New Athos. Cave in Abkhazia: address, mode of operation, photo

New Athos is a popular seaside resort, which is located north-west of Sukhumi (21 km). This is a very picturesque place of Abkhazia. The hills on which the city is located are covered with orange, lemon, olive and mandarin groves.

Throughout the resort stretches cypress alleys, in the coastal zone pleases the eye of laurels and palms, bananas and magnolia, eucalyptus and oleander. There are also ponds surrounded by weeping willows. The slopes of the mountains cover deciduous trees - beech, hornbeam, oak and others. But most of all tourists are interested in caves in Novy Afon.

From the history of the city

In the IV century on the Iberian Mount Abkhazians built a fortress, which was called Anakopia. After the unification of Georgia in the XI century, Anakopia became one of the largest seaside centers. However, in the XIV-XVII centuries, during the feudal fragmentation of Georgia, Anakopiya lost its economic and political significance.

The revival of the city occurred in 1874 when monks arrived here from the Holy Mount Athos (Greece). The tsarist government allowed the establishment of a monastery in Abkhazia. After that, at the foot of the Iberian Mountains, they built the New Athos Monastery, which later became one of the largest religious buildings in the Caucasus. And the settlement around him with houses, churches, cells, parks and gardens was called New Afon. The modern resort town, as we know it, appeared at the beginning of the 20th century on the site of a former monastic settlement.

New Athos Cave

A lot of secrets are kept by ancient Abkhazia. The cave (New Athos), the photo of which you can see below, is one of the largest in the republic. It is located under the slope of the Iberian Mountains. This is a huge karst cavity. Its volume is one million cubic meters. The cave is located not far from the monastery of the same name. Its length is about 1900 meters, the maximum depth exceeds 180 meters.

History of the discovery

Attention of local residents from ancient times attracted a huge well on the slope of Mount Iverskaya. A well with steep walls they called a "bottomless pit". For a long time daredevils who would have decided to go down there were not.

The first to take a dangerous descent was a local resident Givi Smyr. However, without special equipment, he could not sink to the bottom. To study the "bottomless pit" in 1961, an expedition was created. Overcoming obstacles in its path, the assault four in the composition of Arsen Okrozhzhanashvili, Zurab Tintilozov, Givi Smyr and Boris Gergedava descended to the bottom.

The huge layer of clay that covered the floor and walls of the well, it would seem, was talking about the end of the abyss. In any case, this is how the other caves of New Athos ended. Suddenly, in one of the small holes, the researchers felt a strong draft of air, and the brave men squeezed forward. Darkness absorbed the light of the streetlights. This testified to the tremendous underground volumes unseen earlier in these places. This opened a cave in Novy Afon (Abkhazia).

The first expedition was followed by the following. Speleologists made a map of the cave, collected a huge amount of scientific material, a film was shot. Years of intense, and often dangerous work, were required in order to have another unique attraction on the Black Sea coast, created by nature and people.

For tourists visiting New Athos, the cave was available for visits in 1975. Today, nine rooms are open, and six of them can be visited every day as part of the tour group. Two more can be seen only once a week. One hall is still closed for visits, as it is reserved for research and the work of scientists.

Underground road

Nowadays thousands of tourists visit New Athos every year. The cave is necessarily included in their excursion route. Acquaintance with the mysterious failure begins with a special transport system that was launched before the opening of the cave for visits.

The assembled group is invited to take the wagons of the narrow-gauge railway, which will take them through the halls and make an intermediate stop in the hall "Abkhazia". The road is fully electrified, the rails are under constant voltage (300 V). After the train arrives at the station, you must leave the tourists on the opposite side, and then you will be allowed to enter the car.

The doors of the carriages of this underground transport are opened manually. The length of the road is about two kilometers. The general route of the underground excursion is 1.4 kilometers. The Metro lowers visitors to a depth of 160 meters.

Excursion

The duration of the tour is one and a half hours. The group is necessarily accompanied by a guide who tells about the history of the discovery of the cave and, of course, separately about each of the halls.

The caves of New Athos (photo, even the most qualitative, can not convey their greatness and power) are characterized by a constant, rather low temperature (+11 degrees), so you need to take warm things with you. The places in the cave are damp, so you need a comfortable, non-slip soles shoes.

Halls

The cave in Novy Afon (Abkhazia), as we have already mentioned, has eight accessible halls. Almost all of them have names (old and new). In the very first hall, where the excursionists ("Anakopia") enter, there is a small blue lake "Anatolia".

Hall of speleologists

The largest in the cave hall. Previously, it was called the hall of mahajirs. It is named in honor of the speleologists of the Vakhushti Institute and the first researchers who have long worked in the bowels of the mountain.

Narta

Earlier it was called clay. In it you can see a lake, clouded by clayey rocks, in which small crabs live, and around it there live unusual trick-bugs that do not have eyes.

"Ayukha" (formerly "Moscow")

This low and narrow hall, according to scientists, once was the river bed. Its massive vaults are painted in a variety of shades of gray.

"Apherz" ("Iberia")

And here the tourists are struck by acoustics. Every sound here becomes amazingly melodic. Sometimes here the choir of Abkhazia appears.

The Apsny Hall

The former Tbilisi hall is fascinating with its beauty. The unusual appearance of a stone waterfall, which seems to fall from a height, makes a huge impression. This is the highest hall. The height of its ceilings reaches one hundred meters. This hall does not sparkle with a special cave decoration, but it is truly beautiful. This is noted by all who visited New Athos. The cave here resembles a grandeur, a calm and powerful giant, which plunged into a thousand-year dream. The colors and simple colors of this room are brown clay and gray coarse limestone.

Heliktovy Hall

Getting into this hall, you feel as if you were in another dimension. The galaxies - the formations growing from the ceiling, somehow incredibly suddenly curl upwards or throw out in different directions countless sprouts-threads. Scientists are still studying the nature of their growth.

To appreciate the beauty of this underground kingdom, it is necessary to come to New Athos. The cave, each of which is beautiful in its own way, can be appreciated only after a personal inspection.

The decoration of the halls undoubtedly has a huge significance for perception. Here music is played, with different colors are highlighted stalagmites and stalactites. Visiting the cave leaves the most vivid impressions. On the territory there is a souvenir pavilion in which you can buy fragments of crystals, stalagmites, stalactites, a disc with a film about a cave, beautiful cards.

How to get there?

Getting to New Athos is quite simple. From the nearby cities regularly go minibus - direct and going towards Gudauta and Psou. There are buses from the central square of Pitsunda and Sukhumi railway station. The road is excellent - in 20 minutes you will find yourself in New Athos. Tourists need to get off at the "Rakushka" stop and orient themselves to the Novo-Athos monastery, visible from any point of view.

New Athos (caves): schedule of work

In summer (May - October) the cave waits for guests every day, from 9.00 to 18.00. During the autumn-winter period, excursions are organized on Wednesdays and weekends.

New Athos (caves): reviews of tourists

The vast majority of people who visited the caves, say that this tour will be remembered by him for life. Here everyone is amazed: from the unusual metro to the majestic halls of the cave. Fancifully intertwining stone formations, intelligently highlighted, amaze imagination.

Many people say that the interesting story of the guide, accompanied by music, makes a terrific impression. Tourists advise everyone who is going on an excursion, to take with them a powerful camera. Light in the caves is not enough, and the views here are simply fabulous.