Charivna Havan (“Magical Harbor”) National Nature Park

The nature of Tarkhankut is unique. Unploughed areas of real (feather grass) steppes occupying the largest area in the Crimea have been preserved here. The spectacular sea coastal “Atlesh” rocks, formed by geological forces, wind and sea, amaze the imagination. The flora of the park is represented by about 400 species of plants, accounting for about two thirds of the entire Tarkhankut Peninsula’s flora.

In summer, the steppe looks dry and monotonous, but it does not mean that it is poor. In the summer season you can encounter unique insects, most of which are also protected. Among them, there is a predatory bush cricket (Saga pedo), the largest of our species, with no males, since females reproduce via parthenogenesis. The rarest steppe species are the Bombus fragrans and the Onychopterocheilus pallasii. The Tarkhankut steppes are the last places in Europe where these large insects may be found in nature. In the territory of the park, in Velykyi Atlesh, an eneolithic site, many Scythian settlements and burial mounds, as well as Greek settlements were found.