On Mount Alenga near Southern Demerdzhi, you can see very interesting weathering rocks. Usually, when tour bureaus invite you on an excursion to Mount Demerdzhi, by default, they mean visiting only the Valley of Ghosts and the Funa Fortress. This place is very famous, and bus tours come here from almost all cities of the Southern coast of Crimea, from Sudak to Yalta.
However, Mount Alenga on Demerdzhi is no less interesting place than the Valley of Ghosts. Alenga is a rocky outcrop of the Southern Demerdzhi Mountain, which is closest to the Black Sea coast. As the rocks of the Valley of Ghosts, it has in its composition not only sandstone, but also inclusions of conglomerate. Thanks to this, there are very interesting weathering figures here. Some look like caterpillars, others like trolls.
Being at the bottom, near the village of Luchistoe, all people can see a rock that looks like a bust of a man. This rock is called the Bust of Catherine, in memory of the journey of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great, which she made to the Crimea with Potemkin in 1784. The Turks called this rock Hoi-Kaya. Heading to Mount Alenga, you must walk from the Valley of Ghosts along the upper part of the slope of Mount Demerdzhi to the Bust of Catherine. The distance to it is about 1 kilometer.
Mount Alenga is located above the Bust of Catherine. Its height is 1,193 meters. Climbing Alenga, you will see the most beautiful landscapes of the Black Sea coast. To the south of Alenga, the whole of Alushta is visible, and to the north, the coast towards Sudak is visible. From here you can see the lighthouse-church of St. Nicholas of Myra in Malorechenskoye.
The main attraction of Mount Alenga in Demerdzhi is the bizarre weathering rocks, similar to pipes. This place is called Chomachai Rocks. If in the Valley of Ghosts you look at the weathering rocks from the bottom up, then here you can look at them from the top down. Thus they look even more impressive. In this place, Mount Alenga really resembles Cappadocia in Turkey in some way.
Here is the famous rock, which some travelers call Troll Demerdzhi. It really looks like a troll. Others call this rock Giant Demerdzhi. Nearby there is a rock that resembles a giant caterpillar. There is also a rock that looks like a man in a hat. In general, there are a lot of interesting rocks here; some of them can be climbed.
After seeing all the sights of Mount Alenga, then go to Southern Demerdzhi Mountain. Its height is 1239 m. The distance from Alenga to it is 850 meters, with a small climb. The Northern Demerdzhi Mount is much further away (4.5 km from Alenga).
