«The amazing is near» — this phrase reflects the character of one of the most striking sights of Ukraine.
Valley of Ghosts — a completely unique, little describable by words place, a magnificent natural phenomenon. In its beauty it surpasses many of the more well-known due to intensive advertising promotion of attractions, such as the Rocky Mountains in the United States, for example.
To see a real fairy tale, embodied in stone by nature itself, to enjoy the striking splendor of the landscape and to gain vivid impressions you do not have to go to distant overseas lands. All these wonders are gathered in one place near Alushta — in the Valley of Ghosts.
The Valley of Ghosts is a cluster of bizarre stone cliffs on the Southern slope and at the foot of Demerdzhi Mountain near Alushta. See one of the largest sculptures, called «Catherine’s head», you can still from the highway Simferopol-Alushta, but, without a doubt, this unique place deserves a separate visit — to see it and penetrate into the mysteries of this attraction, it will take at least a few hours.
The Valley of Ghosts received its name due to the amazing feature: stone blocks, everywhere scattered at the foot of the mountain, in the pre-sunset time begin to cast bizarre shadows, quickly moving and as if trying to get somewhere, and the mountain itself almost every hour because of changes in lighting changes its color. Many tourists come here to see these mysterious phenomena with their own eyes. But the mountain landscape itself is no less impressive.
There and there are scattered rocks of amazing shape, resembling the figures and faces of people, fairy-tale animals, mythical creatures, it does not even need to strain the imagination — so obvious are these associations, although each person in the same rock can see something different. It is interesting that, like Mount Demerdzhi, the rocks change their appearance depending on the lighting — such a spectacle pleasantly surprises people interested in paranormal phenomena.
The Valley of Ghosts is not only a natural monument of state importance, but also a zone of natural anomalies, this place has become a pilgrimage for people with psychic abilities. At sunset and at dawn, real miracles happen here — stone sculptures come to life and move silently at the foot of the mountain, but this phenomenon is just a figment of the imagination, caused by substances that are released by herbs growing only here.
The list of interesting facts about Haunted Valley is seemingly endless. Thus, the origin of the bizarre images locals associate with one legend. In ancient times, conquerors led by a sorcerer called Blackbeard came here. The barbarians sent all the men from the village located at the foot of the mountain to the forge they created on the top of the mountain, while they terrorized the whole area. The flames blown up in the forge dried up the land and rivers, destroyed all the nature around, and famine began. Then the girl Catherine went to the sorcerer to ask him to leave her native land. The evil sorcerer killed her, and then the god of the mountain inflicted punishment on everyone: flames burst from its top, and huge boulders rolled down the slopes, destroying everything around. The statues, according to this legend, are warriors who tried to escape from the punishment.
The Valley of Ghosts also attracts things closer to reality: here you can see one of the most famous trees in the Crimea — Nikulin’s Nut, from which the actor fell during the filming of «The Caucasian Captive», as well as the stone on which N. Varley danced during the song «Polar Bears».
A wonderful pastime for any tourist is the opportunity to make a mountain walk on horseback, enjoying the amazing scenery, and communicating with nature — here you can feed friendly mountain boars. Going on vacation to Crimea, be sure to visit the Valley of Ghosts — impressions from what you have seen in this attraction of Alushta will stay with you for many years.