The grandiose Ai-Petri massif, towering over the southern coast, presented the Crimean peninsula with many interesting natural objects. These are numerous caves, and powerful springs, and picturesque peaks, and relict forests, and rivers with clear ice water.
There are waterfalls on Ai-Petri. Everyone knows the handsome Wuchang-Su, breaking down from an almost hundred-meter ledge on the southern slope of the mountain. Still, this is the highest waterfall in Crimea. True, it can be seen in all its glory quite rarely - after heavy and prolonged downpours, and even in spring, when the snow melts on the plateau. In summer, as a rule, there is very little water in the Wuchang-Su River. During this period, another waterfall that adorns the slopes of Ai-Petri is much more attractive. It is located in the north of the massif, near the village of Sokolinoye, and is called very romantically - Silver Streams (or simply Silver).
20 years ago, only local historians and hikers knew about this object. It was a quiet corner of almost untouched mountain nature. But with the development of excursion tourism and activerecreation, when the Crimean mountains became especially popular among recreants, the Silver Falls turned into one of the attractions of the peninsula.
The places here are very picturesque: a mountain slope covered with beech and hornbeam forest, along which gray limestone rocks are scattered, framed by dark greenery of mosses and ferns. The mountain river Sary-Uzen runs along this slope, carrying its waters to the valley of the Kokkozka River. The water stream briskly jumps along the rocky channel, either diving underground and forming an under-channel current, or returning to the surface, overcoming rapids and falling off rocky ledges in picturesque cascades. One of these cascades is Silver Falls. Its height is only 6 meters, but it is not the height and power of the stream that attracts tourists. Silver Waterfall is neither majestic nor grandiose, it is more suitable for the title of the most romantic.
Streams of water flow down from a stone peak covered with shaggy moss. Under the visor, the cavity of a small grotto turns black, against which the jets, illuminated by the sun, seem really silver. In winter, a bizarre curtain of ice stalactites grows here, thanks to which the waterfall received its second name - Crystal.
The Sary-Uzen River has mainly underground food. Its source is an icy stream flowing from a source cave. Even in the summer heat, when most of the Crimean rivers freeze, this stream invariably murmurs, fueled by cave condensate. Therefore, the melodic rustle of the jets never ceases and the cloud of the smallest drops does not disappear,surrounding Silver Falls. This is one of the reasons for the popularity of this tourist site. In addition, there is a waterfall just a kilometer from the road connecting Y alta and Bakhchisaray, and the path to it is simple, smooth and picturesque. In the vicinity there are many famous and not so famous sights: the cave-source Zheltaya and Yusupov lake, the rocks of Sedam-Kaya and Syuyuryu-Kaya with beautiful panoramic platforms, the Tea House. Just a couple of kilometers separate the Silver Streams waterfall and the Auzun-Uzen River flowing from the Grand Canyon.
These places are very crowded in summer. To feel the charm of nature, it is better to come here in the off-season, when the silence of the forest is broken only by the melodic murmur of jets, which, regardless of the time and weather, the Silver Falls invariably drops.
