At 1,234m, Ai-Petri is not the highest mountain in Crimea - that honour belongs to Roman Kosh (1,545m) between Gursuf and Alushta, north-east of Yalta. But it's certainly one of the most spectacular, with its sparkling white limestone peak and its jagged `teeth' (click here to see photos).
The peak is actually the weathered remains of a huge coral reef formed millions of years ago, when this area was under the sea, and although the limestone here is exceptionally dense - hence its longevity - fossils have been found in the rocks.
In the 6th century BC greek settlers in the area called it the Mountain of the Ram, suggesting that they saw the mountain's pointed summit as horns. Its later name, Ai-Petri, is also greek, meaning `sacred Peter' or `sacred rock', and derives from the christian monastery which stood on the plateau behind the peak until it was destroyed in the middle ages.
From the village of Miskhor near the Alupka Palace, you can take one of the longest cable-car rides in europe (3.5 km - in two legs) to get to the peak. The route takes you above vineyards and then forest, and finally up the steep rocky side of the mountain, with spectacular views of the Black Sea coast as you go up.
Alternatively, you can take a minibus or taxi up the winding forest road that leads to the plateau behind the summit, taking in panoramic glimpses of Yalta and the sea, and then stopping off at the Uchan-Su waterfall (98m) on the way. Or you can do the climb on foot with a guide who knows the safe way up.
There's a tiny Tatar hamlet on the plateau, where the people make a living selling food and drink and offering guided pony-rides further into the mountains. If you're lucky you might see a Tatar horseman galloping bareback - as steady as if he was sitting in a saddle with stirrups.
From the summit a narrow road snakes across the plateau and then down to the Great Canyon. Up to 350m deep and no more than 3m wide at its narrowest, the Canyon is thickly wooded and part of a series of conservation areas covering most of the coastal range of mountains. You can walk along the floor of the Canyon or along one of the higher paths along the sides. It's worth making a detour to the famous `Vanna Molodosty' (Bath of Youth), named by the Tatar Khan who used to make regular trips to it because he claimed it rejuvenated him. The `bath' is a 3m deep `kettle' in the rocks, fed by a clear mountain spring. After a hot hike through the woods the water feels colder than it actually is (about 8 degrees C) but boy, is it refreshing!
