Our nature is famous for its beauty and diversity, and sometimes, choosing which of its amazing places to visit, tourists are faced with a difficult choice. But there are also places that stand out for their uniqueness and undoubtedly deserve attention. One of these places is the red Kyzyl-Koba caves, also called Kizil-Koba.
Where is
This place is a system of several caves, only 25 kilometers of them have been studied, which is a drop in the sea with their size. The cave does not stop at the achieved size, many knowledgeable people call it alive, since every year it becomes more and more. This happens due to the river of the same name.
This miracle of nature is located in the Crimean mountains and occupies a large area, no less than 64,000 m2. You can say a lot about the history of the formation of the cave, it is one of the ancient, because at this time its age is estimated at about 2.5 million years. Over the entire existence of the Red Cave (one of several of its names), more than 900 exits to the surface were opened, and how many internal halls, with their indescribable beauty ...
Cave halls
The most famous are the Blue Drop Halls, Academic, Chinese, Indian, with a height of more than 140 meters and a maximum length of about 80 meters. There is always something to see inside each of the halls. Walls of extraordinary beauty, shimmering with red, red, brown tints, glorify the cave. These unusual colors are due to iron oxide, which in large quantities prevails in the textures of the earth.
All rooms are divided into galleries located at different levels. Now people have studied 9 such tiers. The border of each is a river, which is located along the entire length of the cave and stimulates its further growth, development and the formation of new halls. Water not only flows in the depths, but also decorates, gives extraordinary beauty, which is simply impossible to create with your hands.
Exploring the cave
It is the river that opens up new tunnels, passages, halls and mines every year. But they do not open for everyone, but only for brave and adventurous people. To descend below the first level in the cave, you need to put on a wetsuit, because the border of each level is the same river, and since it is underground, the water temperature in it rarely rises above 8-9 degrees, which, even at a shallow depth, will not allow you to pass without special costumes.
For the daredevils who are ready to explore the next levels, extraordinary beauty opens up, and the very crossing of the inter-tier boundaries is an exciting adventure. After overcoming the water siphon, the unprecedented dimensions of the halls open before your eyes, with such heights of ceilings that even the light from the lanterns does not reach them. On the walls, there are deposits of natural resources that have been cut over many years by water to such bizarre forms that cannot be described in words. In front of each, even a small ledge, you can spend an uncountable amount of time, admiring and studying it, and no matter how many hours were spent on it, it will seem small.
With each dive below, into the depths of the cave, the sensations become brighter and more unforgettable. All this is due to the river, which does not stop only at creating the inner beauty of the cave, but also continues to amaze beyond it. Flowing out of Kizil-Koba, the river turns into a 30-meter waterfall Su-Uchkan. But this is not just a waterfall, it is a cascading waterfall that attracts the eye and encourages the desire to feel it, get to know it. One gets the feeling that somewhere, behind the water wall, one more of the entrances to the cave is hidden and a desire flares up to find it.
Cave outside
The almost transparent curtain seems impossibly light and allows you to see the cave from the outside, and there is something to see there. The outer color scheme of the cave is the same as inside, all the same bright tones of red, red and related shades, alternating with greenery of small trees, grass and massive stones. At one glance, this network of caves seems impregnable and rigid, but this is only a first glance. In some incomprehensible way, she attracts and opens up to those who wish.
All the beauty of the caves remains in the memory for a long time and remains difficult, but is postponed by the imprint of an indescribable feeling of admiration and lightness. Having been inside, walking through the galleries, halls, overcoming the tiers and sinking into the depths, a second wind opens and a great desire, the desire to do something wonderful, a large supply of energy appears, pushing to action.
Holy place
Even in ancient times, these caves were considered holy places. People lived in them, made sacrifices, adapted dry grottoes for their homes, as if specially untouched by water. In many halls, to the present day, they find a variety of tools, dishes, ornaments of ancient people. But not only this can be found, people also equipped rooms for wine cellars, as evidenced by the remains of amphorae with traces of wine. Thanks to all this, Kizil-Koba is not just a cave painted in unusual colors, but also an architectural monument. But even without this, anyone who has visited the depths of the cave has a desire to protect it and convey the message of the inner beauty to everyone.
After visiting the caves, books are written about them, many writers and scientists did not disregard them, one of the galleries was named after A.S. Griboyedov, this is one of the brightest routes. Small lakes forming mini waterfalls, an arch, entering into which there is a feeling of another world, hiding behind itself the transition to another hall, no less vivid with impressions. Around, along the entire route, there are stalagmites, stalactites, columns that seem to be draped with some kind of light, weightless cloth.
When planning a trip to this intriguing system, you need to be ready to learn new heights of beauty and gain an understanding of the extraordinary nature of nature, which gratuitously gives an ocean of sensations, overwhelming from head to toe and forever remaining in the soul.
