Rest on the lake Mangup in Crimea

In the Crimean Bakhchisarai on the Mangup-Kale plateau, among the green mountains and hills, there is a beautiful lake Mangup, known to travelers as Lake Maiden. It is hard to imagine that half a century ago this lake was not in the Crimea. The history of his formation is quite interesting. Finding this pond is easy and you can spend several days of wonderful relaxation there.

On the south side of the unique natural plateau Mangup-Kale, covered with greenery and representing four capes in the form of a paw of a huge animal, is Lake Devichye.

When asked about the Maiden Lake, few will answer that they are familiar with such a reservoir, and all because the locals call it Lake Mangup. It is located in the Bakhchisarai district at the foot of the ancient settlement Mangup-Kale. The lake is very young, he is not even 40 years old. The uniqueness of this reservoir is that it is created by the hands of man.

It was created by Soviet builders in the early 80s of the last century, digging a large pit. The opened underground streams quickly filled the hollow, forming a water surface among the majestic mountains covered with coniferous forest. Unfortunately, the resulting lake flooded part of the ancient history of this region of Crimea. Before the builders, archaeologists worked on the study of the ancient settlement here.

Construction became more important than archeology in Soviet times, and part of the ancient basilica has still remained unexplored. They say that when the pond is shallow, the outlines of the ancient temple are visible under the water, is it really so, one can only guess.

You can admire the steep walls of Mangup-Kale, having arrived to swim in the fresh waters of Mangup Lake. This cave settlement dates back to the 3rd-4th centuries. BC, a man here cut through caves in limestone, in which he hid from bad weather and enemies. With the conquest of these places by Byzantium, the cave city began to be called Doros, it was repeatedly taken by the Khazars. They gave the name of the area to Mangup-Kale.

In medieval time (XIV century) Mangup-Kale becomes the Khazar capital, it expands and flourishes, a basilica appears. To protect the capital, a three-story fortress was built during these times and a large freshwater well, which has survived to this day, is cut down in the rock. Then the fortress for a long time defended itself from the Ottomans, who nevertheless conquered it using cunning. The conquering Turks looted and destroyed the ancient city.

Soon, Crimea passed into the possession of the Russian Empire under Catherine II, but Mangup-Kale lost its former meaning, and the ruins were not restored. And only after 1970, this unique territory was recognized as a historical monument. It is a pity that by this time, many ancient artifacts were not acquired by scientists, but were freely available for ordinary ignorant people.

To get a tourist to Lake Mangup (aka Lake Maiden) from the airport in Simferopol, you need to keep track of the Bakhchisarai district. This route from Simferopol to Bakhchisarai will take a little more than 30 kilometers (or less than an hour by car). From Bakhchisarai it is necessary to choose the direction to the villages of Ternovka and Kholmovka, just between them lies the village of Khoja-Sala. Usually this way is covered by car, but you can take a ticket at the central Bakhchisarai station for public transport.

25 km from Bakhchisaray itself, near the village of Khoja-Sala, there will be a lake of interest to tourists. The pointer to the village of Khoja-Sala is difficult to miss, in the same direction you can see the pointer to Mangup-Kale. After the tourist left in the village of Khoja Sala or left his car in it, follow the signs to find a special hiking trail that is guaranteed to lead to the Mangup plateau and the lake.

Before visiting Mangup-Kale and Lake Maidens, you can stop in the village of Khoja-Sala or in other nearby villages. Also on one of the shores of the lake there is the Mangup-Kale hotel, although many visitors prefer a romantic tent holiday and settle here for a few days.

The popularity of Lake Mangup is growing, and every year an increasing number of tourists visit it, which attract natural beauty, clean air, smooth surface of the lake and green mountains.

• This place is famous for legends, the reliability of which can be trusted or not. A special guide will tell about them, the services of which can be used. There are always a lot of SUVs in front of the Mangup tourist camp, whose owners offer excursions to cave places.
• From a height of more than 500 meters above sea level stretched four capes with speaking names - Windy, Sosnovy, the cape of invocation of the Jews and the Leaky - offer breathtaking views. For relaxation, any of the capes is suitable, from each of them you can admire the unique nature. Being on the Maiden (Mangupsky) lake, you can admire the surrounding beauty from below, which will allow you to feel all the greatness of the mountains. Climbing tourists are happy to climb the cliffs and observe the beauty of the lake from above.
• Bathing in the lake, you can feel the cold areas in the water - underground keys beat it. The girl’s lake has a muddy bottom, fish are found in it. You can only go fishing here, paying a nominal fee for this pleasure, the best season for this is from May to June, and then in September. There may be crucians, carps in the catch, and roach may also be caught.
• You can also ride a catamaran for a fee, ride a horse or a donkey, and jeep riding will help to add extreme sports to rest. It provides rental of gazebos, awnings, tents, fishing tackle, barbecue.
• A special experience can be given overnight in one of the many caves. However, it should be borne in mind that the entire territory is protected, and it is better to take permission for each action. Prices here are not too high, but depend on the season, rental property and type of service.

The beauties of Lake Mangup in Crimea are shown in the video below.