Abkhazia Jeep Tour to the Alpine Meadows

Auadkhara is a famous resort, a unique landmark of Abkhazia. This mountainous place is located in the Ritsa National Park, eighteen kilometers east of Lake Ritsa at an altitude of 1700 meters above sea level. The valley of the Auadkhara River is considered one of the most beautiful places in Abkhazia. The shores of Auadhara are rich in mineral springs, as its water, combined with the sea air, has amazing healing power.

Right behind the Yupsharsky Gate you can see a sharp rise, the road passes at an altitude of 750-800 meters above sea level. This is the Chabgar cornice (from the Abkhaz chabgara - a precipice), from here you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Yupsharsky gate. A small platform has been built here from which a view opens down to the Yupsharskoe gorge. The height of the site is 800 m above sea level. The road in this place is very narrow, bounded on one side by a rock, on the other by a deep abyss.

Gagra is a town in Abkhazia sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular health resort in Imperial Russian and Soviet times. Gagra occupies a narrow coastal belt and the slopes of the Gagra Range, which are covered with thick forests. The summers are very warm (average August temperature of 23° C), and the winters are mild (average January temperature of 6° C). The season lasts the whole year round, and swimming extends from May through October. Along the coast of the Black Sea stretches a beautiful seafront and park (about 14 sq km in area) with ponds and rich subtropical vegetation. Gagra has picturesque environs (the gorges of the Zhvava-Kvara and Tsikherva rivers), and to the south of the city is located the new health resort of Pitsunda. The industry of Gagra is mainly connected with services to the health resort; it includes a meat-packing complex, a dairy, a winery, and a fish-processing plant, among others.

The Gega waterfall, also called Circassian waterfall is the most famous and beautiful waterfall of Abkhazia. Located at an altitude of 530 meters above sea level, and the waterfall itself has a height of 70 meters. Its feature is that it comes out of the rock, not from the top. This is because the Gega river goes deep into the rocks, and passes through a stone channel then breaking out of it. The waterfall is also interesting due to the fact that several times it was shown in different movies.

Lake Ritsa is a lake in the Caucasus Mountains, in the north-western part of Abkhazia, Georgia, surrounded by mixed mountain forests and subalpine meadows. The road from the Black Sea coast was built in 1936. The resort of Avadhara lies to the north of the lake. The lake was an important tourist attraction during the Soviet period. Lake Ritsa is the deepest lake in autonomous republic of Abkhazia (116 m), and is rich in trout. It is fed by six rivers and drained by one, the Iupshara River. Lake Ritsa water is cold and clear. Mountains with heights of 2,200 to 3,500 m surround the lake. In 1930 the Ritsa Nature Reserve (162.89 km2) was established to protect the natural state of the lake and the surrounding land.

The Pyv (Ancho) pass is the starting point for many hiking trails in the alpine meadows of Abkhazia. A breathtaking panorama of the Main Caucasian Ridge and the Pskhu River valley opens from the pass. The pass is located at an altitude of 2 km above sea level.

The Ritsa relic national Park is the most popular and visited tourist nature reserve Abkhazia. The Park is located in the southern mountainous part of Abkhazia, near Gagra, and almost at the border with Russia (Ritsa Park on the map). Almost the entire national Park is located in the mountains with difficult terrain, with elevations from 100 to 3256 meters, numerous mountain lakes, rivers, waterfalls, caves, glaciers, gorges. The lake Ritsa is located in the Park and it is its hallmark and the most popular tourist attraction. From the coast to lake Ritsa through the Park runs an asphalt road, which, however, does not end after the lake, and leads on to other attractions. Along this road are several other interesting sights of the reserve, which usually are visited during excursions to lake Ritsa.

Yupsharsky canyon ("Stone bag") is one of the most beautiful places in Abkhazia and in the entire Caucasus. It is located on the road to Lake Ritsa at an altitude of 400 meters above sea level. The canyon with age-old boxwoods, moss and ivy hanging from rocky cornices looks really impressive. The road passes between two very close standing rocks that were once split by an earthquake. The narrowest point of the canyon is called the Yupsharsky Gate, where two rocks practically converge, the distance between them does not exceed 20 meters. On the bottom of the gorge, the picturesque river Yupshara flows, from the Lake Ritsa, the water in which is crystal clear. Not far from the canyon there is the famous Gega waterfall. Here, near the road, there is a huge stone - popular among tourists “Stone of Kisses”, and even lower there is a waterfall “Men's tears”. At the end of the Jupsharsky canyon there is an observation deck with a magnificent view.