Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Crimea: description and location

The Botanical Garden is usually a purely local attraction, which is in any large city, while even local residents do not always know where it is. In this regard, the Nikitsky Botanical Garden is an amazing exception to the rule, since it, located in the resort and comprehensively interesting Yalta, is considered one of the main attractions not only of this resort, but of the whole Crimea. If you are not fond of botany, it probably does not make sense to go here specifically for it, but if you are in these parts, be sure to visit this kingdom of flora.

Among other botanical gardens Nikitsky stands out for the fact that he is "the most" in many respects. It’s worth starting at least with the fact that it has a huge area of ​​1100 ha - unlike many other similar places, it’s quite possible to get lost here. Besides, at least on the scale of Eastern Europe it is the oldest botanical garden - its founder Christian Steven planted here the first trees back in 1812. Finally, the garden is located in the south in relation to both Russia and Ukraine, it is located in the subtropical zone, which for most citizens of these countries is already a curiosity in itself, which means that due to the climate, it is possible to grow various southern crops with great success plants from all over the globe.

This is not only commonplace greenhouses, but also a full arboretum, that is, arboretum - A place where woody and some other plants are grown directly in the open ground. Planting of botanical species is carried out in accordance with a certain system, therefore, taking a walk here, you can very naturally imagine that you are in a completely different country, and make a virtual but very believable journey around the world in just one day.

The Nikitsky Botanical Garden, like the entire Crimean Peninsula, is the subject of a territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine, but in both cases its high status is recognized. In the framework of the Russian definition, he was assigned regional significance within the Crimea, and as for Ukraine, she even considers it an object of national importance.

In 1811, at the request of the Kherson military governor Richelieu, Count Vorontsov and chief inspector for sericulture Bieberstein, Alexander I signed a decree establishing a state-owned botanical garden, for which he ordered 10 thousand rubles to be allocated annually. The foundation date of the institution, however, is considered to be the following, 1812, when the first director was appointed in March, the already mentioned botanist Steven, and in September the first plants were planted.

At first, the arboretum was conceived for a practical purpose - it mainly planted fruit and ornamental trees of exotic varieties, which in the mild subtropical conditions of Crimea could be propagated and gradually acclimatized to Russian conditions. Already in 1815 the first catalog of the garden was released, which included 174 plant species - true, 95 of them were apple varieties, and another 58 were pear varieties. The usefulness of the institution quickly became apparent, and directors began to be sent at public expense to travel abroad to better study the local flora.

The successors turned out to be no less active - the collection continued to grow, and in 1828 they even opened a special school where they could learn practical gardening. Then, vineyards first appeared here, which later became the basis for an entire research institute of viticulture and winemaking.

At the end of the century before last, Nikitsky Botanical Garden experienced a certain decline - they began to finance it less, because the collection grew more slowly, selection experiments were practically not carried out, and the main emphasis was placed on teaching students in an adjacent school. Only in 1907, with the advent of prominent botanists Kuznetsov and Wolfe to leading positions, research was resumed, and the last several years later also collected a unique herbarium of Crimea from 100 thousand sheets.

During the Second World War, the arboretum was close to destruction - the military did not care about the safety of the arboretum, and the Germans also removed the famous herbarium of Wolfe. He, however, still managed to find and return.

On most maps, especially if they are not particularly detailed, the Nikitsky Botanical Garden is not indicated. Moreover, Nikita is not usually indicated there either - this is the name of the village of 2 thousand inhabitants, to which the arboretum is “assigned”. However, the settlement in the administrative-territorial plan is subordinate to Yalta, and that one is already much larger and more famous, therefore it is listed on most maps.

If you can’t even imagine where it is, look for Yalta in that part of the map where the Crimean peninsula is sandwiched between the Black and Azov Seas - roughly speaking, this is to the south and a little to the west (down and slightly to the left) from Moscow. Yalta, and with it Nikita and the Botanical Garden, are located in the southernmost part of the Crimean Peninsula, on its famous South Bank, almost directly south of Simferopol.

