Tourism in Abkhazia

Abkhazia

Tourism is one of the main industries of the economy of Abkhazia . In 2009, about 1 million tourists visited the republic with a population of about 250 thousand people (of which more than 100 thousand went on tours, 185 thousand went on a one-day excursion, and all the rest had a rest in the private sector). According to the State Committee for Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Abkhazia, the number of tourists in 2009 was 15–20% more than in 2008 ^[1] . Travel industry, according to the Ministry of Economy of the Republic, brings to the budget up to a third of tax revenues. In 2007, their total volume amounted to 566 million rubles. Most tourists come from Russia . In Abkhazia there are many tourist centers, hotels, rest houses and boarding houses located in the coastal zone. Most of them were built in Soviet times. Tourists are attracted by a humid warm climate, tropical views and clear sea.

Content

Popular Cities and Resorts

Gagra Coast

Sukhum is the capital of Abkhazia, which is located on the Black Sea coast. One of the oldest cities in Europe, the city is over 2500 years old. On the site of the city until the VI century BC. e. the Greek colony of Dioscuria was located , the ruins of which rest at the bottom of Sukhumi Bay .
Gagra - located 22 km from Adler Airport , it is one of the most picturesque and famous resorts in Abkhazia.
Pitsunda is a seaside climatic resort 20 km south of the spa town of Gagra and 65 km from Adler Airport.
Gudauta is a climatic seaside resort, located on the shore of a small bay of the Black Sea, 38 km from the city of Sukhum and 50 km from the city of Gagra.
New Athos is one of the most famous resort cities of Abkhazia, located in the Gudauta region, 15 km from Gudauta and 25 km from Sukhum.

Attractions

Sukhum

Entrance to the Botanical Garden

Besletian bridge
Dioskuriada (Sukhumi fortress)
Bagrat Castle
Great Abkhaz wall
Botanical Garden
Apery
Sukhumi lighthouse
Komany village (tomb of John Chrysostom , tomb of St. Basilisk, two churches, a holy lake)

New Athos

New Athos Monastery

Ritsa Lake

New Athos Monastery
Ritsa Lake
Gegsky waterfall
Cottage I.V. Stalin
Iverskaya mountain , in the bowels of which is the New Athos cave , and on the top - Anakopia fortress
Temple of St. Simon Canonite . The oldest of the existing temples of New Athos. Near the temple there is an artificial waterfall 8.6 m high and a hydroelectric power station built by monks in 1902 on the Psyrtsha River

Gagra

Prince Oldenburg Castle
Gagra Colonnade
Abaat Fortress
Gagripsh Restaurant
Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin

Gudauta District

Snow cave . 10 km north of the village of Duripsh is the third deepest cave in the world (−1760 m), considered the most difficult in the territory of the former USSR and the most difficult ciphonless cave in the world.
in the village of Lykhny there is an active cross-domed church of the Assumption of the Virgin of the X — XI centuries with rich mural paintings of the XIV century. Inside the church is the tomb of the sovereign Prince George Chachba-Shervashidze, in which Abkhazia became part of the Russian Empire.

Mountaineering

Since 2005, organized tours. The most popular routes: the Auadhara mineral spring, Lake Mzi, the valley of seven lakes (Kamennaya Polyana tract), the village of Pskhu , Mount Mamdzyshha and others ^[2] .

Tourism in practice

For travelers from Russia, the shortest route to Abkhazia lies through the Adler district of Sochi (by air, rail, road). The distance from the Adler district of Sochi to the border with Abkhazia on the Psou River is 8 km (about 10 minutes on the way). Distance from border to:

to Gagra - 22 km (20-30 min),
to Pitsunda - 47 km (50 min),
to Sukhum - 102 km (1 h. 40 min.)

The international road border crossing Psou-Adler is open around the clock. Citizens of the CIS countries can enter and leave Abkhazia without a visa. For residents of other countries traveling to Abkhazia through the territory of Russia, it is necessary to have a transit, double or multiple Russian visa, so that, after leaving Abkhazia, they must have the right to enter the territory of the Russian Federation ^[3] .

You can use the train Moscow - Sukhum, which leaves from the Kursk station of the Russian capital. Border control is carried out at the Psou-Vesyoloye enterprise.

Notes

Links

Travel Guide " Abkhazia " in Wikigid

[1] In 2009, tourist flow in Abkhazia increased by 20%

[2] Mountain tourism in Abkhazia

[3] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia