Home international passport Road to Ritsa. To Lake Ritsa in winter by car: and the impossible is possible... Who built the road to Lake Ritsa

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Road to Ritsa. To Lake Ritsa in winter by car: and the impossible is possible... Who built the road to Lake Ritsa

Everyone who has ever been to Abkhazia knows about its pearl - . But today I want to talk about the sights that you can see on the way to the lake.

The road to Lake Ritsa begins from the so-called Ritsinsky turn, 15 km from Gagra. The road, about 40 km long, runs along the Bzyb River. It is completely paved and can be easily driven by a car. There is no public transport on this route, only taxis.

Wine cellar in Abkhazia

Wine tasting in Abkhazia is not uncommon, but it is on the popular Ritsin route that the largest number of Abkhaz wine cellars are concentrated. As a rule, these cellars are named after the family of the winemaker.

Of all, I liked the wine cellar of the Ashuba family the most. I definitely recommend trying Alexander’s wine, named after the youngest granddaughter of the head of the family.

Buying wine on tap or in sealed bottles is everyone’s business. But, I want to note that it is not always possible to bring bottled wine to your home. It may turn sour or spoil.

Honey yard in Abkhazia

The next stop on the way to Lake Ritsa is Honey Yard. Just like wine cellars, there are several honey yards here.

They will give you a short tour, tell you about bees and let you try local products (which includes not only honey, royal jelly and honeycomb, but also chacha and mead). Also here they often demonstrate the “plate trick”, the so-called “genetic code of honey”. I won’t tell you its essence - it’s better to see it in reality.

I can’t say anything about the quality of honey at the Honey Yard - I’ve never purchased it. But, in my opinion, it is better to purchase such products not on popular tourist routes, but from local residents. I can recommend a family that has been making honey for several years and has their own apiary in the mountains.

Waterfall Maiden's Tears in Abkhazia

The next stop on the route to Lake Ritsa is the Maiden’s Tears waterfall. It is impossible to drive past without noticing it. From a distance you can see a rock mottled with multi-colored ribbons from which small streams of crystal clear water flow.

It’s difficult to call it a waterfall in the usual sense. Mountain waters from alpine meadows make their way through the rocks, forming thin streams of water that look like tears. In summer, the waterfall becomes completely dry - you can see rare drops that, shimmering in the sun, form a rainbow.

A beautiful but sad legend is associated with the waterfall.

Once upon a time, a young shepherdess girl named Amra was in love with the mountain spirit Adgur. The Evil Witch was jealous of the pure love of young people, lured the girl onto a rock and over the cliff demanded her to give up her love. Amra called Adgur for help, but he was too far away and did not hear the cries of his beloved. Then the Witch threw the girl off the cliff, and since then her tears have been dripping in that place: as a sign of strong and tragic love.

In addition, it is believed that if you tie a ribbon here and make a wish, it will definitely come true. Ribbons can be purchased here, from local merchants. Whether the wish will come true or not depends only on the faith of the person making the wish.

They also say: if an unmarried girl washes herself with water from a waterfall, then there will be a wedding soon.

I washed my face. The wedding took place three months later - although not mine.))

Suspension bridge over the Bzyb River, Abkhazia

Near the Maiden's Tears waterfall there is another attraction - a suspension bridge over the Bzyb River.

Bzyb is a mountain river in Abkhazia, about 110 km long. The suspension bridge has a rather flimsy appearance and causes concern among many tourists. However, this is in vain: it is built of metal and boards, and is very strong. You can take wonderful romantic photos on the bridge.

There is also a hanging bungee over the river.

Immediately after entering the territory of the Ritsinsky Nature Reserve (at the checkpoint you will need to pay an environmental fee - 350 rubles), you approach the Blue Lake.

This lake of karst origin has become famous for its unusual blue color, regardless of the time of year and weather conditions. The area of the lake is 180 square meters, the water temperature here is constantly maintained around 9 degrees. Scientists and local residents often argue about the depth of the lake. The numbers vary, from 40 to 70 meters - and many even believe that the lake is bottomless.

As with other natural attractions, a folk legend is associated with Blue Lake in Abkhazia.

Once upon a time, a wise old man with a long white beard and sky-blue eyes lived on the site of the lake. And everyone who came to him was greeted with the hospitality inherent in Abkhazia. In gratitude for the advice and lodging for the night, people brought the old man gifts of meat and skins of killed animals. One day, strangers came to the elder. He met them, fed them and put them to bed for the night. The wanderers were jealous of the wealth of the old man’s skins and killed him for profit. When they began to collect the loot, streams of water suddenly fell from everywhere and flooded the cave. And somewhere at the bottom of the blue lake lies a murdered old man and illuminates the lake with the color of his eyes.

