Lovers of travel and nature must have asked themselves the question: “Where is the New Athos Cave?” This unique natural complex attracts a large number of tourists every year. About why the New Athos cave in Abkhazia, the photo of which we provide, is of interest, will be discussed in the article. And also about the history of its opening by a 16-year-old teenager, what halls it is divided into, and about the subway operating in it.
Description of the cave
Anakopia abyss - that was the original name of the New Athos cave in Abkhazia. It is a huge karst cavity, which has a volume of more than 1 million m3. This is one of the largest caves in the Gudauta region of the Republic of Abkhazia. The cave is located under the slope of Mount Iverskaya, named after the icon of the Mother of God of the same name. Not far from it is the temple of Simon the Zealot and the New Athos Monastery.
The New Athos Cave includes nine halls, six of which host excursions every day, and research work is carried out in one. The halls were renamed twice, today they bear the following names:
- "Anakopiya" (Abkhazia). This was the name of the capital of the Abkhazian kingdom in ancient times.
- "Ayuhaa", which in Abkhazian means "Gorge".
- "Apsny" - "Land of the soul", the ancient self-name of Abkhazia.
- "Aphyartsa" is a two-string violin.
- Helictite Grotto. Helictites are wriggling stick-shaped calcites.
- "Sukhum". Another name is the hall of Givi Smyr, the discoverer of caves.
- "Corallite Gallery". Corallites are the skeletons of coral polyps.
- Hall of "Mahajirs", devout Muslims who made Hijra.
- "Nartaa" - the epic of the North Caucasian peoples, which tells about the life of heroes, brothers Narts.
Brief history of discovery
The history of the New Athos cave tells that since ancient times on the northern slope of the Anakopia Mountain, at a 220-meter height, there was an abyss, which was popularly called the Bottomless. For several millennia, the local people did not try to descend into this natural well. This was done only in 1961 by a 16-year-old teenager Givi Smyr. He later became a professional speleologist (cave explorer) as well as a sculptor and painter.
Using an ordinary rope, he penetrated to a depth of 35 meters. However, he failed to get to the very bottom of the abyss without the appropriate equipment. Later, he told speleologists about his find. In mid-July of the same year, a group of scientists went on a reconnaissance expedition and descended to a depth of about 140 meters, ending up in a huge dungeon. Descent timewas eight hours.
So the New Athos cave was discovered. First, the Anakopia (Abkhazia) hall was opened, and later all the other halls. After lengthy research undertaken during numerous expeditions, and then improvement, in 1975 the cave was opened to tourists.
Anacopia Hall
The first halls of the cave are the largest, at some points the height of the ceiling reaches from 40 to 60 meters. The Anacopia Hall is also one of the deepest; it is from here that tourists begin to get acquainted with the New Athos Cave. The hall is 150 meters long and 40 meters high. The bottom is covered with blocks of various shapes and rocks and massive pieces of plastic clay, which owe their appearance to the processes of limestone destruction and water flowing from the surface of the earth into the cave.
Two shades dominate here - these are the colors of rough gray limestone and brown clay. However, among these gloomy colors there are pleasing emerald and aquamarine colors. These are two underground lakes illuminated by bright spotlights. The lake in the southern part of the hall is called Anatolia, its depth is 25 meters. The water temperature in it does not change all year round, freezing at around +11 C °. The water in the lake is fresh, but there are no fish here, its only inhabitants are crustaceans.
The second lake is called Blue, it actually has no shores and looks like an abyss filled with beautiful blue water. Previously, the entire Anacopia hall was flooded with water from time to time. To prevent thisphenomenon, a drainage system was created through which excess water flows into the Manikwara River.
Ayuhaa Hall
As mentioned above, the name of this hall in translation means "Gorge". It is here that the dry part of the cave begins, which scientists consider to be the dead part of the water system, since water no longer flows here. "Ayuhaa" is located below the rest of the halls, its vaults are in the form of an arc, and on the walls there are various depressions and ledges, formed due to the flow of the river that was here many years ago.
Relative humidity here is 60%. There is no longer a waterfall or a river in the hall, they left traces only in the form of grooves, furrows, cracks. There are numerous stalagmites here. These are calcareous outgrowths at the bottom of the cave, which appeared as a result of falling drops of water from the vaults. There are also stalactites on the ceiling, they stretch down towards the stalagmites. For their creation, nature needs several millennia. They are orange and reddish in color and vary in shape and height.
Apsny Hall
The Apsny hall in the New Athos cave is the smallest, it is rich in stalactites. Thousands of these amazing works of nature in various colors hang from the ceiling. A 20-meter stone waterfall rushed down from a large ceiling hole, which in size and beauty is not inferior to similar creations located in other caves around the world.
