Bakhchisarai

General information about Bakhchisarai

Bakhchisarai is a city in the southwestern part of Crimea approximately in the middle between the two largest cities of the peninsula Simferopol and Sevastopol (Bakhchisarai on the map of Crimea), the administrative center of the greater Bakhchisarai district. For tourists and vacationers, this is a special place, since in the Middle Ages Bakhchisarai was the capital of the Crimean Khanate, which still retains the imprint of the Crimean Tatar culture and the atmosphere of identity. Moreover, there were even as many as two capitals of the Crimean Khanate: First, the city of Salachik on the outskirts of modern Bakhchisarai, and then the capital was moved to the current old town of Bakhchisarai. There are many very interesting sights of that period, including the magnificent Bakhchisarai Khan's Palace, mysterious medieval cave towns and fortresses, mysterious cave temples. Bakhchisarai is definitely worth a visit, no matter in which part of the Crimea and at which resort you stop for a rest.

A little history of the city

The year of foundation of Bakhchisarai is considered to be 1503. At that time it was not yet the capital of the Crimean Khanate, it was located in the city of Salachik, a couple of kilometers from today's old town and the tourist area at the foot of Mount Chufut-Kale. In 1532, the head of the khanate, Khan Mengli I Gerai, decided to move the capital and build a new Khan's palace, because there was not enough space in Salachik, sandwiched between the rocks of the valley. This is how the Khan's Palace appeared, one of the most famous sights of the whole Crimea today, and the new center of the Crimean Khanate.

During its existence, the capital and the palace were repeatedly attacked, and, in particular, during the Russian-Turkish war in 1736, they were taken by Russian troops under the command of Field Marshal General Christoph Minich. He gave the order to make accurate sketches of the palace, and then burn it. Since many of the buildings were made of wood, most of the original buildings were lost, leaving only a description on paper. However, thanks, among other things, to this description, the palace was rebuilt by subsequent khans Selamet II Gerai and Kyry Gerai.

In the end, Bakhchisarai ceased to be the capital after the annexation of Crimea to Russia, and in the last century, under Soviet rule, the museum of the history and culture of the Crimean Tatars started working here.

Holidays in Bakhchisarai

Bakhchisarai is not very interesting to most tourists as a separate place to relax. Objectively speaking, in 2-4 days you will be able to explore the city itself and visit all the most important sights, including interesting places in the Bakhchisarai district. Therefore, it makes no sense to plan a vacation here for a long period, otherwise you will just be bored. In addition, there are no beaches in Bakhchisarai, and the nearest shore is almost an hour's drive 30 kilometers away.

Most vacationers visit Bakhchisarai in the form of a one-day excursion, during which you can have a quick look at the Khan's Palace and the cave fortress city of Chufut-Kale, there simply won't be enough time and energy for more. But if you want to see other unique and amazing sights of Bakhchisarai district, it makes sense to come here for a few days with an overnight stay. You can do this again with excursions for several days, or get to the city on your own. In this guide we will tell you about everything that will allow you to visit Bakhchisarai without much difficulty and see all the most interesting things here.

Infrastructure in Bakhchisarai

Bakhchisarai is quite a big city by local standards with a population of about 30 thousand people, and the infrastructure here is also well developed, although it has its own peculiarities.

The city has a public transport system consisting of several city bus routes. There are shopping centers, supermarkets, clinics, pharmacies, authorities. But all this is located mainly in new residential areas, and not in the tourist part of the city or the Old Town, where tourists spend most of their time. There are few shops in the Old Town, but there are authentic cafes of traditional Crimean Tatar cuisine, souvenir shops and a market of handicrafts and souvenirs near the Khan's Palace. But, unfortunately, in general, it is impossible to call the tourist infrastructure of Bakhchisarai developed so far. There are no inexpensive catering items such as canteens where you can eat inexpensively. Excursions, tourist transfers and taxis are mostly unofficial, i.e. offered by local residents without any permits and documents, all on a contractual basis. Well, not all tourists will like the habits of local "barkers" who are trying to impose their services on visitors with great pressure and deception. As vacationers write in their reviews, these businessmen sometimes even cross borders, damaging the cars of road travelers for refusing to travel by jeep or unwillingness to put the car in their paid parking lots. So be careful with that.

Hotels and accommodation in Bakhchisarai, where to stay

Unfortunately, there are a minimum of tourist accommodation options in Bakhchisarai, there are literally only a few of them. There are no hotels here, tourists can stay only in small private guest houses, rooms and apartments rented for a short time by local residents, or at the campsite "Halt". At the same time, at a fairly high price, comfort and quality accommodation does not stand out here. Therefore, we recommend booking in advance at least a few days before arrival. At the same time, in our experience, it doesn't make much sense to book a long time in advance for a month or more, or even before the start of the tourist season, as is usually done for holidays at Crimean beach resorts, in Bakhchisarai.