The area around the lake is landscaped for tourists: there is a small market with homemade wine, souvenirs and other products. Various statues, information signs. And Abkhaz “entrepreneurs” will be happy to invite you to take memorable photographs with animals and in national clothes.

Yupshar Canyon or stone bag

The Yupshar Canyon in Abkhazia is another famous natural attraction. The canyon got its name in honor of the Yupshara River, which flows nearby. The Yupshar Gorge was formed in ancient times: during earthquakes, the rock cracked, forming a narrow passage. The length of the canyon is about 8 km, but what attracts tourists most of all is the place called the Yupshar Gate or the Stone Bag.

A small section of the canyon where the rocks approach each other at a distance of 20 meters. Only a narrow strip of sky is visible from below, and even in July the sun's rays do not reach the bottom of the canyon (hence the name “Stone Bag”). Due to the shade and cool slopes of the mountains in this place, they are overgrown with boxwoods and moss, which gives the canyon even more charm. We will make a stop at the waterfall of Men's Tears. Cascades of water begin their fall from the cliff so high that if you stand under the waterfall, it is impossible to see its beginning.

According to legend, after the death of Amra, Adgur cried with grief - and in the place where his tears fell, the waterfall of Men's Tears was formed.

It is also customary here to tie ribbons for love and good luck. Near the waterfall there is a bridge from which you can reach the streams of water.

Cliff and observation deck “Farewell, Motherland”

The road to Lake Ritsa in this place is very narrow, on one side there are high cliffs, and on the other there is the famous “Farewell, Motherland” cliff. The height of the cliff is about 300 meters. There is also an observation deck of the same name, which is a small platform.

Many legends are associated with the origin of the name of this place.

According to one version, a bus with captured Germans who were building the road to Ritsa fell off this cliff. And one of the prisoners of war managed to shout “Farewell, Motherland.”

This legend seems implausible to me. After all, no matter how beautiful Abkhazia was, it was not the homeland for captured Germans. According to another version, a bus with military personnel, which was driving away from shelling at night, fell off this cliff. Whether all this is true or not, no one knows. But we can definitely say that the view from the cliff “farewell, Motherland” is mesmerizing. However, recently, fewer and fewer tour buses stop at this place due to safety concerns and careless tourists.

Bird's Beak Waterfall

The last attraction for today on the territory of the Ritsinsky National Park is the Bird's Beak waterfall. It is located just above Lake Ritsa and, as a rule, is not included in the excursion tour to the lake itself. If you wish, you can climb to it from the lake yourself.

The water here is clean, potable and with little mineralization. Many tourists put it in bottles. Next to the waterfall there is a small observation deck, which offers a gorgeous view of Lake Ritsa.

The road to Lake Ritsa and the sights of the Ritsa Nature Reserve on the map of Abkhazia

Below you will find a map and the road to Lake Ritsa, starting from the Ritsa turn, as well as all the attractions that we talked about in today’s article.

I would like to remind you that all the attractions, starting with Blue Lake, are located on the territory of the Ritsinsky National Park, entry into the territory is paid - 350 rubles. If you are traveling on a tour, the entrance ticket is usually included in the price.

You can purchase an excursion to Lake Ritsa

We will talk about other places near Lake Ritsa (Geksky waterfall, Molochny waterfall, Stalin's dacha) separately in the following articles.

The road to Ritsa is beautiful in itself, regardless of the presence of a lake at the end. It passes through a picturesque gorge along mountain rivers, and the landscapes encountered along the way forced us to stop many times for photographs. The road was built in 1936, otherwise we would have had to get to Ritsa along goat paths and shepherd crossings. Now the importance of this route for Abkhazia is difficult to overestimate - during the season tourists are taken to the lake in droves. And this is justified - there is something to look at, there is something to look up and there is someone to give unnecessary money to.

The first part of the path runs along the very pretty Bzyb River, through which there are many bridges and footbridges. This is the largest bridge. The photo was taken from the Bzyb fortress temple, where we are.

But we don't need to cross the bridge. We'll go on this side. Do you see how the mountains meet on the left? Here we go.

Having driven a little towards that very convergence of mountains, we stopped again. What we were unlucky with was the sky. It was cloudy gray, which did not have a good effect on the quality of the photographs.

