10 unusual facts about Abkhazia from the tour on jeeps
This summer my husband and I decided to go to SochiIt is a resort Russian city, which over the past couple of years has gained special popularity among tourists. And since we are very active travelers, we just did not want to lie on the beach, we wanted to move, excursions and hikes.
In Sochi, in many places in the season there are stalls with excursions, where you can choose to travel through lakes, rivers, mountains, parks, etc. But we were interested in the day. Abkhazia. Not far away, and another country.
A full-day excursion on jeeps with wine and honey tasting cost us only 2000 rubles per person, brought a sea of pleasure and a huge number of vivid unforgettable impressions.
I decided to share my impressions with the Personal Guide in the format of interesting facts, so the basic information is subjective.
Interesting facts about Abkhazia
1. The border between Russia and Abkhazia is literally 15 minutes by car from the Sochi Park Hotel and is rather conditional, almost everyone is allowed to pass, you can also walk in 15 minutes even on a Russian passport.
Tip: if you have a photo in your Russian passport is very different from how you look (for example, if a man grows a beard, which is not in the photo in your passport), take a passport with an updated photo. There could be questions.
2. Abkhazia is still in a state of transition between the Soviet Union and the modern country. Along the way you can find many abandoned factories, enterprises and buildings of the Soviet era.
3. If you go to the mountains, only in jeeps. Extreme in such a trip we were a little lacking, but a couple of times breathtaking when we drove along the serpentine mountains. The view is magnificent. It is worth paying attention to this way of traveling in Abkhazia.
4. We visited three or four waterfalls, of which we were impressed by only one – the Gaga Falls. Water falls several meters from the rock and beautifully breaks against the stones. You can take a lot of great photos, not many tourists come to this area.
5. Be sure to visit a natural monument - Lake Ritsu, which is located high in the mountains and makes a stunning impression with the beauty of the landscapes. The green-blue smooth surface of the water like a mirror reflects the mountain belt around, carefully taking care of dense vegetation on small banks.
6. Meals are not included in this tour, so it is worth stocking up at least 700 rubles per 1 person to eat kebabs on Ritsa. It is delicious and good, but the prices are far from budget.
7. The sea in Abkhazia seemed warmer and more beautiful than in Sochi. Anape. In windy weather, the water seems greenish, large waves break on the shore. In summer, such excursions include swimming in the sea, and in September you can simply walk and take a selfie.
8. In Abkhazia, the country is called Apsny, which means “the country of the soul”. During the tour you can find magnets with the inscription Apsny, which are almost everywhere quite expensive, be prepared.
9. Wine in Abkhazia is very good, and you can immediately feel the difference between Sochi powder and Abkhazian domestic. At our tasting you could try very fragrant red wines with a taste of blackberries, cherries and other berries. And the prices seemed quite democratic, although they are higher than for bottling wine in Sochi. A liter of wine costs about 200 rubles.
Tip: we recommend to take wine not in a plastic bottle, but to buy a clay vessel, it is sealed so that the wine can be stored for several years. A liter vessel costs about 1200 rubles, but leaves a beautiful memory and wine, which becomes better over the years.
10. At the tasting of the Abkhazians, either on purpose or not, they came up with treating guests with pancakes with honey, since there is an apiary nearby. There's nothing but honey for pancakes.
But you should be ready for such a snack that you will not eat pancakes alone, but along with bees that fly around the table, fall into honey and crawl on plates. No one from our group was stung, but the impressions are extremely unusual.
These are the memories of our trip. If you are in the Russian south, be sure to go to Abkhazia for a day. It is a very beautiful, friendly, interesting and diverse country with interesting cultural traditions.
Text: Oksana Lesnikova