New Athos is a popular seaside resort located northwest 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 tangerine groves.
Cypress alleys stretch throughout the resort; in the coastal zone, laurels and palm trees, bananas and magnolias, eucalyptus and oleanders delight the eye. There are also ponds surrounded by weeping willows. The slopes of the mountains are covered with deciduous trees - beech, hornbeam, oak and others. But most of all tourists are interested in caves in New Athos.
From the history of the city
In the 4th century, the Abkhazians built a fortress on Iverskaya Mountain , which they called Anacopia. After the unification of Georgia in the 11th century, Anacopia became one of the largest coastal centers. However, in the XIV-XVII centuries, during the feudal fragmentation of Georgia, Anacopia lost its economic and political significance.
The revival of the city took place in 1874, when monks arrived here from the Holy Mount Athos (Greece). The tsarist government allowed them to establish a monastery in Abkhazia. After that, at the foot of the Iverskaya Mountain, they built the New Athos Monastery, which later became one of the largest religious buildings in the Caucasus. And the settlement formed around it with residential buildings, churches, cells, parks and gardens was called New Athos. The modern resort city, as we know it, appeared at the beginning of the 20th century on the site of a former monastic settlement.
New Athos Cave
Ancient Abkhazia holds many secrets . 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 Iverskaya Mountain. This is a huge karst cavity. Its volume is one million cubic meters. The cave is located near the monastery of the same name. Its length is about 1900 meters, the maximum depth exceeds 180 meters.
Discovery story
The attention of local residents from ancient times was attracted by a huge well on the slope of the Iverskaya mountain. They called the well with sheer walls a "bottomless pit." For a long time, daredevils who would decide to go down there were not.
The first to go on a dangerous descent was a local resident Givi Smyr. However, without special equipment he could not sink to the bottom. In 1961, an expedition was created to study the "bottomless pit". Having overcome the obstacles in their path, the assault four of Arsen Okrodzhanashvili, Zurab Tintilozov, Givi Smyr and Boris Gergedava went down to the bottom.
A huge layer of clay that covered the floor and walls of the well, it would seem, spoke of 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 in turn. The darkness absorbed the light of the lanterns. This testified to the grandiose, unprecedented in these places underground volumes. So the cave was opened in New Athos (Abkhazia).
The first expedition was followed by the following. Cavers made a map of the cave, a huge amount of scientific material was collected, the film was made. Years of intense, and often dangerous work were required in order for another unique attraction to appear on the Black Sea coast, created by nature and people.
Tourists coming to New Athos, the cave became available for visits in 1975. Today it has nine halls open, every day you can visit six of them as part of an excursion group. Two more can be seen only once a week. One room is still closed for visits, as it is reserved for research and the work of scientists.
Underground road
Today, thousands of tourists annually visit New Athos. The cave is necessarily included in their excursion route. Acquaintance with the mysterious failure begins with a special transport system, which was launched before the opening of the cave for visits.
The assembled group is invited to occupy the narrow-gauge railway cars, which will take them through the halls and make an intermediate stop in the Abkhazia hall. The road is fully electrified, the rails are under constant voltage (300 V). After the train arrives at the station, you need to let the tourists exit from the opposite side, and then you will be allowed to enter the carriage.
The doors of the cars of this underground transport are opened manually. The length of the road is about two kilometers. The total 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 an hour and a half. The group must be 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 (a photo, even the highest quality, is not able to convey their greatness and power) are characterized by a constant, rather low temperature (+11 degrees), so you need to take warm clothes with you. The cave is damp in places, so comfortable, non-slip soles are required.
Halls
The cave in New Athos (Abkhazia), as we have already mentioned, has eight halls accessible for visiting. Almost all of them have names (old and new). In the very first hall, where sightseers get ("Anacopia"), there is a small blue lake "Anatolia".
Speleologists Hall
The largest hall in the cave. It used to be called the mahajir hall. It is named after the cavers of the Vakhushti Institute and the first researchers who worked for a long time in the bowels of the mountain.
Narta
Previously, it was called clay. In it you can see the lake, clouded by clay rocks, in which small crustaceans live, and around it unusual bugs of the trius live, which do not have eyes.
Ayuha (formerly Moscow)
This low and narrow hall, according to scientists, was once a river bed. Its massive arches are painted in a variety of shades of gray.
Aphertsa (Iveria)
And here tourists are struck by the acoustics. Every sound here becomes surprisingly melodic. Sometimes there is a choir chapel of Abkhazia.
Apsny Hall
The former Tbilisi Hall is fascinating with its beauty. The unusual view of the 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 special cave decoration, but it is truly beautiful. This is noted by everyone who visited New Athos. The cave here resembles complete grandeur, a calm and mighty giant, which plunged into a millennial dream. The colors of this room are dim and simple - brown clay and gray coarse limestone.
Helikt Hall
Once in this room, you feel like you are in a different dimension. Gelactites - formations growing from the ceiling, in some incredible way, suddenly curl up or throw countless processes of thread in different directions. Scientists are still studying the nature of their growth.
To appreciate the beauty of this underground kingdom, you must come to New Athos. The cave, each of the halls of which is beautiful in its own way, can only be appreciated at a personal inspection.
Undoubtedly, the decoration of the halls is of great importance for perception. Music plays here, stalagmites and stalactites are highlighted in different colors. A visit to the cave leaves the most vivid impressions. There is a souvenir pavilion in the territory where you can buy fragments of crystals, stalagmites, stalactites, a disk with a film about the cave, and beautiful postcards as a keepsake of the excursion.
How to get there
Getting to New Athos is quite simple. Minibuses regularly go from nearby cities - direct and going towards Gudauta and Psou. Buses run from the central square of Pitsunda and Sukhumi Train Station. The road is excellent - in 20 minutes you will find yourself in New Athos. Tourists need to get off at the “Shell” stop and focus on the New Athos Monastery, visible from any point.
New Athos (caves): work schedule
In summer (May - October), the cave awaits guests every day, from 9.00 to 18.00. In the autumn-winter period, excursions are held on Wednesdays and weekends.
New Athos (caves): reviews of tourists
The vast majority of people who visited the caves claim that he will remember this excursion for his whole life. Everything is amazing here: from the unusual metro to the magnificent halls of the cave. Bizarrely interwoven stone formations, well-lit, amaze the imagination.
Many note that the interesting guide's story, accompanied by music, makes an amazing impression. Tourists advise everyone who is going on an excursion to take a powerful camera with them. There is not enough light in the caves, and the views here are simply fabulous.