This is still the same Bzyb River.

Then we stopped at the Maiden's Tears waterfall, ruined by a bunch of ribbons. Well, citizens, if you have an unbearable desire to tie ribbons somewhere, then tie it, for example, to your own ear. Will it be beautiful? Hardly. So why spoil nature?

There's not a lot of dripping here. Real tears.

And again views of Bzyb.

There is also a neat bridge across the river.

A little later another bridge. Decorated like a Christmas tree.

After another 5 minutes I came across this tower, but I don’t know where it came from or why. If you know, please enter me too.

Next stop in 3 minutes. I went out to take pictures of the river.

Of course, I don’t remember how long after we stopped there. I'm just looking at the time of the photos. This one is in 3 more minutes.

A couple of minutes later we saw a bridge. The boards on it have already partially fallen off and there is a good prospect of falling into the river.

When the sky is not visible, the photos turn out normal)

This is the Yupshar Canyon. The gorge is narrower. At its narrowest point its width is only 20 meters. Once these rocks were a single whole, but they were split by an earthquake. To the delight of tourists who can now travel here.

The rocks are high and sometimes falls from them.

And this falls.

To better understand the size of the boulder, I drove my wife onto it. I’m not being cruel, on the other side, someone enterprisingly added steps and hung a sign “50 rubles per photo.” But we don’t know who should send the money.

This is probably the bottleneck.

Another waterfall. Probably someone else's tears too.

The bridge doesn't look very secure. In general, we are already not far from Ritsa.

It looks like there used to be another bridge nearby. But that's all that's left of him.

Well, I'll finish. I’ll tell you about Lake Ritsa itself separately.

Even the day before, when purchasing an excursion to a trout farm, we also took care of continuing the cultural program - we made an advance payment for the trip to Ritsa. In addition to Ritsa herself, Lavrik promised us many more interesting things - the Gegsky waterfall, and Stalin’s dacha, and high-mountain mineral springs in Auadkhara, and alpine meadows, and Lake Mzy. However, he somehow avoided a direct answer to the question about the reality of ending up on Lake Mzy, but for some reason we did not attach much importance to this...

The departure happened long before dawn, very early in the morning of September 29th. An empty truck with a guide arrived straight to the house, picked up the four of us (who, by the way, had time to have breakfast!), and went to the resort. At the resort, PAZik was completely filled with a motley crowd of people of different ages - there were no empty seats left at all - and we went on an excursion. The guy-tour guide spoke quite smoothly all the way about the surrounding area, entertained tourists with stories and generally tried to wake up the sleepy people. People woke up reluctantly, the guy managed to get feedback very, very slowly, around the first stop on Blue Lake. By this time it was just dawn, and it made sense to take out the camera. The bus passed all the bullshit at the level of the "Maiden's Tears" waterfalls without stopping, but there wasn't really anything to see there either.

Having warmed up on the Blue Lake (some people have already begun to warm up here not only in the literal sense, but also in the sense of chacha and wine, fortunately trade is developed near the lake!), We loaded back onto the bus and drove on. And they didn’t stop until the Geg waterfall. It falls off to the side of the main road; a broken serpentine dirt road leads to it. There is a classic serpentine road, by the way - there is a cliff on the left, a rock on the right, there is nowhere to pass an oncoming car. To the question “how will we pass oncoming traffic, if so?” the guide confidently answered “we are bigger!” =) The waterfall turned out to be beautiful and large-scale, and only seemed small from a distance. The main part of the people jumped a little at the waterfall, clicked against its background, and went back to the bus and apatskhe (to warm up, of course). We and several other people managed to wait for this happy moment and understood the waterfall without the ubiquitous people. However, there are still a number of people in the photographs - for scale;) On the way back to the highway, at one of the serpentine turns, we made another stop - at the so-called. "Waterfall of Lovers" on Geg, where those who wished could fly over the river and waterfall on a "bunge". Vovka, for example, flew, and he has photographs from this flight. Where are they, Vova?.. ;)

After the Yupshar Canyon, where people continued to warm up with you know what, the road began to quickly gain altitude, and we rolled out to Ritsa.

Bzyb River. It's finally dawn, we're going to the mountains.

Lake Tskhina (Blue).

Depth - up to 76 meters, the water is clear.

Bridge near the Blue Lake. Under the bridge there is a drainage of water from the lake and a garbage dump.

Shabaka! A patient Caucasian guarding an apatskhu near the Geg waterfall.

