The Crimean mountains are fraught with many interesting and unknown things. They protect the peninsula on the southern side and delight with their sometimes bizarre shapes. One of the particularly remarkable and memorable rocks is called Ak-Kaya. Ak-Kaya is located near the village of Belaya Skala in the Belogorsky district.

Geographic coordinates of White Rock - Ak-Kaya on the map of Crimea GPS N 45.098056, E 34.633333

Name Ak-Kaya translated from Crimean Tatar as “white rock”. Moreover, it is under this name that it is better known among tourists and local residents. And the village of Belaya Skala received its name precisely in connection with the proximity of Ak-Kaya. Approaching these places in the Belogorsk region, Ak-Kai simply cannot be missed. It is a steep white cliff with a very flat top. Ak-Kaya serves as a natural decoration of the Biyuk-Karasu river valley. The height of the White Rock reaches three hundred and twenty-five meters, so if you approach its foot and look up, it will seem infinitely high. From a distance, Ak-Kaya looks perfectly flat, but in fact it is filled with many rapids and ledges.

It must be said that only the most courageous and prepared climbers dare to conquer this peak. The white color of Ak-Kaya is due to the fact that it is composed of limestone and sandstone, and is the result of their weathering and erosion. At the top of Ak-Kaya there are various natural grottoes and rounded niches, and below you can see rocky mounds and accumulations of large stones. Such an unusual and massive appearance of Ak-Kai attracts many filmmakers here. The rock became a film set during the creation of such films as “The Headless Horseman”, “Code of the Apocalypse”, “The Leader of the Redskins”, “Escape to the End of the World” and some others.

In the second half of the 20th century, the White Rock aroused considerable interest among archaeological researchers. At this time, excavations were carried out here, the progress of which was led by Yu. G. Kolosov, an employee of the Institute of Archeology. Two dozen sites of ancient people who, according to researchers, belonged to the Mousterian era were discovered here. Stone knives and tools were found on the rock. For the first time, the bone remains of Neanderthals were excavated here. There is also confirmation that mammoths, giant deer, cave bears, saigas and other animals that are not typical for modern fauna once lived here. There is an assumption that settlements of the Sarmatians and Scythians were located on Ak-Kaya.

How to get to the White Rock - Ak-Kaya

The easiest way to get to Belaya Skala is from the city of Belogorsk, in the north of the city, there is an exit towards the villages: Yablochnoe and Belaya Skala, 4 km from Belogorsk and you are in the village of Belaya Skala, the Ak-Kaya rock simply hangs over the village, you can drive through it or not notice it It's simply not possible. A dirt road leads to the top of the mountain from the village; it lazily goes for several kilometers and rises to the large plateau of the Ak-Kaya rock. there are many observation platforms on the plateau, there are even observation decks for cars. In late spring and early autumn, the dirt road is severely washed out, so it is best to get there by all-wheel drive; in winter, even on it it is very dangerous.

In the middle of the White Rock wall there is a hard-to-reach cave called Altyn Teshik (“golden hole”). There are several legends about it, one of which says that the treasures of robbers are hidden there.
Over many centuries, Ak-Kaya continually changed its purpose. It was also a place of execution and ceremonial oath-taking, and a home and even a military headquarters. White Rock is one of the most famous and visited.

White rock Ak-Kaya on the map of Crimea

As much as I traveled around Crimea, I always had the feeling that on this island of land someone had collected geological and landscape beauties from almost all over the world - such different reliefs and views can be found here.
One of such places can be called White Rock, which we will talk about today.
Almost in the middle of Crimea, between the Main mountain range and the endless steppes, an extremely unusual cue formation rises more than 300 meters, reminiscent of the world-famous landscapes of Arizona (albeit, with the exception of the color scheme) - the vertical wall of Ak-Kaya, or White Rock.
It’s hard to imagine, but this rock was once the seabed, as evidenced by the huge number of fossilized shells and mollusks that come across here just under your feet.
Since Soviet times, this place has been chosen by directors making films about the American West, Indians and more - at different times, “The Man from Capuchin Boulevard”, “Mustang Pacer”, “Leader of the Redskins”, “Mirage” were filmed on White Rock, “Cipollino”, “Armed and Very Dangerous”, “Kings and Cabbages”, “Lobo”, “Moneychangers”, “Wonderful Valley”, “The Headless Horseman”, “The Plane Flies to Russia”, “Dungeon of the Witches”, “Escape” to the ends of the world”, “Code of the Apocalypse”, etc.

2. White Rock is located in the Belogorsk region of Crimea above the valley of the Biyuk-Karasu River. If you get to it from the north, you will not immediately understand that you are heading towards an incredible cliff - you are driving along steppe roads, rolling over hills, and suddenly... there is a sheer wall below you.
From the south, the rock looks exactly as in the photo - Ak-Kaya itself is on the left, Mount Adjilar is on the right. Between them there is a crumbling winding road, along which we used to climb to the plateau. Now there is an asphalt road to the right of Adjilar, from which a dirt road branches off at the top, running almost along the edge of Adjilar and Ak-Kaya.

3. White Rock was formed by erosion and weathering of Cretaceous limestones and sandstones over many thousands of years. If you stand under the rock itself, at the foot you can clearly see the mounds of what were once rock walls

4. Plateau on Mount Acilar. Here, at the foot of Ajilar and further, in the depression between it and Ak-Kaya, the very films that I said at the very beginning were filmed

5. Views from the plateau of Mount Acilar

6. Geometry of fields

7. And in the distance you can already see the White Rock

8. This is where the same giant repeater is located, which I mentioned earlier

9. At the foot of the White Rock, more than one city was built with scenery for filming. Everything that you saw, for example, in “The Man from the Boulevard des Capuchins” was located in this place under the rock.

10. Views from White Rock

11. The end of the rock wall. It feels like someone just cut off all the excess with a knife

12. The altitude here is about 325 meters above sea level

13. The old road that led to the rock. Today you can climb it only with a well-prepared SUV.

14. Faults in the upper part of the plateau. There are generally a lot of faults, natural grottoes and caves here.

15. Rock wall of White Rock. The scree created by the wind is clearly visible below.

16. One day these “small” pieces will fall off and fly down with a roar.

17. At the foot of the White Rock in the 70s, about 20 sites of primitive man of the Mousterian era were excavated.
And near the ancient hearths, a large number of bone remains of the extinct fauna of Crimea were found: mammoth, cave bear, giant and red deer, saiga, primitive bull, wild horse, onager, etc.

18. One of the faults on the rock wall

19. But once upon a time this was the seabed. Yes, it's hard to believe, but it's true. Here and there under your feet you come across such boulders of stone, which consist entirely of fossilized shells

20. Clam frozen in stone

21. In some places it’s just part of a rock

22. Some mollusks themselves became pebbles

23. White Rock, view from the highway. This is exactly how most people passing by see it.

24. Layer cake created by wind and time...

Excursions and hikes are a journey from your life to someone else’s. It’s as if you were torn out of monotonous everyday life, transported to the south, and placed on the sidelines to teach you how to properly relate to life and everything that happens in it. And you know, the place of these lessons was not chosen by chance: man appeared in Crimea a very long time ago, and the “aura” of the peninsula is thoroughly saturated with billions of lives lived. One of the first places where our civilization began to exist is the surrounding area mountain range Ak-Kaya in Crimea. Today, also known as White Rock, is popular natural object, to which numerous tourist routes stretch. The excursion to it is memorable for its unusualness, the special atmosphere of touching something that has long sunk into oblivion, and the beauty of the surrounding landscapes. Interesting? Welcome to virtual tour To !

Geography of Crimea: White Rock of Ak-Kaya

The rock is located near the village White Rock 42 kilometers from the capital of Crimea - the city of Simferopol. Geographically located in Belogorsky district. It is a rocky wall of white (with a slight cream tint) color, towering over the spacious valley of the Biyuk-Karasu River. It has an altitude of 325 meters above sea level and a relative height (above the surrounding area) of about 100 meters. translated from the Crimean Tatar language as “White Rock”.

, is the result of erosion and weathering of sandstones, Paleogene and Cretaceous limestones, a classic example of cuesta relief. The wind is an original sculptor. If on Mount Demerdzhi he created bizarre stone idols and “populated” the Valley of Ghosts with them, then in the upper part he “drilled” oval niches, grottoes, and placed pillars. Screes, erosion hollows, chaotic piles of blocks are weathering products found in large quantities in the lower part of the rock. Erosion, held back in places by thickets of hornbeam and rosehip, continues today.

Of the many voids that have eaten into the cliffs of Ak-Kai, about fifty have been examined by geologists. Large caves on White Rock only three. They are located at the base of the rock ledge and are called and. Archaeological research carried out in the mid-1940s discovered on their walls Sarmatian petroglyphs, applied in different eras - from the 3rd century BC to the beginning of our era.

