lower level of Chatyr-Dag Mountain, so everyone who goes on an excursion will have a unique opportunity to admire the picturesque mountain views. The only entrance to it has the shape of a well with steeply descending walls, the height of which is about 16 meters. Mass access for tourists to the Mammoth Cave was opened relatively recently - in 1994, when cavers were able to break through a horizontal tunnel, making the descent into the cavity safe for people without special physical training.

The cave consists of several halls that merge into each other. The total length is 2 km, but tourists can visit no more than half. Emine-Bair-Khosar consists of five levels, with the upper one located at a depth of 30 m from the surface, and the lower one taking visitors 180 m away. The temperature here, even in summer, does not rise above 5 degrees, and the humidity is almost 100%. All halls and galleries available to tourists are equipped with stairs and handrails. Bright illumination was carried out everywhere.

It is impossible to get lost in this cave. Therefore, if you do not deviate from the planned route, then there will be no need for a map.

Interestingly, experiments were carried out several years ago: the goal of the researchers was to find out how people would feel in a cave for 21 days. It was found that humid air had the most beneficial effect on all biochemical processes in the human body. The subjects easily, almost imperceptibly for themselves, passed from 24 to 48 hours and at the same time did not get tired at all. In a cold environment, the aging process of cells slows down, and the nervous system gradually stabilizes. But there were also side effects: from being in constant darkness, the brain did not receive the required amount of light and responded to such unusual conditions with colored hallucinations.

Acquaintance with the cave begins from the spacious Main Hall. It is a grotto with a length of about 120 m. At a height of about 40 meters, there is the same well, which is described in local legends and legends. It looks like the mouth of a volcano. The hall houses a paleontological museum.Here you can see the skeletons of mammoths that lived in these places hundreds of thousands of years ago, including the mammoth Kolya, whose skeleton was named after the paleontologist Nikolash who discovered it. Scientists found that the baby mammoth was very young, no more than 12-15 years old, its body weight was about two tons, and its height was about three meters. This exhibit lies in the main hall of the headless cave - during the fall of the animal, its skull split into small fragments.

Every year archaeologists unearth the remains of some new animals, but the woolly rhinoceros is considered the oldest. Its age is determined at about 50 thousand years. He is accompanied by three adult mammoths, as well as cave bears and saber-toothed tigers, which have long since disappeared from the face of the earth.

The remains of a man in the cave have not yet been found. Archaeologists tend to think that people knew about the well and were extremely careful when moving around the mountain range. The Lake Hall looks very unusual and truly fantastic. As the name implies, there is an underground lake, its depth varies depending on the level of precipitation, on average it is 55-65 m. The water remains icy throughout the year.

The Hall of Idols looks spectacular, here you can see bizarre miraculous figures up to 10 meters high. On the lower level, drip formations are located, which look like melted caramel of various colors - from fawn to dark chocolate with frequent intersperses of minerals sparkling in the snow.

The Treasury is very beautiful - a small but truly stunning hall. Thanks to the helices, spiral, threadlike, and curly shapes are formed here, which shimmer in all the colors of the rainbow in the rays of light.

Kecskemet is a hall, the main attraction of which is a pair of small pillars made of stalagmites. One of them resembles a small volcano, while the other is pure white. By the way, it is he who is called the master of the cave.

The Throne Room is also open to tourists. Here you can see an unusual formation, which received the name "Cap of Monomakh", it consists of a semi-liquid viscous substance of snow-white color. Its height is about 15 meters, and from the side, the formation looks like a giant mushroom.

The Hostess's Hall is located at a depth of 70 m. It is considered the lowest area accessible for excursions. The hall got its name because of the unique education in the center, vaguely reminiscent of a female figure. Only about 700 meters are open for tourists to visit, but they are quite enough to get the most indescribable emotions and enjoy the opening picture.

Without a doubt, Emine-Bair-Khosar is a cave that is interesting for many tourists who prefer active rest. It is not surprising that many visitors to Crimea dream of being in this place. The easiest way is to use the services of a tour operator - almost all agencies conduct organized excursions, providing a tourist car that will take travelers to their destination.

For lovers of independent travel, it is better to get there by public transport: To do this, take a trolleybus, following route No. 51 or No. 52, leaving from Simferopol, or take a suburban minibus "Yalta - Simferopol", get off near the village, from there walk to the village of Mramornoye, from where follow the signs straight to the entrance to the cave ... If you plan to take an excursion in your car, then you need to go from the capital of the peninsula along the Yalta highway, from there turn to Mramorny.

If you decide to visit the Mammoth Cave, then you should use some useful recommendations.

• It is rather cold and damp in the cave, so clothes should be appropriate: you need a jacket or a warm jacket, a hat is desirable for children.
• Shoes should be athletic, comfortable, and the surface should be moisture resistant. Sandals, flip-flops, and high-heeled shoes don't work here.
• Be sure to photograph whatever you deem necessary in the direction of travel. Nobody will give you a separate time for photo and video filming.

In the next video you can take a closer look at the Emine-Bair-Khosar cave.