Nosyara! =)

Chestnut... Yes, it's real. Yes, it's edible. No, I can't reach him :(

Dolichos.

Presumably savory.

Black elderberry.

Gega is a small mountain river, a tributary of the Bzybi.

Gegsky waterfall from the bridge.

So small, right?

Bridge over Gega.

If you come closer, it becomes clear that the waterfall is not small at all. Height - 50 meters.

The Gegsky Falls played the role of the Reichenbach Falls in Sherlock Holmes - remember, there Dr. Moriarty pushed Sherlock into the waterfall.

Look for the little people in the photos, they are placed there for scale :)

Here you can see the scale very well.

Harsh Abkhazian water supply system detected!

In the grotto.

Eternal drops from the ceiling of the grotto.

Falls of lovers. This is the Gega River, just above the confluence with the Bzyb and just below the Gega waterfall.

The “bunge rope” at the “fall of lovers” consists of an unlucky tourist, a metal cable, a climbing harness, a winch and an elderly Abkhazian =)

Flying Wolves! =)

Yupsharsky Canyon (Yupsharsky Gate, Stone Bag - there are many names, choose any).

The canyon has steep walls.

View of the canyon from the viewing point "Farewell, Motherland!" It's a very long way to fly down... Meanwhile, there's less than a kilometer left to go to Ritsa! :)

Per day!

There are many natural attractions in the vicinity of the Gagra resort. One of the most attractive objects not only of Gagra, but of the entire Black Sea coast of the Caucasus is high mountain lake Ritsa.

Road to Lake Ritsa

The first road connecting the coastal highway with the pearl of the mountains was built in 1936.

The road to Lake Ritsa goes past the settlements of the Gagra resort, turns left from the highway and enters the picturesque Bzyb gorge, where the current is squeezed by high rocks. The flow of the Bzybi slows down, its channel expands, and it flows into the sea in two branches.

Bzyb village

Before the mouth of the gorge is the ancient village of Bzyb. Its antiquity is evidenced by the ruins of the fortress, which are clearly visible on the rock hanging over the highway.

Bzyb(translated as “river gorge”) one of the most beautiful and turbulent rivers of the Western Caucasus. It originates from the eternal snows of the southern slope of the Main Caucasus Range at an altitude of 2300 meters, runs down the slopes of mountains densely covered with forest, and receives many tributaries. The total length of the river is 101 kilometers.

Vacationers and tourists will find many interesting places on the way to Lake Ritsa. In the vicinity of the village of Bzyb there are state farm lands where tobacco, corn, and citrus fruits are cultivated. Behind the village, in the forest clearings, numerous apiaries are visible everywhere. The history of beekeeping in Abkhazia goes back to ancient times.

Even the ancient Greek writers Xenophon (IV century BC) and Strabo (1st century BC) noted the great development of this branch of the economy among the ancestors of modern Abkhazians. Honey and wax have always been an important sector of the economy of Abkhazia, finding constant demand in overseas trade markets.

As a rule, bees were bred by local Abkhaz tribes that inhabited the foothills and river gorges. But especially favorable conditions for beekeeping have developed in the Bzyb River gorge. The abundance of vegetation and wild honey plants in the meadows and clearings allows the population of the republic to receive large incomes from beekeeping.

But the secret lies not only in the area’s honey plants. The gray native mountain bee is bred here Abkhazian. has gained worldwide fame for its high productivity, peacefulness and other valuable qualities. In particular, the Abkhazian is famous for its large flight radius and long, up to 7 millimeters, proboscis, which allows it to collect nectar, even if it is located deep in the calyx of the flower. Her honey is incomparable to the honey of other bees in terms of its exceptional taste and healing qualities. Over the past decades, the Abkhazian has been cultivated in large numbers in the USA, in a number of Western European countries and other areas of the globe.

Waterfalls of Maiden's and Man's Tears

Having traveled a short distance from the village of Bzyb, tourists will suddenly see a rainbow. Thin streams of crystal water, as if protruding from a stone, pour from somewhere above. That is how it is. This fabulous waterfall, formed by meltwater filtering through the thickness of limestone rocks, has a poetic name "Girl's Tears".

A beautiful legend glorifies this natural phenomenon.

