Travel blog

Abkhazia. Impression

Abkhazia – The country is beautiful, but poor. The status of an unrecognized state closes the way to the country of investment, and without free money, no state can develop. Nothing new appears, the old decays... There are abandoned palaces from Soviet times, next to them tents somehow function, selling everything that is in demand among tourists - wine, chacha, churchkhela, adjika, fresh and dried fruit, primitive souvenirs. Not to say that all this is of good quality, rather the opposite, but you need to bring something back from a trip almost abroad, so “third grade is not a waste” is in demand, there is simply nothing else.

In addition to purely economic problems, there is also a pronounced problem of laziness and inhospitability of the local population, which does not allow the country to prosper or at least live normally. No, Russians are treated well here, but no one wants to do anything to develop their small business. In one cafe, for example, we cooked shish kebab ourselves, having paid quite a lot of money for it, simply because the owner... was too lazy to cook, and in another they very intensively invited us all day while we walked past several times, and when we They succumbed to persuasion and decided to come in for lunch, it turned out that they had no light and of all the dishes there were only two - prepared yesterday. This is what Abkhazians are all about - calling in, selling something, without caring at all about how buyers will react to it and what they will then tell about the establishment and the country in general to their friends and acquaintances. 

But the nature in Abkhazia is amazing. Actually, most tourists go there for it, turning a blind eye to, to put it mildly, not the best service in the world.

I was surprised that in national parks it is prohibited to swim in lakes and rivers, but you can safely make fires. They charge 350 rubles for entry into Lake Ritsa National Park, but they don’t give you anything for this money - just pay and do what you want, just don’t swim in the rivers.

On the beach in New Athos you can pitch a tent right within the city limits near the police building. The policeman on duty looks after the tent during your absence and keeps order on the beach for a reasonable fee - 50 rubles. per person per day. This is a kind of private-public service.

Needless to say, Russian rubles are the main currency in circulation in Abkhazia and prices in these rubles are quite comparable not only with Russian ones, but even with Moscow ones. That is, in the absence of services and infrastructure, one cannot dare to call Abkhazia a cheap country. Here are some prices (as of October 2016):

- lunch in a very average cafe (soup, shish kebab, glass of juice or bottle of beer) - 400-600 rubles. per person
- entrance to the New Athos cave, incl. an excursion, in which, however, besides you, 100 more people and 1 guide will participate (it’s still worth visiting this miracle of nature despite the price and crowds) - 500 rubles. per person
- homemade wine (of very questionable quality) in a plastic container – from 150 rub. for half a liter up to 300 rubles. for one and a half liters,
- churchkhela in a large assortment - from 30 rubles. for a fake made from starch and dye up to 100 rubles. for the original from juice.

Here is a photo report about the trip to Abkhazia - many beautiful pictures. Unlike this text, looking at them I really want to go to Abkhazia :)