Excursion "Kurchatov trail"

Very easy walking, species route. Not to be confused with the sun trail, two different routes.

Many believe that the beautiful places of the mountainous Crimea are difficult to access.
Either you need to get to different modes of transport or walk for a long time. That's not true. Come with us.

The object of our trip is Alupka-Isar mountain, towering over the Sevastopol-Yalta highway in the Alupka area. On maps and in local history literature you can find other names of the mountain: "Biyuk-Isar" and "Cross". The explanation is simple. At the top are the remains of a medieval fortification - "Isara".
And 200 years ago, every ruin was called Isar. Only then did archaeologists figure out what the fortress was, what the settlement was, what the church was. The name "Cross" stuck to the mountain since the XIX century, when there was a cross. The first researcher of the Crimean Isars P.I. Köppen already in 1836 saw a white cross here. In Soviet times, there was no cross, but Alupka-Isar did not lose a drop in beauty.
Now the cross has been raised again (already dark). For some, this is probably an act of self-assertion.
From a geological point of view, Alupka Isar is a typical outcast, once breaking away from the main mountain range, he managed to crawl down the slope for 1.5 km.
The fortification for the southern coast is quite large, about 2.5 hectares. Judging by the archaeological material, it existed in the XII-XIII centuries. A small number of finds relate to a much earlier period, which indicates a stay on the mountain of Taurus. As an object of visiting Alupka-Isar became known since the 30s of the XIX century, when the Governor-General of Novorossia, Count M.S. Vorontsov founded his summer residence in Alupka. At his direction, the first plan of Isar was removed.
We began our journey from Alupka forestry.
10 minutes of easy climb, and the first attraction is the stone chaos, giant boulders scattered in disorder by nature on the southeastern slope. After moving by minibus we will continue on the Kurchatov trail.

The Kurchatov Trail is a hiking trail on the southern coast of Crimea (in the Gaspra-Oreanda area), leading to the top of the Ai-Nikola mountain. It begins near the old gazebo with columns, sheltered by the rock.

In 1950, I.V. Kurchatov rested in the sanatorium "Lower Oreanda". According to the memoirs of the employees of the health resort, he was engaged in sports, loved gymnastics, swimming, rowing, but especially walking.
Curious and active, he discovered an easily accessible and picturesque climb to the top of the Ai-Nikola mountain and himself led a group of vacationers along the new route, cheerfully warning: “Fat harchi is forbidden to take, weight loss is allowed on the way!”.

Later, by a special decree of the Yalta City Council, the trail was named after Kurchatov: a board with the scientist’s bas-relief was reinforced on the rock and his words: “Mountain walks are inspiration for creative work, which I always experienced, climbing to the top of Ai-Nikola”, a bench for rest is equipped.
The Kurchatov trail in the Middle Ages was, apparently, a full-fledged road. This is strongly evidenced by crepes, well preserved in some places. The road climbed to the top, where, presumably, there was a church that gave the name to the mountain. There are no traces of it left, but all the way we are accompanied by beautiful church singing, coming from the modern temple of Archistratig Michael at the foot of Ai-Nikola.
The slopes and top of the mountain are occupied by 300-350-year-old giant pines. Here you can see a beautiful copy of the juniper tree, its age is at least 500 years. And in a secluded place, in the crevice of the rock, the patriarch of the Crimean forest feels free - a 1,300-year-old strawberry is small-fruited. Above the cliff stands a six-meter steel cross "Cossack milestone". This cross was installed by the Yalta Cossacks in 2002. And from the viewing platform overlooks the southern coast of Crimea. Ayu-dag is blue on the horizon.

What's in:
- Transfer (there and back), guide
- Insurance.
- Visit to the Kurchatov trail (3 km);
- Visit to Alupka Isar
- Archistratigus Michael's temple,
- Mount I-Nicola.