“A long time ago,” the old people say, “only one family lived in these places. The only daughter, a beauty named Amra, went to the banks of the Bzybi to herd goats and sang songs that reached her lover, who lived in the mountains. The girl was so good and her songs were so good that the heart of the mermaid who lived in the waters of Bzybi flared with jealousy. One day, unable to bear the beauty of Amra. A mermaid climbed onto a rock and wanted to throw the girl down. The beautiful Amra cried bitterly. Her girlish tears flowed down the rock and reached the river. In response to the call for help, the god of water rose from the river. He menacingly called out to the envious mermaid. And she turned into stone out of fear. But in memory of Amra’s rescue, springs still ooze from under the rock...

And Amra's beloved, Adgur. While hunting in the mountains at that time, I suddenly felt pain in my heart. He realized that some kind of misfortune was threatening his beloved, and that he could not help her... The warrior’s stingy tears fell on the stone...”

And so, as if confirming the ancient legend, a few kilometers further, Blue lake, which has yet to be reached, ooze from the stone rare, stingy men's tears...

Not far from the “Maiden’s Tears”, on the left bank of the river, there is a grotto. Here in 1937, archaeologist L.N. Solovyov discovered objects more than 4 thousand years old.

A kilometer from here, to the left of a small clearing, there is a cave called Barrier. During the rainy season, an underground river flows over its threshold. During the dry season you can get into it. This is a fairly large cave with an underground lake.

Cars are running further and further. To the right of the road rises a dark green wall of trees, unusual for these places. These are Himalayan cedars that found their second home in the Caucasus. The cedar was planted in 1938 and has already become a shady grove. Many pets migrated from here to the streets, parks and squares of Abkhazia. This tree is widely used for landscaping coastal cities, reaches a height of 50 meters, its wood is used in shipbuilding, piles, parquet are made from it, and expensive furniture is trimmed with it.

Above the cedar grove, a high hill rises to the sky, on the top of which, among a dense deciduous forest, stands an ancient watchtower - Hasanta-Abaa. The tower is surrounded by a powerful wall one and a half meters thick. This fortification was apparently erected about 700 years ago. In the Middle Ages, the Hasanta-Abaa tower blocked the enemy's path. which usually moved along the road from the Sancharsky, Daursky and Adzybsky passes. If the enemy managed to break past the tower, he was detained by the garrison of the Bzyb fortress located below.

In those days, its owners were practically invulnerable. And even now it’s not so easy to climb this hill! A slightly noticeable trail starts from the left bank of the Bzyb River. But before getting on this trail, tourists will have to cross the river at the 10th kilometer and only then climb the slopes of the hill. But all their efforts will be rewarded handsomely. From the platform on which the tower stands, a magnificent panorama of the gorge and surrounding mountains opens. You can get inside the tower via a ladder...

Its surface is completely calm, although it is clear that right next to it a full-flowing mountain stream is noisily pouring into it from under the rock. Blue lake of karst origin. It is small: its area is only 180 square meters, but its depth reaches 76 m. Sapphire is an almost exact comparison. The lake is blue, surprisingly bright in color, which does not fade or darken even in the most inclement weather.

An ancient legend says:

“Where the Blue Lake is now, in ancient times there was a cave in which a hundred-year-old man lived - Priests. His snow-white beard hung almost to the ground, and his unusually blue eyes radiated wisdom and kindness. This man, wise from life experience, was a famous hunter in the past. As he grew old, he moved away from people to be closer to nature and settled in a cave. Local hunters often came to him for advice, for his knowledge of mountain trails, the habits of animals and the possibilities of shooting them. For his useful advice, the hunters considered it their duty, when returning home, to leave him one skin of a killed animal and part of the meat.

One day, during inclement weather, strangers found themselves in these places and asked to spend the night in a cave with an old man. He received them hospitably. Having treated them, the hermit showed them a place to stay for the night, laying out the skins of killed animals for them. Having seen a large number of skins of bison, bears, deer, roe deer, and martens, the greedy guests decided to take possession of them. Having killed the owner, they hastily began to put the skins into bags. Almost all the skins had already been collected when an unexpectedly powerful flow of water blocked the exit from the cave. The attackers were trapped. This is how the Blue Lake, or the Lake of the Abkhazian Elder, was formed, the waters of which resemble the blue eyes of the old man, whose body remained at the bottom, and his open eyes gave an unusual color to the waters of the lake.”

This is how the legend explains it. But in fact, according to experts, the bottom of the lake is covered with deposits of the mineral lapis lazuli, and the water is absolutely transparent.

