Fun at Novy Afon

As the road carves into the the mountainside, tiptoeing along the Black

Sea coast, each corner reveals yet another postcard perfect scene. Evergreen clad mountain fall away into the sea. Clinging to the ridges and valley walls, every home is blessed with breathtaking views. Just 20 Km north of the Abkhazian capital, Sukhumi, is the tiny village of Novy Afon. As if the scenery weren't reason enough to make the drive, the village has several cool things to check out. Mulit-domed monasteries, immense caves systems and ancient ruins are all up for offer.

Certainly the first point on the tourist itinerary, will be the wonderfully

situated Novy Afon Monastery (title photo). Dating back some 200 years, the monastery was originally founded by Russian monks from Mt. Athos in Greece. Even though there are massive restorations being undertaken, the monastery is nothing short of marvelous. During the Soviet, atheist era the monastery was used as a holiday home for workers, so the renovations are dearly needed. As you would expect from a Russian Orthodox Church,

the walls and ceiling are covered by iconic imagery. The smell of incense hangs heavy in the air. Through the surrounding grounds, both monks and nuns, in full garb, go about their daily chores. It is a step back in time. And of course, being Abkhazia, there are no tour groups, no camera happy holiday makers. The people who come here, even though the will take pictures, use the church for it's intended purpose, prayer. The monastery is free (donations gladly accepted). If you want you can pay a few rubles and have your name mentioned during service. Just write your name on a paper available at the front door. As a show of it's disrepair, while I was just sitting there, taking in the atmosphere, a piece of the ceiling plummeted to the floor, narrowly missing a women praying. Apparently she pissed God off.

But the church is not the only thing to check out in town. The village is sort of a series of hills, with the monastery being on the first. The second hill has a building on it, with a big symbol which seems to be calling Batman to save the day. Inside there is a train awaiting tourists to drive them into a massive cave system. There was only 1 "tour" on the day I visited. So my couchsurfing host was kind enough to pay the 300 ruble admission fee and I boarded the train. The tour, only in Russian, leads people though the cave system so large, that it takes an hour to get through. Quite frankly, I'm not sure the whole thing was really worth it. The formations are not that spectacular. And the lighting effects are ordinary. At nearly $10 to see it, I can't say that I'd recommend it. But if you do go, keep in mind that being a cave, I maintains it's same cool temperature all years round. So it's advisable to take a sweater.
On the third hill in the area, there are some ruins of the ancient capital of
Abkhazia, Anakopia. But costing 100 rubles, i just couldn't be asked walking the 2kms uphill. I'm sure the views are spectacular, but whatever. The views can be taken in from nearly everywhere in the area for free. And they are magnificent views. Luckily, the days before I arrived, a fresh coating of snow blanketed the peaks of the nearby mountains. Cafes in and around the village all offer up the own perspective on the surrounding hills. Some of the cafes even have their own swans. Ohhhhh... Ahhhhh...


Getting to Novy Afon is simple. Buses leave from several points in Sukhumi. The easiest probably being the central market. Although the train station might be less chaotic. The problem comes when visiting each of the sights. Each is on a hill. There's no transport between the two, making it a long and tiring day. Fortunately, my couchsurfing host drove, making my life SO much easier. I can, without question, name my day in Novy Afon as the best experience in my short time in Abkhazia. And with tourism soon to come to the disputed territory, I was even happier to be there before the tour buses. Two thumbs up!