The third grotto, the most mysterious and inaccessible, is called Altyn-Teshik. The back entrance to it is visible from afar, and the name, translated as “Golden Hole,” reveals the “special” attitude towards it that developed in ancient times. Dozens of legends in different forms tell about treasures hidden in the cave, about a dragon that once lived in it, and about a secret underground passage stretching all the way to Feodosia. The research of speleologists dispelled these legends and revealed the truth: Altyn-Teshik is a large grotto, the arches of which go steeply upward, and the only dragons living in its darkness are bats. Since 1981 it has been declared a natural monument and is under state protection.

History of the Ak-Kaya rock

As mentioned at the beginning, an excursion to is an opportunity to get in touch with the past, tens of thousands of years distant from the present. Archaeologists have discovered 17 sites and entire settlements in and around the area dating back to the Mousterian era (about 100 - 40 thousand years ago) - a real Mousterian city. Its inhabitants were the predecessors of the Cro-Magnons - the Neanderthals, a fossil species of man. Such a high population density is easily explained by the exceptional convenience of the area for living. ancient man: many grottoes on the warm southern side of the mountain range, rich deposits of flint (the main raw material for weapons and tools), proximity to the river. About 5 thousand flint scrapers, knives, and points were found around. The variety of their forms is amazing: eight types of knives were discovered on the White Rock itself.

Recently, a large Scythian fortress was excavated on the plateau, the study of which is currently ongoing by the branch Information Agency of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The appearance of this fortress dates back to the 4th-3rd centuries BC. On the territory of the northern Black Sea coast this is the only fortress of this period. The explored area of ​​the fortress is about 10 hectares. There is an assumption that this is one of the forgotten Scythian capitals (for comparison: Scythian Naples, which appeared two hundred years later, occupied an area of ​​14 hectares). The life of the fortress was not calm: during the first century and a half of its existence, there were at least six fires in which everything was burned to the ground. A large number of The burials of crippled soldiers indicate that battles took place here frequently. The fortress and the settlement inside it were abandoned by people in the Middle Ages, when a city was formed nearby Karasubazar. There are suggestions that it was at his slave market that young Bogdan Khmelnitsky was sold into slavery to Murza Yurus.

In 1777, the headquarters of Alexander Suvorov was not located, and in June 1783, the Crimean nobility swore allegiance to Russia on the top of the cliff. Prince Potemkin, a star of Soviet cinema, took the oath. It became the location for the filming of such wonderful films as " The leader of the Redskins», « Mustang pacer", "Chipolino", " The Man from the Boulevard des Capucines», « Headless horseman», « Kings and cabbage», « Armed and very dangerous", "Lobo". Some of the locals like to talk about how they starred in episodes of these films as boys.

How to get to Ak-Kai

The excursion falls into the category of easily accessible ones - the road leads straight to its top. You can get to this road along the Feodosia - Simferopol highway (to the city of Belogorsk). The White Rock is already visible from the highway.

From Simferopol to Belogorsk you can take a regular bus. On central square Belogorsk, take a taxi and ask to take you to the foot of : this is where you will see grottoes and former sites of ancient people. You can climb it later – the rise will be about 90 meters.

White Rock, or in Crimean Tatar, Mount Ak-Kaya is one of the most beautiful places Crimea. And for my taste, this may be the most beautiful thing! At the same time, it is not as well-known as the attractions of the tourist South Coast, but the views that open up here will delight even those travelers who have been to many places in the world. White Rock is located in the vicinity of the city of Belogorsk, just four kilometers from the main highway of Crimea connecting Simferopol and Kerch. This massif is a sheer wall formed as a result of the erosion of Paleogene limestones and sandstones, formed in that distant, distant time when modern Crimea was the bottom of an ancient ocean. The height of the rock from the foot to the top is 100 meters, and it looks unusually picturesque at any time of the day. During the day it is white, and if you arrive early in the morning or at sunset, then, illuminated by the soft sunlight, the mountain shimmers with gold.

The bizarre topography of these places is somewhat reminiscent of the famous landscapes of the Western United States, and thanks to this similarity, White Rock became the filming location for many famous Soviet “westerns”. The films “The Headless Horseman”, “Mustang Pacer”, “Armed and Very Dangerous”, “The Man from Boulevard des Capuchins”, the detective “Mirage” of the Riga Film Studio and many other Soviet and Russian films, the action of which, according to the script, take place on " Wild West." The White Rock is an incredibly interesting place, so I went there twice: first, just by car to photograph the general views, and then I drove to the very top of the rock in a UAZ, examining the caves, grottoes and admiring the views from the very top point of the rock massif.