The average water temperature in the lake is plus 7 degrees and only on the hottest days rises to plus 10 degrees. The lake does not freeze all year round, but it would be in vain to take your fishing rods out of their cases, even if you are an inveterate fisherman: there is no fish here. But nearby, in the Bzyb River, there is as much of it as you like. Blue Lake is fed by the waters of an underground river starting on the slopes of a high mountain Akhtsykh.

Gega River

The Bzyb becomes narrower and more turbulent, where it receives the waters of one of its tributaries - the Gega. White cascades of the Gagra massif falling from the heights. The length of the river is 26 km. Gega originates on the northeastern slope of the Tepe-Bashi ridge at an altitude of 2420 m above sea level.

Gorge Bzyb higher Gega not mastered. There is a quiet silence here, there are no roads or populated areas; this section of the gorge is extremely wild and beautiful: rocky cliffs alternate with slopes undermined by dense forest.

Cars cross the river, and now Bzyb is left behind, and the road goes deeper into the valley Gega. It winds through a deep gorge. The slopes are densely covered with coniferous and deciduous forests. There is a lot of oak and linden, hornbeam and maple here. Dense maple wood is consumed as carpentry material, and musical instruments are made from it. Maple is found here up to an altitude of 1900 meters above sea level. You can also find yew - mahogany - in the gorges. Extremely dense yellow-red yew wood is used to make high-quality furniture. Here an inquisitive tourist can see a strawberry tree. Apart from this place, it is found in Abkhazia only on the steep banks of the village of Mussera. In ancient times, the strawberry tree grew in other regions of Abkhazia and beyond. This is evidenced by the remains found by paleobotanists in the fossil flora of the Black Sea region. They were first discovered by the famous botanist Professor A. A. Kolakovsky in the river basin Kodor.

To the side of the road along Geg, deep and narrow gorges are visible. Huge fragments of rocks are piled up in them, and evergreen thickets of boxwood stretch upward. The boxwood tree is often called the Caucasian palm or diamond tree. Its wood is highly valued. It grows extremely slowly and by 500 years it rarely reaches the height of a five-year-old cedar. The export of boxwood from the Caucasian gorges began in ancient times. Shuttles for looms, woodblock prints, various decorations and artistic products were made from boxwood. There is evidence that some of the wooden decorations of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris are made from Caucasian boxwood. According to medieval writers, Abkhazian boxwood in Europe was sold at retail, almost by the gram.

At the beginning of the 19th century, local merchants tried to develop the Bzyb forests. Thus, it is known that one of them procured pine for Turkish ships in Bzybi. Somewhat later, large Russian capitalists became interested in the Bzyb forests.

Following them, foreign capitalists extended their tentacles here. Already in 1893, the Belgian joint-stock company was negotiating with the tsarist government about transferring the forest to the company for development. With the permission of the tsarist authorities, the Belgians had already begun to survey the forests, but, fortunately, the revolution prevented them from destroying the people's property.

Now the Bzyb forests are carefully protected by the state; logging for industrial purposes is not permitted.

Yupshara River

Suddenly, a giant stone wall crosses the road. There seems to be no further way. But the stone retreats before man. Cars rush under its arches. The cliffs are closing in again. Gega remains to the left; Yupshara, flowing out of Lake Ritsa, hurries towards Gega. The length of the river is relatively small - 11 km. Now, if you continue the path along the bed of the Gega River, you can reach the famous Gega Waterfall and the Circassian Glade.

The road to Ritsa now leads us along the river bank Yupshara, By Yupsharsky Gorge. This is one of the most picturesque places in the Caucasus, famous for its unique beauty. The length of the gorge is 8 km. The path becomes steeper and steeper. The mountains close together sharply. It gets noticeably darker. Green and reddish mosses hang from steep half-kilometer-long cornices. The most picturesque and majestic section of the route begins - the Yupshar Canyon. Apparently, it began with a giant crack that pushed the rocks apart, which was subsequently washed away by the Yupshara River.

But now the sun floods everything around. The Yupshar Gate has been passed. Now the road goes over the canyon at a dizzying height. A tingling sensation begins in the ears, and hearing becomes dulled—this is due to a sharp drop in atmospheric pressure.

Finally, when the height reaches a thousand meters, tourists have a view of Lake Ritsa. He was surrounded by high mountains— Agepsta(3263 m), Atsetuk(2542 m) and Pshegishkha(2222 m). Wooded slopes are reflected in the emerald mirror of the water. Agepsta and Atsetuk are covered with forest, and the steep Pshegishkha is lifeless and bare. Scientists drew attention to this difference in the appearance of the mountains surrounding Ritsu. This helped them solve the mystery of Ritsa's origin. Apparently, powerful tectonic shifts occurred in this area relatively recently. As a result of these shifts, part of the valley of the Lashupse River, which now flows into Ritsa from the northeast, sank, while in the area of the Pshegishkha ridge the earth's crust rose. The shifts caused enormous collapses of the northeastern slope of the ridge. Thus, this marvelous mountain lake was born at an altitude of 926 meters above sea level.

