Cave - Marble , Simferopol

The marble cave is located on the plateau of the Chatyrdag mountain range. Visible from various points and distances, the picturesque silhouette of this mountain is a symbol of Crimea. The plateau of Chatyrdag is dotted with numerous karst cavities, which gives its relief the appearance of the “lunar”. More than 160 karst caves, mines, wells are commanded here. Among them, the Marmornaya Cave opened in 1987 is especially interesting. Equipped for a visit in 2001. The entrance to it is at an altitude of 920 m above sea level. It is laid in the block of Upper Jurassic limestones and consists of three parts: the Main Gallery, the Lower Gallery and the side Tiger Passage. The huge size of the gallery is divided into separate rooms. The length of the explored passages is 2050 meters, the depth is 60 meters. The length of the equipped excursion routes is more than 1 km. The merit in the opening, preservation and equipment of the Marble Cave belongs to Simferopol speleologists, the Speleotourism Center “ONICS-Tour” and its leader A.F. Kozlov. The uniqueness of the Marble Cave brought her world fame. According to the most famous cavers, it is one of the five most beautiful equipped caves on the planet. One of the most visited caves in Europe Marmara in 1992 was admitted to the International Association of equipped caves (Genga, Italy). The marble cave welcomes guests with the “Fairy Tales Gallery”, which they enter through an artificial 10-meter tunnel. The width of the gallery is 20 meters. It is richly decorated with stalactites, stalagmites, leaky draperies. A beautifully lit route leads deep into the cave. The excursion path skirts the bizarre statues of stalagmites, their outlines strikingly reminiscent of fairy-tale heroes. Light pulls out of the darkness “Elephant”, “Mammoth”, the head of “Cave Master”, “Grandfather Frost”, “Frog Princess”. It is hard to believe that these figures were created over millions of years by drops of water and not by the hands of a talented sculptor. In the Tiger passage gallery, the vault of the cave descends, and there are clearly visible bell-shaped depressions, washed with pressure waters and later decorated with stalactites. A convenient tunnel in monolithic rock leads here, laid on the site of the discovered narrow siphon channel. Picturesque pillars divide the gallery into separate halls. At the bottom you can see small baths of water. Delightful flowing curtains, stone waterfalls, cascades of gur lakes, “cave pearls”, a unique niche of “helic-titus flowers”. From the excursion path you can see the bottom of the well, where the bones of a cave bear were found at a depth of 6 meters. Mysterious darkness is covered by the “Hall of Perestroika”. But the darkness recedes in the lights, and then amaze its size. This is one of the largest equipped halls in the world: its area is 4 thousand square meters. m, height is more than 20 m. Huge blocks of stone cover the bottom. The eastern wall of the hall at a height of 6-8 meters is lined with a snow-white coralite carpet of stone flowers, its length is about 40 meters. A unique 7-meter stalagmite, lying on its side and bearing the name "Falled Tower". And next to the giant there are graceful fragile lace - goury lakes, at the bottom of which the so-called "cave pearls" are found. A wonderful view opens from the crest of one of the largest calcite dams in Europe (base width 56 m). In the center of the "Palace Hall" (part of which is visible from the dam) are grandiose flowing columns "King" and "Queen" with "retinue" - stalagmites of various forms. Gural lakes follow to the "Clay Hall". There are few holes in it, but each is unique. This is where the main gallery ends. The Lower Gallery is a geological and mineralological reserve. The narrow passage turns into a 12-meter well leading to the "Hall of Roses" - a chaos of stone blocks covered with sparkling coralites and stalagmites. Behind it - the absolute harmony of the "Hall of Hope", then the "Balcony Hall", "Candle Hall", "Capital Hall" and "Road Hall", as well as the halls "Chocolate" and "Helicitous". Here the moves run in different directions... The average duration of the tour of the Marble Cave is 1 hour. The air temperature is constant (+9 degrees).