Driving out on an Alushta route, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to drop in at a place of the old Chatyr-Dag. It is the best-known mountain range in the Crimea, which is included in the highest five ones on the peninsula. The peak of the overhead plateau is 1525 meters above sea level. From a distance the outlines of the mountain range remind a tent or a marquee; the name Chatyr-Dag derives from here, meaning a «tent-mountain» in translation from Turkic.

Long ago tourists and speleologists chose Chatyr-Dag. People rush here to see or explore the karst cavities of this stone giant. In fact, by the amount of mines, craters, wells and caves Chatyr-Dag is ahead of all yailas of the peninsula. The explorers of caves, speleologists, compare Chatyr-Dag with swiss cheese. On the lower plateau more than 150 caves are found, none of them looks like the other. Also, it is at Chatyr-Dag the highest cave of the Crimea, the Treshinnaya, is situated. It is 1490 m above sea level.

For several years by this time all tourist agencies of the Crimea in eager rivalry offer excursions in caves Marble and Emine-Bair-Khosar. They are amazingly beautiful caves, each of which has fantastic water formations like flowers, icicles, frozen streams of water and even fairy-tale figures. There are crystals of different color. Giving some light on them one can see charming glitter. Besides, there are real lakes in the caves. And if formerly it was possible to get into the fascinating world of caves only with the help of special equipment, now Bair and Marble are well-equipped for tourists. Concrete walks and stairs lead from one hall to another.

Now one more cave accessible for tourists appeared in Chatyr-Dag. The matter is that spaleologists and extreme-lovers knew Trekhglazka long ago. It is located just in two kilometres from the famous Marble.

The Trekhglazka-cave was known long ago. As early as before last century shepherds and hunters told about it. In literature its description appeared in 1927 in the magazine «Crimea». The author told that the entrance to the cave was represented by three inlets; hence the name of the cavity — Trekhglazka — follows. However tourists got accustomed to another name — Nostril.

More detailed description of the underground kingdom was done by a professor Victor Dublyanskiy. He investigated 240 meters of the cave — such is its length. And its depth appeared to be 63 meters. No longer than in the nineties of the 20th century people managed to penetrate into the two times more depth, and the investigated length reached 950 meters. But these marks of the cave, as before, are accessible only to speleologists. Tourists can pass not more than two hundred meters.

How has this surprisingly beautiful cave appeared? Specialists talk that Trekhglazka appeared also as Marble and Bair, due to a powerful water-course which went from the side of the southern mountains, now they are under waters of the Black sea. Specialists say, Trekhglazka appeared the same way as Marble and Bair, due to a massive stream of water which went from the side of the southern mountains, now they are under the waters of the Black sea. It happened 10-12 million years ago. The great bulk of limestone had been broking like an egg-shell, and water rushed into the cracks and splits, leaving behind enormous halls and passages. Then the processes of raising subsided, and waters quietly began to flow in their underground river-beds. Thus the process of creation the beauty of the cave began.

All, what this unbelievable underground world is rich in, was made by water. During millions of years it was continuously destroying limestones which had been easily dissolved and washed out under its influence. Calcium carbonate, dissolved in water, accumulated on the stone-surface. Drop after drop gradually a knob was appearing and in a course of time it was growing to become a hanging icicle — stalactite. Having fallen down on the floor, the drop left a particle of mineral on it as well. To meet the stalactite a stalagmite grew from a floor. Later on they will join into one thick column — stalagnat. The originality of forms, created by nature, yields to no description. And this wonderful process is endless because water constantly goes into many caves of Chatyr-Dag. However now it does not bubble on the stone cavities, but penetrates through bedrock from the surface, when it rains or snow melts. But even this life-giving moisture is enough to increase the underground depository.

An excursion to Trekhglazka begins with a corridor, from where millions years ago a rough torrent broke through into the stone depth of the earth. Here on walls sinters of calcium crystal joints are visible. From the main arch of the entrance the cavity stretches farther and looked originally as a narrow crack from a meter to two width and only in some places reaching 12 meters. Approximately in 80 meters of the underground kingdom we’ll see a block and collapsed water bridge on the floor. And farther ahead there’s again a kingdom of various sinter drips, reminding the roots of trees, barely blossoming out floral buds, clusters of vine, water cascade hardenings.

Roughly in one hundred meters from the main entrance there is a ledge preceding the upper course. From here not far away on the wall a dripstone sculpture, reminding a woman with a bent leg, is perfectly visible. This natural sculpture has been nicknamed Venus Chatyrdagsky. If to ascend from the ledge on the 2nd floor, a delightful scene — an underground lake — is waiting for you. Its length is two and a half meters, depth — up to three. The temperature of water is invariable six degrees. As far as ten meters away from this lake there is another one, but almost two times bigger. Overhead part of the cave is also rich in dripstone water formations, rare for the most of the Crimean caves though. You can get there by direct flight to Simferopol or through Kiev or Odessa.