The Legend of Lake Ritsa

Without a doubt, this catastrophe occurred within the memory of the ancient inhabitants of Abkhazia. The thunderous rumbles of avalanches, collapsing and rising mountains were reflected and refracted in their own way in the poetic creativity of the Abkhaz people. Abkhazians tell many legends about Lake Ritsa. Here is one of such legends.

“It was so long ago that even the thousand-year-old boxwood, even the stormy Bzyb River, do not remember how Lake Ritsa appeared. But one shepherd found out about this, who climbed into the mountains in search of good pasture for his sheep. This legend was told to him by a loud, talkative stream. The shepherd retold this legend to his children, the children to their grandchildren, and those to their great-grandchildren...

Once upon a time in the mountains of Abkhazia, in the place where Lake Ritsa lies, there was a valley through which a wide river flowed. She carried her waters to the sea and was so calm that even a child could swim in her without fear.

Along the banks of the river there are lush pastures where the girl Ritsa grazed her herd. She was so beautiful that even the crimson mountain tulips could not compete with the color of her lips, the sea could not overshadow the blue and sparkle of her eyes, and the snow on the peaks seemed black compared to the whiteness of her face. Her braids looked like long, writhing snakes, black as agate.

Ritsa had three brothers: the elder Agepsta, the middle Atsetuk and the youngest Pshegishkha. The brothers spent whole days wandering in the mountains and hunting fast-footed gazelles. In the evening they returned to Ritsa and sat by the fire. Ritsa fried meat, and the brothers sang songs.

The mountains listened to these songs and, falling asleep, were wrapped in thick fog.

One day the brothers said goodbye to their sister and went far into the mountains for prey. A hot day passed, the mountains were painted with the crimson of the sunset, and the brothers did not return. Ritsa waited for them for a long time, then she gathered the herd not far from the river and, without lighting the fire, lay down on the bank. She closed her eyes and sang a song. Her voice flowed so smoothly and beautifully, was filled with such charm that the night birds stopped calling to each other and the streams stopped their flow. All nature listened to Ritsa's voice.

Two forest robbers, brothers Gega and Yupshara, heard this song. The elder turned to the younger: “Go, Yupshara, find out who is singing in the valley? Who has such a charming voice?

He whipped Yupshar's horse and rushed off, not making out the road, in the direction from which Ritsa's song was coming. He stopped his horse at the cliff and saw a girl lying on the river bank. Yupshara was numb. He had never met such a beauty. Bestial passion flared up in the evil heart. He rushed to Ritsa and grabbed her into his arms. Ritsa began to cry out for help and began to struggle in his arms.

A mountain falcon saw this. Spreading his wings, he flew like an arrow to his brothers and told them about what was threatening their sister. Anger flared in the hearts of the brothers. They rushed headlong, hoping to help their sister.

But it was too late... Yupshara did not let Ritsu out of his arms. Then Pshagnshkha raised his heroic shield and threw it at the rapist, but missed. The shield fell across the river and blocked the flow. Water rushed onto the shore.

Ritsa saw that a huge lake was spilling at her feet. Longing filled her heart. The girl could not bear the shame, she cried out sadly and threw herself into the lake...

Yupshara felt the icy touch of the waves and fled. The brothers rushed in pursuit of him and overtook him. Agepsta grabbed him with his mighty hand and threw him into the lake. But the water boiled, threw Yupshara over Pshegishkha’s shield and carried her into the sea.

In vain Yupshara clung to the bushes bent near the banks, tearing them out by the roots. Gega, who ran after him along the shore, could not save him either...

And the three brothers, overcome with grief, turned to stone and turned into high mountains. They still stand above the clear water of the lake, guarding Ritsa’s eternal sleep.”

The surface area of the lake is 0.67 square meters. km, or 132 hectares. Its greatest length is 1704 meters, its greatest width is 447 meters, and its greatest depth is 115 meters. The length of the coastline is 4.29 kilometers.

