Nikitsky Botanical Garden in Crimea: description and location

A botanical garden is usually a purely local landmark, which is in any large city, while even locals do not always know where it is located. In this regard, the Nikita Botanical Garden is an amazing exception to the rule, since it is located in the resort and comprehensively interesting Yalta, is considered one of the main attractions not only of this resort, but also of the whole Crimea. If you are not fond of botany, it probably does not make sense to go here specifically for it, but if you find yourself in these parts, by all means visit this kingdom of flora.

Among other botanical gardens, Nikitsky is distinguished by the fact that he is “the most” in many ways. We should start at least from the fact that it has a huge area of ​​1,100 hectares - unlike many other similar places, it is quite possible to get lost here. Besides, at least on the scale of Eastern Europe, this is the oldest botanical garden - its founder Christian Steven planted the first trees here in the distant 1812. Finally, the garden is located in the south with respect to both Russia and Ukraine, it is located in the subtropical zone, which for most citizens of these countries is itself a wonder, which means that due to the climate, it is possible to grow various southern plants with great success. plants from across the globe.

This is not only banal greenhouses, but also a full-fledged arboretum, that is, arboretum - a place where woody and some other plants are grown directly in open ground. The planting of botanical species is carried out in accordance with a particular system; therefore, having walked here, you can quite naturally imagine that you are in a completely different country, and make a virtual, but very plausible journey around the world in just one day.

Nikitsky Botanical Garden, like the entire Crimean peninsula, is the subject of a territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine, but in both cases its high status is recognized. In the framework of the Russian definition, he was assigned a regional significance within the Crimea, and as for Ukraine, she considers it to be an object of national importance.

In 1811, at the request of the Kherson military governor Richelieu, Count Vorontsov, and the chief inspector of sericulture, Biberstein, Alexander I signed a decree on the foundation of a state-owned botsad, which ordered 10 thousand rubles to be allocated annually. The founding date of the institution, however, is already considered to be the next, 1812, when in March the first director, the already mentioned botanist Steven was appointed, and in September the first plants were planted.

At first, the arboretum was conceived for practical purposes - here they planted mainly fruit and ornamental trees of exotic varieties, which in the mild subtropical conditions of the Crimea could be propagated and gradually acclimated to Russian conditions. Already in 1815, the first catalog of the garden was released, which included 174 plant species - however, 95 of them were apple varieties, and another 58 - pear varieties. The usefulness of the institution quickly became apparent, and the directors began to send overseas travel at public expense to better study the local flora.

The successors were no less active - the collection continued to grow, and in 1828 they even opened a special school where they could learn practical gardening. At the same time, vineyards first appeared here, which later became the base for the whole scientific research institute of viticulture and winemaking.

At the end of the nineteenth century, the Nikitsky Botanical Garden experienced a certain decline. - they began to finance him less, because the collection grew more slowly, selection experiments were practically not carried out, and the main focus of the activity was placed on training students in the adjacent school. Only since 1907, with the arrival of prominent botanists Kuznetsov and Wulf to senior positions, research resumed, and the last few years later also collected a unique Crimea herbarium of 100 thousand sheets.

During World War II, the arboretum was close to destruction — the military did not care at all about the safety of the arboretum, and the Germans also took out the famous Wulf herbarium. He, however, still managed to find and return.

On most maps, especially if they are not very specific, the Nikitsky Botanical Garden is not indicated. Moreover, Nikita is not usually indicated there either - that is the name of the settlement of 2 thousand inhabitants, to which the arboretum is “assigned”. However, the settlement in the administrative-territorial plan is subordinated to Yalta, and that one is already much larger and more known, therefore it appears on most maps.

If you even have no idea where it is, look for Yalta in that part of the map where the Crimean peninsula is sandwiched between the Black and Azov seas - roughly speaking, it is south and slightly to the west (down and slightly to the left) from Moscow. Yalta, and with it Nikita and the botanical garden, are located in the southernmost part of the Crimean peninsula, on its famous Southern coast, almost directly to the south from Simferopol.

The easiest way to get here from neighboring Yalta is that the distance along the highway does not exceed 10 km anywhere, and with normal driving on your own or rented car you can get here in 20 minutes. You need to focus on the tracks leading towards Gurzuf and Alushta.

Naturally, such a popular and sought-after attraction could not remain devoid of public transport - it is included in the urban system of Yalta. Here is the final stop not only for buses 29 and 34, but also for long-distance trolley buses 2 and 53. The big advantage of public transport is that you won't get lost with it - it will drop you right opposite the entrance gate. There is an even more romantic way to get here - to sail on a boat, and although they go much less often and move more slowly, it draws on a separate adventure.

If you are coming from other settlements, it is most logical to choose the transport that goes to Yalta. The city does not have its own railway station, and indeed in the Crimea it is tight with railway connections, but the city has direct bus connections to all parts of the peninsula, as well as to many cities in the European part of Russia - Moscow, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don , Sochi and many others. For arrivals from afar, it will be logical to use the Simferopol airport, connected with 70 cities of Russia by direct air service, and then from there go to Yalta in any convenient way.

Nikitsky Botanical Garden is a whole complex of not only botanical, but also auxiliary infrastructure. It is extremely difficult to list everything that is in it, therefore we will select only the most important objects.

• Upper and lower gardens. Together, these two sections make up the Arboretum - the main part of the garden, where most of the woody exotic plants of the botsad grow. It was from here that a nursery of cultivated fruit and ornamental plants began, which over time grew to a whole botanical garden per thousand hectares.

• Park "Montedor". This part of the arboretum was closed to visitors for a long time, but it was re-opened several years ago. From the outside it is a typical Crimean park, only slightly supplemented with exotic plants, but it was created by the hands of professional landscape designers, because of which it can be considered a real example of landscape art.

• Cactus greenhouse. Anyone who likes typical Mexican landscapes should come here - here is a truly huge collection of various succulents, consisting of more than a thousand species. A separate ticket is not for sale here - this is a kind of bonus to the Montedor park.

• Cape Martyan Nature Reserve. This protected area is a separate object, as it were, of particular interest due to the fact that the juniper forest has been preserved here and is at least 5 centuries old. The territory of the reserve is closely adjacent to the botanical garden, whose researchers are conducting scientific experiments here.

• Health Center. Not every botanical garden can boast of its own sanatorium, but Nikitsky even has this. The building is relatively small, but equipped with everything necessary, and here you can really improve your health, because the sea, the beach and the reserve are located nearby, there is no industry nearby, and the air is crystal clear.

• Scientific Innovation Center (SIC). This facility was created specifically to enable experts in the field of agricultural sciences to gather at congresses and conferences, improve their own skills, or even complete postgraduate practice after graduating from a higher educational institution. So there is no need for visitors to look for a hotel somewhere in Yalta and to solve transport questions daily for traveling there and back - there is a hotel in the SIC itself for such cases.

Nikita's botanical fund consists of thousands of species of trees and smaller flora, which are intelligently grouped in such a way that it gives an idea of ​​a certain region of the earth and allows you to create a sample of attractive landscape design.

Even today, the collection of presented plants is still replenished, including through new imported species, but on the whole, the park has long been self-replicating, because local gardeners themselves grow seedlings and seedlings in specially designated areas. In addition, botanists working in the structure of the botanical garden, conduct experiments and selective experiments, due to which they still produce new varieties of well-known plants.

In addition to the large sections of the botanical garden, it also has relatively small exhibitions, a visit to which can leave no less vivid impressions than the entire park as a whole. Some of them work constantly, others receive guests only in a certain season, but a short run at least for the main ones is worth - suddenly for you they will become the main highlight and the best memory.

• Dinosaur exhibition appeared in Nikitsky botsad relatively recently, but almost immediately won the crazy love of children, and among adults it is interesting to many.In principle, the organizers simply placed in the Seaside Park growth sculptures of ancient reptiles, which here and there look out of the undergrowth, frightening some visitors and enthusing others. This is one of the most popular photo zones in the entire botanical garden.

• Tulip Parade - traditional spring exhibition, showing how diverse these beautiful flowers can be. In recent decades, such events are organized even in some major cities abroad, attracting thousands of tourists during the flowering of tulips, and it would be a shame to a true botanical garden not to have something like that. As a rule, the opening is scheduled for the first half of April, but in each year certain chronological changes are possible due to weather patterns.

• Chrysanthemum Ball by its semantic content, it resembles a parade of tulips, it is only appointed for autumn - during the flowering period of these flowers. They are usually perceived with a little less reverence than tulips, but the efforts of local botanists, who create impressive flower beds every year, create a real work of art. In Japan, they have already understood that such a flowerbed can look very interesting, but you don’t always need to go so far - there is no worse off by your side. This event takes place in November, when even the subtropics were already largely influenced by the fall, because the last bright colors have special magic.

The beauty of the botanical garden in Nikita is that you can come here at any time of the year - there is always something interesting here. Of course, in the winter and in February-March, the local flora may seem poorer than from April to October, but it is possible to see those plants in flowering, even in the greenhouse, that do not grow in our climate. That is why avid botany lovers do not attend Nikitsky Botanical Gardens at a certain season - it can be interesting for them at any time.

The same roses bloom here almost year-round, not to mention the greenhouse cultures.that can have their own, quite unlike the usual flowering schedule. Various tropical vines can bloom not in the spring, as might be expected, but in the New Year, delighting visitors with bright colors. Of course, if you are not very good at botany, and arrived in the botanical garden during the cold months of the year, it makes special sense to study the situation in advance or order an organized excursion, otherwise you can pay for a simple walk through the winter forest.

Nikitsky Botanical Garden allows both independent visits and ordering excursions. Experienced visitors advise not to be greedy and use the services of a guide - only he can really reveal all the interesting things, tell a lot about plants that you might seem unremarkable against the background of the rest of the greenery. At the same time, a beginner, even if he is an experienced nerd, cannot understand this without a map, so if you take a walk on your own, it is better to download a map in advance or buy it at the entrance.

The schedule of the park changes three times a year. The institution works the longest in the summer time - from 8 to 20 hours, in winter the working day is greatly reduced - from 9 to 16 hours.October is a special month, it has its own schedule - during this period the arboretum is open from 8 to 18 hours.

Please note that the botanical garden has a large number of temporary and permanent expositions, which are not included in the price of the main ticket. There is no universal ticket for all expositions, except as part of a large excursion, because the money should be reserved - the price tags are not shocking, but do not offer a review of at least half of the territory. An adult will be allowed into the Arboretum for 300 rubles, and a schoolboy for 150, to the Montedor park for 150 and 100 rubles, respectively. The dinosaur exhibition, located in the Primorsky park, will require 500 rubles per person, but there are discounts not only for children, but also for students with retirees - they will take 300 rubles from each of them.

A full tour of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden will cost the visitor several thousand rubles, but, as we see, discounts are provided for children. At the same time, a number of visitors are offered free access to most of the botsad departments. In most cases, these are categories of citizens who enjoy privileged rights in many other situations. Perhaps, the most demanded benefit is for children under 7 years old, if there are three or more minor children, you can also qualify for free admission.

The rules of behavior on the territory of the arboretum are logical, but still briefly go over them again. You cannot enter the territory on your own transport, it is also not allowed to walk on the lawns or arrange a halt or picnic on them, or walk domestic animals. Collecting any plant materials for any purpose is prohibited, even if it is fallen leaves, especially not allowed to cause any harm to local vegetation. Professional photography in the botany garden is possible only after agreement with the administration of the institution. Violation of any of the above rules incurs a fine. Park employees have the right at any time to require the presentation of an entrance ticket, because cash voucher must be kept.

Description and location of Nikitinsky Botanical Garden in the video below.