The easiest way to get here is from neighboring Yalta - the distance along the highway does not exceed 10 km anywhere, and with normal driving on your own or rented car you can get here in 20 minutes. At the same time, you need to navigate on the routes leading to Gurzuf and Alushta.

Naturally, such a popular and sought-after attraction could not remain deprived of public transport - it is included in the city system of Yalta. The final stop of not only buses 29 and 34, but also intercity trolleybuses 2 and 53 is located here. A great advantage of public transport is that you will not get lost with it - it will drop you off directly opposite the entrance gate. There is an even more romantic way to get here - to sail on a boat, and although they go much less often and move slower, it pulls on a separate adventure.

If you are traveling from other settlements, it is most logical to choose the transport that goes to Yalta. The city does not have its own railway station, and indeed in Crimea it is a little tricky with railway connections, however, the city has direct bus routes to all ends of the peninsula, as well as to many cities of the European part of Russia - Moscow, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don , Sochi and many others. For those arriving from far away, it will be logical to use the Simferopol airport, connected with 70 cities of Russia by direct air service, and from there go to Yalta in any convenient way.

Nikitsky Botanical Garden is a whole complex of not only botanical, but also supporting infrastructure. It is extremely difficult to list everything that is in it, therefore we select only the most important objects.

• Upper and lower gardens. Together, these two sections make up the Arboretum - the main part of the garden, where the predominant part of exotic woody exotic botanical plants grows. It was from here that the nursery of cultivated fruit and ornamental plants began, which eventually grew to a whole botanical garden on a thousand hectares.

• Park "Montedor". This part of the arboretum has long been closed to visitors, but several years ago it was reopened. From the outside it is a typical Crimean park, only slightly supplemented by exotic plants, but it was created by professional landscape designers, which can be considered a real example of landscape gardening art.

• Cactus greenhouse. Everyone who likes typical Mexican landscapes should come here - here is a truly huge collection of different succulents, consisting of more than a thousand species. A separate ticket is not for sale here - this is a kind of bonus to the Montedor Park.

• Cape Martyan Nature Reserve. This conservation area is, as it were, a separate object of particular interest due to the fact that the juniper forest has survived here, whose age is at least 5 centuries. The territory of the reserve is adjacent to the botanical garden, whose researchers conduct scientific experiments here.

• Health Center. Not every botanical garden can boast of its own sanatorium, but Nikitsky has even that. The building is relatively small, but equipped with everything you need, and you can really improve your health, because the sea, the beach and the reserve are located nearby, there is no industry nearby, and the air is crystal clear.

• Scientific and Innovation Center (SIC). This object was created specifically so that specialists in the field of agricultural sciences could gather at conventions and conferences, improve their own skills or even undergo postgraduate practice after graduating from a higher educational institution. There is no need for such a visitor to look for a hotel somewhere in Yalta and daily solve transport issues for round-trip travel - the SIC provides a hotel for such cases.

The Nikita Botanical Fund consists of thousands of species of trees and smaller flora, which are competently grouped in such a way that this gives an idea of ​​a certain region of the earth and allows you to create a model of attractive landscape design.

The collection of plants even today is still replenished, including through new imported species, but in general, the park has long been self-reproducing, because local gardeners themselves grow seedlings and seedlings in specially designated places. In addition, botanists working in the structure of the botanical garden carry out experiments and selective experiments, due to which new varieties of well-known plants are still being bred.

In addition to large sections of the botanical garden, there are also relatively small exhibitions, a visit to which can leave no less vivid impressions than the entire park. Some of them work constantly, others receive guests only in a certain season, but it’s worth a brief run at least on the main ones - suddenly for you they will become the main highlight and the best memory.

• Dinosaur exhibition appeared in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden relatively recently, but almost immediately won the crazy love of children, and among adults it is of interest to many. In principle, the organizers simply placed growth sculptures of ancient reptiles in the Seaside Park, which peek out from the thickets here and there, frightening some visitors and delighting others. This is one of the most popular photo zones in the entire botanical garden.