The lake is fed by waters Lashupse and small streams that arise from the spurs of Mount Atsetuk. The banks of the Ritsa are rugged and in some places represent an inaccessible cliff. The water of Ritsa is of many shades of dark green. This is explained by the fact that in different places it has different degrees of transparency. Trout is found in abundance in Ritz, which can be enjoyed in a restaurant on the shore. There is also a boarding house with a restaurant here, and on the opposite bank in the ravine there is a kebab shop and apatskha (national restaurant), where kebab, hominy with cheese, smoked meat, and fresh trout caught in the lake are served.

In the vicinity of Lake Ritsa, lovers of mountain tourism will find many attractions. 5 km northwest of the lake between the Lashupse and Yupshara tracts, in the Gega River basin, there is a lake Malaya Ritsa, lying 300 meters above Bolshaya. Its greatest length is 234 meters, width - 130 meters, depth - 80 meters. Malaya Ritsa is difficult to access, but a tourist who reaches the lake will be rewarded with a charming view.

From Bolshaya Ritsa tourists head to Avadhar mineral springs, located at an altitude of 1650-1700 meters above sea level. On this section of the route (18 km), tourists see harsh mountain peaks and endless forests, where many wild animals live.

The car is walking along the steep slope of Mount Rykhva. A magnificent panorama of the gorge and mountains covered with beech forest opens up to tourists. This is the central section of the Ritsa-Avadhara Nature Reserve, founded in 1930. Here, as in other places of the reserve, the brown Caucasian bear is found. In the spring, after hibernation, bears descend into river valleys, and in the summer they rise closer to alpine meadows.

Wild boars are also found in the Bzyb forests. Sometimes they rise from the base of the mountains to a height of more than 2500 meters above sea level. Often wild boars descend into the valleys.

Among the predators living in the reserve are wolves, foxes, and jackals. The Black Sea wolf is small in stature and has light gray fur. Wolves also climb into alpine meadows in the summer and sometimes attack livestock. Before sunset, the frantic barking of jackals can be heard throughout the reserve - they are getting ready to hunt.

Wild Caucasian cats weighing up to 8 kg are also found in the Bzyb forests; and in the valley of the Lashupsa and Avadhara rivers the marten is found. But among the 25 species of fauna of the reserve, the inhabitants of the highlands are of particular interest: tur, roe deer and Caucasian chamois.

The king of the Ritsa-Avadhar Reserve is called the noble Caucasian deer, which, unfortunately, has been almost completely exterminated in the Caucasus. There are three dozen deer preserved in the reserve.

There are also many birds here. Among them there are rare ones that are not found in other places in Transcaucasia.

Having examined the central part of the reserve, we find ourselves in a river valley protected by mountain ranges from the northern winds Avadhara. This valley is considered one of the most beautiful places in the Caucasus. But it is interesting not only for its landscapes: in its depths there are huge reserves of healing mineral water.

A lot of work to identify the local healing springs was carried out by the famous Abkhaz balneologist Professor A.L. Grigolia. One of the sources he studied, “Ritsa No. 4,” has a flow rate of up to 6 thousand liters per day. In its physical and chemical composition and medicinal properties, the water of Avadhar springs resembles the famous mineral waters “Borjomi” and the French “Vichy”.

Lake Ritsa is without a doubt one of the most popular attractions of Abkhazia in the bad sense of the word, one might say “pop”. They drag all the tourists there first, and there they try to milk them as much as possible. They will scam you for souvenirs, smuggle who knows what kind of “homemade wine”, extort money for parking, etc. At the same time, the lake itself is, of course, pretty, but nothing more. Nevertheless, there is something to see both on the road to Ritsa and beyond. These are gorges and waterfalls, beautiful views from mountain roads, Stalin's dacha, a small and not so trampled forest lake Malaya Ritsa. Along the same road past Ritsa you can get to other beautiful places in mountainous Abkhazia - the mineral springs of Audhara, Lake Mzy, the Valley of the Seven Lakes, the village of Pskhu.

Our plan was this: having looked at the most interesting places along the way, get to Audhara by lunch, go on foot to Lake Mzy, and then return to Ritsa, leave the car there and go to Malaya Ritsa for the night.

The road to Ritsa goes along the Bzyb River:

The first point on the route is Blue Lake (Tskhina). It’s very simple, but there are plenty of shopping arcades and a large parking lot nearby.

We, of course, stood right opposite on the side of the road. The traffic cops immediately came up and began to press our driver. Well, I was tricked into buying a bottle of “house wine,” which turned out to be something like a morsica, albeit a good one. But they let me take a picture in a burka and a hat)