As Crimea is considered to be one of the most beautiful corners of Ukraine, so Big Yalta, the land of palaces and amazing natural sights, is known as one of the most beautiful places of the peninsula. It is here you can see the highest waterfall in the country, palaces that impress with a variety of styles and their opulence, as well as one of the legendary mountain ranges — Ai-Petri.
Ai-Petri — is one of the separate massifs of the main ridge of the Crimean mountains, located within the Greater Yalta above the village of Koreiz. The massif is part of the Yalta Mountain Forest Reserve and is one of the popular symbols of Crimea.
Once Ai-Petri, as well as the whole Crimea, was the bottom of the ocean of Thetis, and its top and teeth — a coral reef, today the topmost point of the massif is infinitely far from the sea floor, soaring to 1234 meters above sea level. The fantasy of nature is amazing and boundless, which is once again realized when contemplating the mountain plateau, pointing far into the sky and clinging to the clouds. This landscape is so picturesque that they could not but make legends about it. One of these legends tells how the name of the mountain was born.
In times immemorial, the top of Ai-Petri was the abode of winds, and on the stone throne here sat the king of winds. Like his sons — exuberant and affectionate winds, the king liked to create airy palaces and fortresses, soaring over the plains and fields, but people winds brought only grief, destroying huts, huts and grottoes, where human tribes huddled. One day, warriors gathered at the foot of the mountain, thinking to make an agreement with the King of the Winds, but no matter how much they thought about how to make an agreement with the king, they could not come up with one. Then one of the warriors, named Peter, promised that he would conquer the Wind, and despite the sneers, he set off to the very top of the mountain. When he reached it, he shouted to the king of the Winds that he would now serve the people, which angered him. The king tried to throw the daredevil down by blowing on him with all his might, but instead of falling, he soared into the sky, spreading a bull’s bubble over his head. No matter how hard the tsar fought, he could not make Peter crash or drown in the abyss of the sea. Then people realized how to conquer the wind: they began to build ships and boats with sails and erect windmills, having stopped being afraid and made the wind their helper. And in gratitude they named the abode of winds in honor of the brave warrior (Ai-Petri is translated from Greek as «Saint Peter»).
Climbing to the top of Ai-Petri, you begin to believe in the legends told about it — such an amazing atmosphere reigns here. However, after the sensations that tourists experience, making their way up the mountain on the cable car leading from Miskhor to the top of the mountain, everything around seems like a real fairy tale. Traveling to the top of the mountain on the famous cable car, as well as on the serpentine leading from Yalta to the top — an event that impresses everyone without exception — some are delighted by the scenery, others — the adrenaline that you experience in the process.
Falling into a small town — the village of Okhotnichye, living some kind of its own unique life on the top of Ai-Petri, as if you get into another world. From here the Black Sea can be seen for 135 km, and the panorama of the South Coast opens up in a whole new guise. On the top of the mountain there are numerous cafes with oriental cuisine, a bazaar, a lot of entertainment from shooting gallery and wine tasting to riding a camel and the opportunity to be photographed with various animals. If you want to continue the excursion, which started with such a major note, with less earthy pleasures, you can go to see the sights located on the plateau. Among them are Ai-Petri meridian (stone globe), a vantage point on the Shishko rock, non-functioning wind power station, tracking stations for space and airspace, built in Soviet times, several caves equipped for excursions. Ai-Petri is also popular for active, even extreme recreation — it is bicycle freeride, rock climbing, speleology, jeep riding, paragliding and much more. Thanks to such a variety of opportunities and picturesque views from the mountain to the surrounding areas, Ai-Petri is very popular among tourists eager to get a vivid experience that will be remembered for many years.