1. On the road to the White Rock there is another unique natural and historical monument - the Suvorov Oak. This tree is about 800 years old! And it was under it that more than 300 years ago Suvorov’s headquarters was located during the battles with the Turkish Sultan Shagin-Girey in 1777. Here the commander received envoys of the Turkish army during negotiations. Despite the fourfold numerical superiority of the Turks, the battle ended in victory for the Russian army and became an important stage in the events that culminated in the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Empire.

3. White Rock. The landscapes are incredibly beautiful. Let's just admire it!

4. A mighty sheer wall of whitish color seems to hang over and dominate the surrounding area.

5. On the opposite side of the ridge there is a rock resembling a sphinx.

8. The steep slope of the White Rock is dotted with caves and grottoes formed as a result of weathering of rocks. Some of these caves can only be accessed with climbing equipment.

17. Perhaps the most famous “postcard” photograph of the White Rock.

18. Now let’s climb to the top of the White Rock from a gentle slope, examining several interesting places. The first of them is the ancient Scythian fortress Ak-Kaya, dating back to the 3rd century BC - 3rd century AD.

22. In addition to the remains of fortifications, some interesting adaptations of the daily life of the Scythians have been preserved. Here, for example, is a hole in the rock where food was placed so that it would not spoil. A kind of ancient “refrigerator”.

24. From here the rock begins to rise smoothly - right up to that very high and steep cliff on three sides, which is photographed in all its glory in photo 17. From above, magnificent landscapes of Central Crimea open up.

25. Those distant mountains beyond the steppes are already South coast. Behind them is the Black Sea. 25 kilometers in a straight line.

27. Rocks make up a mountain in layers. Each layer is its own era. In some places, the underlying rocks are looser than the upper ones. This is how caves, grottoes or rocky vaults hanging overhead are formed, like this one.

28. Millions of years ago, Crimea was the bottom of an ancient ocean, then a gradual uplift of the rocks occurred. But the memory of those distant times is alive. The slopes of the White Rock are made of ancient shell rock.

30. Let's examine another grotto in the rock.

31. In plan it is almost circular in shape. It’s cool here even in the heat, and water drips down the walls of the cave.

34. Another cave in an inconspicuous ravine between neighboring hills. Archaeological research claims that it served as a refuge for ancient Neanderthals.

White Rock or Ak-Kaya is located, surprisingly, near the village of Belaya Skala, not far from Belogorsk. It stands out noticeably against the background of the gentle and low hills surrounding it.

This place is not very popular with tourists, so it is usually clean and uncrowded. Belogorsk is located quite far from resort towns and far from standard tourist routes. Locals people come here mainly on weekends, and visitors usually simply don’t know about this place. Despite this, the village has a recreation center where you can book horseback riding or quad bike rides. You can stay here and if you want to go to Taigan Park, located 15 km away, unlike their hotel, the prices at the base are not too high.

You can walk around the rock itself and its surroundings for a couple of days, during which time you can easily get around everything interesting that is there. There are several small grottoes and caves in the rock, some of them can be approached, but some cannot be reached without special equipment. For example, at an altitude of about 50 meters from the ground you can see the Altyn-Teshik (Golden Hole) cave.

This is a rocky plateau, with white cliffs on one side, but rather flat on the other side. There are quite a few paths and roads around the rock, some of which can be used to climb to the top. The shortest path to the top is clearly visible on the snow-white hill at the foot of the cliff; it is not too steep and the climb will take a maximum of half an hour. But, in fact, the best views here are from below, and not from the top, because... You can't see much from the top, just gentle green hills.

You can go to the White Rock by car, but you need to go along the road that goes perpendicular to the cliff line, about a hundred meters from the rock itself. IN good weather You can drive here in any car. Many maps show a bypass route closer to the village of Vishenny, but you can only drive along it on an ATV or a well-prepared SUV; the climb is very steep and rocky.

How to get to White Rock?

By car:

First you need to get to Belogorsk and turn north, towards the village of Belaya Skala. The rock itself can be seen from afar; you definitely won’t be able to miss it. You can approach it either through the village, or by turning right at the first turn after leaving settlement. In the second case, you will be able to drive along the entire rock massif, although the road there is a little worse.

You can also get to Belogorsk by buses, they go from Simferopol and Sudak. From Simferopol you can get directly to Belaya Skala; buses depart approximately every hour from 8.00 to 19.30. From Sudak you can only get to Belogorsk by almost any bus towards Simferopol. From Belogorsk to Belaya Skala is about 5 km, if you wish, you can walk or take a taxi.