Mount Ayu-Dag is shrouded in a multitude of legends, many of which over time have turned into good children’s fairy tales. It is said that a huge evil bear once fell in love with a girl of unearthly beauty and kept her close to him for many years. The beauty was in captivity, and one day she managed to escape. As soon as the bear discovered this, he lay down on the shore and looked long at the ship that was taking his bride away from him. Tears flowed from his huge blue eyes like a river — that’s how the Black Sea appeared. The beast, which used to destroy everything in its path, could not bear the separation. The longing bear remained lying on the shore, and Nature turned the bear into a stone to protect it from the torment of love.
This story in its various variations is known to every tourist who was lucky enough to visit the foothills of Bear Mountain. Ayu-Dag Mountain is not just another point in the guidebook that describes the sights of Crimea, it is also the main symbol of the International Children’s Center «Artek». Children who come to relax on the Black Sea shore dedicate poems and songs to the Bear Mountain, and counselors tirelessly tell children the story of the Absolute — the national Ole-Lukoya, whose abode is Ayu-Dag Mountain.
However, a legend is a legend. As for the mountains, they are not born so simply. A long time ago, about one hundred and fifty million years ago, in place of the Bear Mountain formed a fault in which magma was introduced. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the magma did not have enough strength to get out and it froze. This is how, thanks to the «weak» magma, the dome of Ayu-Dag — the failed volcano — appeared.
Nowadays, this attraction of Ukraine has a special status. Bear Mountain is a protected area, which is a sanctuary of national importance. Flora and fauna of Ayu-Dag amaze with its diversity. Here you will find an evergreen strawberry tree, and jasmine, and Pontian needle and many more all kinds of beauty created by Nature itself. For those who are lucky enough to climb Ayu-Dag, the guide will certainly demonstrate a stunning pistachio grove, which is located between the «head» of the bear cub and his «body». It is safe to say that such a sight in Ukraine is the only one of its kind.
It is worth talking about the inhabitants of Bear Mountain, most of which are «residents» of the Red Book. Under each tree of Ayu-Dag, under each of its pebbles and bushes lives and breathes Nature — real, not asphalted, without grids, fences and concrete walls, in its pristine virgin dress of unprecedented beauty. And believe me, this sight is worth a lot!
But not only the secrets of nature are hidden in the forests, which grew Bear Mountain. Keep here and the secrets of past times. The imprint of history are the remains of structures of the Middle Ages, which once witnessed a large settlement. If you believe historians and archaeologists — and they certainly do not lie — medieval settlement on this site appeared in the VIII century and existed on Bear Mountain until the XV century. Partenitskaya valley was a place of labor of medieval inhabitants, and Ayu-Dag — a place of their dwelling. Why did our ancestors leave this marvelous place? Most likely, because the Bear Mountain ran out of water, and people were forced to move closer to the sea. Nowadays, the tourist path, on which millions of travelers’ feet have walked, lies just through the archaeological excavations, which are still being conducted near the ring-shaped fortification of the Middle Ages.
To see the Stone Bear is a direct duty of everyone who came to the peninsula and wants to fully enjoy such unique sights of Crimea. To do this is very simple: just take a trolleybus number fifty-two, which follows the route Simferopol-Yalta, and get off in Partenit or in Gurzuf — it all depends on which barrel of the bear you want to look at: Mount Ayu-Dag lies just between these villages.