• Tulip Parade - A traditional spring exhibition showing how diverse these beautiful flowers can be. In recent decades, such events have been organized even in some large cities abroad, attracting thousands of tourists during the flowering of tulips, and even a real botanical garden would be ashamed not to have something like that. As a rule, the opening is scheduled for the first half of April, but in each year certain chronological movements related to the weather are possible.

• Chrysanthemum ball in terms of meaning, it resembles a parade of tulips, it is only appointed for autumn - during the flowering period of these flowers. They are usually perceived with a little less reverence than tulips, but with the efforts of local botanists who annually create impressive flower beds anew, a real work of art is being created. In Japan, they already managed to understand that such a flowerbed can look very interesting, but it is not always necessary to go so far - there is no worse situation at hand. This event takes place in November, when even the subtropics have largely succumbed to the influence of autumn, because the last bright colors have a special magic.

The beauty of the botanical garden in Nikita is that you can come here at any time of the year - there is always something interesting here.Of course, in the winter and in February-March, the local flora may seem poorer than from April to October, but there is an opportunity to see in bloom, even in the greenhouse, those plants that simply do not grow in our climate. That is why avid lovers of botany do not attend the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in a certain season - for them it can be interesting at any time.

The same roses bloom here almost year-round, not to mention the greenhouse crops, which may have their own, completely unlike our usual flowering schedule. Various tropical vines can bloom not in the spring, as you might expect, but on the New Year, delighting visitors with bright colors. Of course, if you are not too good at botany, and arrived at the botanical garden in the cold months of the year, it makes special sense to pre-study the situation or book an organized excursion, otherwise you can pay for a simple walk through the winter forest.

Nikitsky Botanical Garden allows both independent visits and ordering excursions. Experienced visitors are advised not to be greedy and use the services of a guide - only he can really reveal all the interesting things, tell a lot about plants that you might think are unremarkable against the rest of the greenery. At the same time, a beginner, even if he is an experienced nerd, can’t figure it out without a map, so if you are walking on your own, it’s better to download the map in advance or buy it at the entrance.

The park’s work schedule changes three times a year. The institution works the longest in the summertime - from 8 to 20 hours, in winter the working day is greatly reduced - from 9 to 16 hours. October is a special month, it has its own schedule - during this period the arboretum is open from 8 to 18 hours.

Please note that the territory of the botanical garden has a large number of temporary and permanent expositions, the visit of which is not included in the price of the main ticket. A universal ticket for all expositions does not exist, except as part of a large excursion, because it is worth stocking up with money - the price tags are not shocking, but they do not offer an overview of at least half of the territory. An adult will be admitted to Arboretum for 300 rubles, and a school student - for 150, and to the Montedor park - for 150 and 100 rubles, respectively. The dinosaur exhibition located in the Primorsky park will require 500 rubles per person, but here discounts are provided not only for children, but also for students with pensioners - 300 rubles will be taken from each of them.

A full tour of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden will cost the visitor several thousand rubles, but, as we see, discounts are provided for children. At the same time, a number of visitors are offered free access to most departments of the botanical garden. In most cases, these are categories of citizens who enjoy preferential rights also in many other situations. Perhaps the most demanded benefit is for children under 7 years of age, if you have three or more minor children, you can also apply for a free visit.

The rules of conduct on the territory of the arboretum are logical, but still briefly go through them again. You can’t enter the territory on your own transport, nor should you walk on lawns or have a halt or picnic on them, walk your pets. It is forbidden to collect any plant materials for any purpose, even if it is fallen leaves, all the more it is not allowed to cause any harm to the local vegetation. Professional shooting in the botanical garden is possible only after agreement with the administration of the institution. Violation of any of the above rules entails a fine. Employees of the park have the right at any time to demand the presentation of an admission ticket, therefore the cash receipt must be kept.

Description and location of the Nikitinsky Botanical Garden in the video below.