You can find options, read reviews and book accommodation in guest houses or private housing in Bakhchisarai on these sites:

• 🛌 Search for hotels on Ostrovok.ru
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Bakhchisarai on Otello from 2Gis
• 🛌 Search for affordable housing in Bakhchisarai on Sutochno.ru (we recommend it, the bonus system works🎁)
• 🛌 Search for hotels in Bakhchisarai on Yandex.travel (promo code TP-77583 gives a discount of up to 1000 USD)

Weather and tourist seasons in Bakhchisarai

Given the sightseeing nature of the holiday, you can go to Bakhchisarai to explore its sights at any time of the year, although there are some peculiarities. The fact is that although the attractions are open all year round, during the off-season (these are the months from November to April), some of them reduce the opening hours, including weekends on certain days of the week, and repairs and restoration of historical monuments can be actively carried out. For example, it has been impossible to fully inspect the Khan's Palace during the winter season for two years now, since many of its facilities are closed to visitors and even inspection from the outside by scaffolding. Well, besides, in winter it can be cold and windy here, snow falls, which does not add to the pleasure of walking around the city and the surrounding area. So if you have the opportunity, we advise you to choose the warm months from May to September to visit Bakhchisarai.

Current weather in Bakhchisarai and forecast

How and how to get to Bakhchisarai

Bakhchisarai is located 30 kilometers from the center of Simferopol and 40 kilometers from the airport (Bakhchisarai on the map). Public intercity transport is well developed here, and you can get here directly and with convenient transfers by train, trains, buses from the cities of Crimea and the mainland of the Russian Federation. Here are brief instructions:

• ✈ By plane to Simferopol airport, and from there by taxi from 1400 rubles or by direct bus from 100 rubles.
• 🚆 By train to Bakhchisarai railway station (only from Moscow and St. Petersburg), and then from the railway station by taxi from 100 rubles or city bus No. 2 for 25 rubles.
• 🚆 By train to Simferopol railway station (from other cities of the Russian Federation), and from there by taxi from 1000 rubles, by train from 50 rubles or by bus from 70 rubles.
• 🚌 By bus from the airport, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yevpatoria, Yalta and almost all major cities of Crimea, and then from the bus station by taxi from 100 rubles or city bus No. 2 for 25 rubles.
• 🚗 By car across the Crimean Bridge and then along the Tavrida highway through Simferopol (this is the shortest and best route), or along the southern coast of Crimea through Koktebel, Sudak, Alushta, Yalta and Ai-Petri Mountain (this is a scenic route, but much longer and may require an additional overnight stay along the way).
• 🛌 Buy a ready-made package tour with a transfer directly to the hotel without any worries.
• 🛌 Buy a ready-made excursion from the resorts of Crimea with transport to Bakhchisarai and back.

Read more about all the ways to get to Bakhchisarai here.

Before organizing an independent trip to Bakhchisarai, we also advise you to check the prices for ready-made tours from Russian tour operators. If you buy such a tour in advance or "catch" hot sales, then you can relax with a tour with a flight and transfer in a good hotel at the price of a regular flight. You can find and book holidays in Bakhchisarai at prices directly from tour operators without extra charges on these Russian tour search and booking sites:

• ✈ Tours in Bakhchisarai on Onlinetours.ru
• ✈ Tours in Bakhchisarai on Travelata.ru (🎁 here are the promo codes for a discount when buying)
• ✈ Tours to Sevastopol/Bakhchisarai on Level.Travel

Attractions and entertainment of Bakhchisarai

Bakhchisarai is the former capital of the Crimean Khanate with an eventful medieval history, the trend of which can still be felt today while walking along the streets of the old city. Accordingly, most of the local attractions are associated with this historical period and the Crimean Tatar culture. This, of course, is primarily known to all guests of the peninsula Khan's Palace and the medieval fortress of Chufut-Kale, with which tourists usually associate this city. Also in the old town of Bakhchisarai there are several medieval mausoleums (durbe), a historical mosque, the Gasprinsky Museum and the open-air museum Salachik. But there is not much entertainment in the city. You can go with the children to the famous miniature park of the Crimea, ride horses or quad bikes. Also, the rocks around Bakhchisarai are popular as a place for rock climbing and mountaineering training, but to do these sports, you need initial preparation.

However, not only the sights in the city itself exhaust interesting places in Bakhchisarai. So, in the vicinity of the city on the territory of Bakhchisarai district there are medieval fortress towns Mangup-Kale, Tepe-Kermen and Exi-Kermen, each of which is interesting and unique in its own way. There are also many cave temples and monasteries, but only the most famous of them are: Holy Dormition, Kachi-Kalon, Bead Temple, Shuldan, Chelter-Marmara. And a nice bonus when visiting these attractions will also be the magnificent nature with excellent views of the low rocky and flat mountains covered with dense caps of green vegetation.

You can visit the sights in Bakhchisarai itself on foot, everything here is compactly located within the old town district. You can use a local taxi (trips starting from 100 USD) or city bus No. 2, which for 25 rubles can take you to all places of interest to tourists. But to see places in the Bakhchisarai district, it is best to go by your own transport or take excursions. Unfortunately, inexpensive group excursions cannot be found here, and therefore you will have to use the services of private guide drivers in jeeps, who will make up any trip program at your request. You can also book unique individual excursions from local residents on sites with reviews:

• 📷 Search for excursions in Bakhchisarai on Sputnik8.com
• 📷 Search for excursions in Bakhchisarai on Tripster.ru

Read more about all the sights and entertainment of Balaclava here.