One episode of the Soviet feature film "The Adventures of TomSawyer." There are many stalactites in the hall, which resemble unusual curtains and curtains that separate you from the outer space of the cave. There is also a huge stalagmite, reaching more than four meters in height, called "Patriarch". Above it is a stalactite pavilion, which is called the Royal tent.
Apkhyartsa Hall
At the bottom of the hall are scattered clay blocks and deposits of plastic rocks. In different places there are lonely standing stalagmites, which have an unusual amber hue. Their color depends on manganese s alts, which are present in drip-stain formations.
The ceiling in the Apkhyartsa hall, as in others, is arched. It has numerous recesses, called "organ pipes" by speleologists. The largest of them come to the surface of the earth, forming small cracks that are difficult to see with the naked eye. It is thanks to these cracks that moisture and oxygen penetrate the cave, allowing it to “breathe” and be moistened.
Practically in all halls of the New Athos Cave the acoustics are very good, but in Apkhyartsa it is distinguished by special sound effects. It is for this reason that concerts for tourists are held here by the artists of the Abkhaz choir. Surprisingly, the human voice and melodies of musical instruments, reflecting from the vaults and walls of the cave, acquire a new, extraordinarily beautiful sound.
Helictite Grotto
The grotto is filled with a variety of rare forms that amaze with their beauty. The walls are covered with white calcite and sparkle due to quartz particles interspersed in them. On theagainst a light background, yellow, orange, green and lilac stalagmites play with bright colors. The floor is decorated with many small tubs with thin walls.
The main feature of the Helictite Grotto is the helictites, eccentric stalactites that, for inexplicable reasons, despite gravity, grow up, sideways, zigzag, but not down.
On the vaults of the grotto there are thousands of small helictites, which have a rich color palette - from dark red to soft pink. Some reach 10 cm in length. Excursions are not carried out here due to the fact that the presence of a person increases air humidity and temperature, which can lead to the death of this unique system.
Makhajirov Hall
The Mahajirov Hall is 260 meters long, and its width ranges from 26 to 70 meters, the height of the vaults reaches 50 meters. Everywhere chaotically located boulders and blocks of rock divide the hall into several parts. In the center is the "White Mountain". It is a large calcite deposit that is 5 to 15 meters high and about 40 meters in diameter.
This formation from a hole located directly above it receives water, which is saturated with calcium. The source operates for about seven months a year and, according to speleologists, the White Mountain grows by one millimeter every year, which is considered a good growth. The longest cave bridge with a length of 120 meters goes directly from the “Madzhahirov” hall to the “Nartaa” hall.
HallNartaa
There is a third underground lake in this hall, but because of the low water level, tourists cannot see it. Only during heavy rainfall, when water from the surface of the earth penetrates here, the lake, called Siphon, can be seen by everyone.
This lake, like Anatolia and Blue, located in the Anakopia Hall, is the lowest point of the cave system - it is 36 meters above sea level, and the depth of the New Athos cave is 160 meters.
All lakes communicate with each other through underwater channels, and are also interconnected with the Mtsyrtskha River, located outside the cave, thereby forming a single water system.
The “Nartaa” hall is covered with voluminous clay layers and various stone figures created by nature. Next to it is the Corallite Cave, in which all the walls are covered with corallites - many thousands of snow-white formations of spherical shape, fastened to each other.
Working hours and metro of the New Athos cave in Abkhazia
In the cave there is an operating subway, which is the only one of its kind. It was opened in 1975 and is designed to deliver excursions inside the Iverskaya Mountain. The metro line has a length of 1291 meters and three passenger stations. A train can pass them in three minutes at an average speed of just over 30 km per hour. During the season, the train transports about 2 thousand people in one day, that is, an average of about 700 thousand people per season. Car capacity - 120 people.
Working hoursNew Athos caves directly depends on the season. It looks like this:
- From January to April and in October, the caves are open to the public on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, from 10 am to 6 pm.
- In May, they can be visited from the 1st to the 10th on weekdays, and from the 11th to the 31st - on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, also from 10 am to 6 pm.
- From June to September, the cave is open all week, seven days a week, from 9am to 7pm.
As you can see in the photo, the New Athos cave in Abkhazia is a beautiful and unique complex created by nature itself. The beauty of the halls themselves and the lakes located in them will not leave indifferent any tourist. Many people who have been here claim that they have never seen anything like it before. Therefore, we can safely say that, being in Abkhazia, it is necessary to visit the New Athos cave.
