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RussiaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
Shaan-Kaya Mountain is translated as Falcon Mountain, and in different sources it is mentioned in different ways: Nishan-Kaya, Shanghai, Shan-Kaya, Target. It is considered one of the most difficult for conquerors of the peaks in the Crimea, despite the fact that its peak is only 871 meters above sea level. On one side (south) the rock looks impregnable - steep and precipitous, on the other more gently sloping – wooded. All along the way and the very top, stunning views of the mountainous part, Simeiz, Alupka and the sea are provided.
Shaan-Kaya is popular, first of all, among people who prefer extreme forms of entertainment, such as rock climbing, mountaineering, bouldering, rope jumping. But do not be alarmed in advance! Even if you just came to rest in Yalta or Alupka on the beaches, this place can submit to you, because it is also available for lovers of hiking, i.e. easy one-day hiking trips. After all, the lake and the mountain are part of a relatively easy organized hiking tour of the Yalta Nature Reserve, which is well equipped and marked. This route has the official name "Jewish Trail".
It will be easy for ordinary tourists and non-athletes to climb to the top of Shaan-Kai along one of the well-marked paths passing along the northern slope, which is much more gentle and does not require special equipment and skills to climb. The whole route passes through the most beautiful places, past the Shaan-Kaya lake, vineyards, through the pine forest. On the way you can enjoy blackberries, dogwood, plums in the season of their ripening.
From the steep southern slope, the peak was conquered by climbers only in 1966. Climbing routes of 5 and 6 difficulty levels are laid along this slope. The same goes for rock climbing. But bouldering, a kind of rock climbing or climbing on huge boulders, is a relatively new sport that is becoming increasingly popular in these places. Special routes have been laid out for it, maps of which can be found on the web. A group of the most desperate extreme athletes organizes jumps from a sheer cliff down with a rope (rope jumping).
Some tips for visiting Shaan-Kai
- It is better to visit this place without children, since it will take at least 4 hours to walk only one way, and you will have to overcome about 5 kilometers with a climb of 600 meters. Therefore, you need to be in good physical shape, take a drink and a snack with you, sun protection, and be sure to have good shoes.
- The lake and the mountain are located on the territory of the Yalta Mountain and Forest Nature Reserve and are part of the route called the Jewish Trail. You can download the route track and get permission to visit the reserve here - https://zapovedcrimea.ru/yaltinskiy-routes.
- One of the easiest routes for unprepared tourists is something like this: turn off the Yuzhnoberezhnoye Highway into the forest, after the barrier go along the gravel road to the vineyards. After reaching the little-noticed old cemetery at the fork, go to the right, at the next fork with a stand marking the protected area, turn left and go out to the Shaan-Kaya lake. Then we go around the lake on the left and go out on the road, after 200 meters at the fork we leave the Jewish trail (Jewess) to the right. The path runs through a fire (burnt forest). Walk on a wide road. Then the path will go away from Shaan-Kai, but soon it will turn back to the rock. The last part of the way will have to climb over rocks.
🌐 Website: https://zapovedcrimea.ru
🕐 Working hours
around the clock, it is better to visit during the day in clear weather.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
The lake and the mountain are located on the territory of the Yalta Nature Reserve, its visit is paid – 150 rubles, for residents of the Crimea and preferential categories it is free. A ticket-permission to visit must be issued in advance, since there is no ticket office at the entrance to the trail, but control on the territory can be carried out by the rangers of the reserve, and in the absence of permission, a fine is imposed. It is most convenient to issue a permit on the reserve's website https://zapovedcrimea.ru/visiting-rules, and pay for it there. Preferential categories and residents of Crimea should also issue a free permit on the website. Another option is paper registration of a pass at one of the ticket offices of the reserve on Ai–Petri Mountain or at the entrances to other routes.
🚶 How to get there
The mountain and lake are located behind the village of Kasimovka in the north of Alushta (Shaan-kaya Mountain on the map, Shaan-kaya Lake on the map). Walking to the very top from the center of Alupka is 5 kilometers in one direction, so it is quite possible to go there and back completely on foot in one day, but it is advisable to start the route early in the morning. But if you want to walk less, you can get to Shaan-Kaya Lake by car, and then only 3 kilometers will have to go from the lake to the mountain.
If there is no car, then there is another starting point of the route – this is the stop "Nursery" on Yuzhnoberezhnoye highway. From it to the lake a little more than a kilometer, and further to the mountain 3 kilometers. You can get to the Nursery stop from Alupka on the local route No. 1A for 28 rubles, and from the Yalta bus station and from other resorts on passing intercity buses Yalta-Sevastopol, Yalta-Bakhchisarai, and on suburban minibuses No. 138 (from Simeiz), and 142 and 128 from the center of Yalta and other resorts villages along the way.
💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Alupka with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at online booking options on these proven search and price comparison sites: