Leaving Massandra Palace and wandering back down the hillside the way we came, we then picked up another bus and headed down the road a mile or two for a visit to the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens. Admission is cheap, about two and a half bucks U.S., and it gets you into the largest collection of plants, trees, flowers, shrubs, hedges, cacti and all things botanical you’re ever likely to encounter, fifty-thousand species gathered from around the world and encompassing an amazing eleven square kilometers tumbling down a gently sloped hillside almost to the Black Sea coastline. Founded in 1812, Nikitsky Botanical Gardens is a combination of scientific research institute and tourist attraction, run by the Ukrainian Academy of Agrarian Sciences.

(Inside the entrance to Nikitsky Botanical Gardens)

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If you’re a wine lover, you won’t want to miss the famous Massandra winery, located just a few miles from Yalta in the small town of Massandra. The Mediterranean climate of southern Crimea, with long, hot summers and mild, wet winters, is ideal for viticulture, and you will find vineyards covering many of the slopes throughout the coastal region. Massandra is the largest winemaker in the country and to date has produced over one million bottles. The main plant, which we visited, has been in continuous operation at this location since 1897.

We took one of the local buses from central Yalta to Massandra, a short trip of about ten minutes, then hoofed it up a fairly steep hill from the bus stop. If it’s a hot day, as it was when we went, by the time you reach the winery you’ll be ready for a drink, or two or three. We took a tour of the winemaking facilities which was informative but nothing you wouldn’t get on any winery tour in the U.S.  What was impressive was the tasting.

(Main entrance to Massandra Winery)

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Yalta is a city of about 100,000 people perched in a spectacular natural setting at the southern tip of Crimea, nestled beside a deep bay on the Black Sea and surrounded by high cliffs that plunge almost right to the waters edge. This is the main reason the rail line doesn’t run all the way to Yalta. It simply wouldn’t be feasible, economically or physically, to build one.

If you travel from Simferopol to Yalta like we do, by taxi bus or electric trolley, be prepared when you step off the bus for what I call the assault of the room-for-rent-vultures. These are women scouting for travelers seeking non-hotel accomodations in town and if you show one of them the slightest interest, the entire pack will descend upon you and pick your bones clean within minutes. Okay, I exaggerate, but only a little. It’s really quite comical to watch them surround their victims and make their pitch. This is high-pressure salesmanship of a magnitude I’ve never before witnessed. Half the time I expect to see hair pulled and punches thrown as they argue and try to outmaneuver one another to gain the interest and attention of potential renters.

(Yalta and surrounding cliffs)

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