Old Greek name of Alushta is Aluston, and as
many another Crimean towns it is pretty old. It is still not a big town, located
only 45 kilometers from Simferopol toward to Yalta.Alushta
is popular resort area for Russian and Ukrainian middle-class people because
the prices are less compared with Yalta, and whole area of Great Yalta. Landscape
is different from Yalta's - no high trees, no high rocks and mountains.
The great decoration of Alushta is Demerdgy
Mountain which is visible from any point of the town. Demerdgy is really nice
place for hiking or horse-riding. There are several private companies run
by Tatar where you can rent a horse to ride with. If you'll horse-ride you
will certainly get to ruins of a fortress "Funa" built in XV century.
There is amazing landscape with great rocks and forest near Demerdgy.
There are many sanatoriums in Alushta and each one has own piece of beach. It is why sometime could be difficult to find a beach if you don't stay at a sanatorium. There is a long-long promenade along the sea shore and it is covered by many cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops. There is a crowd of people and a lot of activity in Summer time till the middle of October.
It is an attractive place for car-, bicycle-, mounted and pedestrian tourism.
Extraordinary clean air and well-being
feeling intensify influence of resort factors. In Alushta one can meet gallant
men, adventure lovers and jeep caravans. Everybody can find something interesting
for oneself. One can visit Regional Museum, House-Museum of Sergeyev-Tsensky
and I.Shmelyev's one. Next to the city there is Nature Museum of Crimean Reservation
about all components of Crimean Mountain Nature from minerals to animals.
But the most interesting is Dendrozoo Museum in landscape style with living
reservation plants and animals.
Alushta stands on a hilly valley surrounded by Kastel, Babugun, Chatyrdag and Demerdzhy Mountains. Its history is rooted in the 6th century when the Byzantines erected the Aluston Fortress. Soon a settlement appeared near it which lived through a Tartar-Mongol invasion in 1239, through the dominance of the Genoeses and the Turks. Alushta mountain amphitheatre is the most beautiful and widest in Crimea. Mountain pedestrian tours are very romantic and not tiring. It is an ascent of Chatyrdag, Shater, Eklizy-Burun and Church Cape (1525 m) Mountains. Cosma and Damiand Monastery with healing water attracts orthodoxies.
To the west of Alushta is Kastel Mountain with remnants of ancient fortress, "Karabakh" park, Utes-Karasansky one, Plaka Cape with wonderful view and Birds Island is known in many adventure films.
In the Partenite Valley near Ayu-Dag a large complex of buildings of the Crimea health center has been constructed. The most interesting routes are to the Dzhur-Dzhur Falls. The Ghost Valley on the Demerdzhy Mountain.
In Semidvorye settlement there is
the Reservation Grove. Along Kanaka River stand stone "mushrooms" on thin
"legs". 
In 1825 Polish poet Adam Mitskevich wrote some sonates here. Poets V.Zhukovsky, V.Brusov, V,Mayakovsky, writers V.Korolenko, M.Gorky, A.Kuprin, K.Paustovsky lived and created here.
In the early century near Alushta "Professors' Corner" settlement sprang up where lived well-known Moscow's and St.Petersburgh's scientists.
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