What does the Crimean cave of Emine-Bair-Khosar look like and how to get to it?

Emine-Bair-Khosar Cave is better known as Mammoth. It is one of the most fabulous and unusual places on the Crimean peninsula. When you enter it, you get the feeling that you are in the home of fabulous creatures that live in their underground world in peace and quiet, far from worldly fuss. Every tourist should visit this unique natural monument.

The name Emine-Bair-Khosar in translation from the ancient Turkic language means "a well on a mountainside near an oak tree", but it is popularly called Mamontova. The fact is that it was here where the skeleton of a mammoth was once discovered, which today can be seen in one of the halls.

This unique cave owes its appearance to a whole combination of factors:

• geological processes lasting millions of years;
• natural conditions of the Crimean mountains;
• the originality of the landscape;
• the structure of the rocks that make up the rocks.

A large amount of precipitation turned the troughs into deep wells, and the latter transformed into long tunnels, which gave rise to underground rivers that grind the stone from the inside.

The age of Emine-Bair-Khosar is estimated at 10 million years, but scientists began researching the Mammoth Cave only in 1927. Since 1970, speleological expeditions there have become regular, however, if you listen to the local folklore, it will become obvious that people knew about the existence of this cave much earlier.

One very beautiful legend is associated with the cave, according to which at the foot of Chatyr-Dag Mountain there lived a beautiful young beauty Emine, in love with the shepherd Bair. Young dreamed of getting married and planned a wedding after the harvest. But the cruel Khan Selyamet saw the girl and wanted to get her for himself. To achieve his insidious goal, he decided to get rid of the shepherd, for this he ordered the guy to go into the wild forest and destroy the living there became a boar.

Only in this case was the khan ready to give his consent to this wedding. Bair rushed to the top of the mountain, leading away the angry angry boars. He knew that there was a deep well. His horse easily jumped over, and, one after another, they disappeared into the funnel. Bair felt tired and decided to settle for the night, sitting on the stones nearby, but in the middle of the night he woke up and accidentally fell into the well.

The faithful horse of the shepherd was very smart, he returned to the village and galloped straight to Emina, who immediately felt trouble. The beauty rushed in search of her beloved. When the horse brought her to the well, she neatly went downstairs - there she found a groom, wounded, but alive.

With an effort, overcoming the terrible pain, the young ones went upstairs and returned to their village, and when Bair got better, they played the long-awaited wedding. Since then, locals have nicknamed the mysterious cave Emine-Bair-Khosar.

One of the most beautiful caves of the Crimean peninsula Emine-Bair-Khosar is located on the lower level of the Chatyr-Dag mountain, so everyone who goes on a guided tour will have a unique opportunity to enjoy the picturesque mountain views. The only entrance to it has the shape of a well with steeply descending walls, whose height is approximately 16 meters. Mass access for tourists to the Mammoth Cave was opened relatively recently - in 1994, when cavers were able to break through the horizontal tunnel, making the descent into the cavity safe for people without special physical training.

The cave consists of several halls turning into each other. The total length is 2 km, but tourists can visit no more than half. Emine-Bair-Khosar consists of five levels, with the upper one located at a depth of 30 m from the surface, and the lower one takes visitors 180 m. The temperature here does not even rise above the 5 degree mark in summer, and the humidity is almost 100%. All halls and galleries available for tourists are equipped with stairs and handrails. Everywhere held a bright backlight.

Getting lost in this cave is impossible. Therefore, if you do not deviate from the intended route, then there will be no need for a map.

Interestingly, several years ago, experiments were conducted: The goal of the researchers was to find out how people who are in the cave for 21 days will feel. It was found that humid air had the most beneficial effect on all biochemical processes taking place in the human body. Subjects easily, almost imperceptibly for themselves, switched from 24 to 48-hour days and at the same time did not tire at all. In a cold environment, the aging process of cells slows down, and the nervous system gradually stabilizes. But there were some side effects: from staying in constant darkness, the brain did not receive the necessary amount of light and responded to such unusual conditions with colored hallucinations.

Acquaintance with the cave begins with the spacious Main Hall. It is a grotto with a length of approximately 120 m. At a height of about 40 meters is the very well described in local legends and legends. It looks like a volcano vent. The hall houses the paleontological museum.Here you can see the skeletons of mammoths that lived in these places hundreds of thousands of years ago, among them the mammoth Kolya, whose skeleton got its name in honor of the paleontologist Nikolas who discovered it. Scientists have found that the mammoth was very young, no more than 12-15 years old, body weight was about two tons, and growth - about three meters. This exhibit is in the main hall of the cave without a head - during the fall of the animal, its skull split into small fragments.

Every year, archaeologists dig up the remains of some new animals, but the oldest is considered a woolly rhinoceros. Its age is determined at about 50 thousand years. The company consists of three adult mammoths, as well as cave bears and saber-toothed tigers, which had long since disappeared from the face of the earth.

No human remains have yet been found in the cave. Archaeologists tend to think that people knew about the well and were extremely cautious when moving around the mountain range. The Lake Hall looks very unusual and really fantastic. As the name implies, here is an underground lake, its depth varies depending on the level of precipitation, on average it is 55-65 m. Throughout the year, the water remains icy.

The Hall of Idols looks spectacular, here you can see bizarre miraculous figures up to 10 meters high. On the lower level, there are streaky formations that look like molten caramel of various colors - from fawn to dark chocolate with frequent interspersed minerals sparkling in the snow.

The Treasure House is very beautiful - a small but really amazing room. Thanks to the helicts, spiral, filiform, and also curly figures are formed here, which in the rays of light shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow.

Kecskemét is a hall, the main attraction of which is a couple of small pillars from stalagmites. One of them resembles a small volcano, and the other has a pure white color. By the way, it is he who is called the owner of the cave.

Open to tourists and the Throne Room. Here you can see an unusual formation, which was called the “Monomakh Hat”, it consists of a semi-liquid viscous substance of snow-white color. Its height is about 15 meters, and from the side of the formation looks like a giant mushroom.

At a depth of 70 m is the Mistress's Hall. It is considered the lowest accessible area for excursions. The hall got its name because of the unique education in the center, which is vaguely reminiscent of a female figure. Only about 700 m are open for tourists to visit, but they are quite enough to get the most indescribable emotions and enjoy the opening picture.

Without a doubt, Emine-Bair-Khosar is a cave, interesting for many tourists who prefer outdoor activities. It is not surprising that many visitors to the Crimea dream of being in this place. The easiest way is to use the services of a tour operator - almost all agencies conduct organized tours, providing a tourist car that will take travelers to their destination.

For lovers of independent travel, it is better to get by public transport: to do this, take the trolleybus following route No. 51 or No. 52 leaving Simferopol, or take the Yalta-Simferopol suburban minibus, exit near the village, from there walk to the village of Mramornoye, from where follow the signs right to the entrance to the cave . If you plan to make an excursion in your car, then you need to go from the capital of the peninsula along the Yalta highway, from there turn to Marble.

If you decide to visit the Mammoth Cave, then you should use useful recommendations.

• The cave is quite cold and damp, so the clothes should be appropriate: you need a jacket or a warm jacket, a hat for children is desirable.
• Shoes should be athletic, comfortable, surface - moisture resistant. Sandals, flip flops and high heel shoes are not good here.
• Be sure to take photos of everything that you see fit as you go. No one will provide you with separate time for photo and video shooting.

In the next video, you can take a closer look at the cave of Emine-Bair-Khosar.