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AbkhaziaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
Chabgar cornice or "Goodbye, Motherland!" is perhaps the most popular viewing platform for tourists on their way to Lake Ritsa. There are always a lot of people here in the middle of the day, because every sightseeing bus or minivan makes a stop here. However, the Ritsa Lake itself is not visible from it. But there are magnificent views of the Yupshar Canyon and one of its narrowest parts up to 20 meters wide, this place is also called the Stone Bag or the Yupshar Gate. The observation deck itself is a small equipped platform, the entrance to it is free. Nearby there is a small parking lot (for about 5-6 cars), there are stalls selling souvenirs and local products popular with tourists: homemade wine, chacha, churchkhela, cheeses, honey, nuts, etc. However, as in most similar tourist places, you need to buy with extreme caution: for natural products, they can give out outright fakes, and for tasting you will be given a taste of one product, and in a bottle or jar they will sell a completely different one.
Origin of the name
The traditional name of the rock on which the observation deck is located is the Chabgar cornice. This uncomplicated name comes from the word "Chabgar", which translates from Abkhaz simply as "Cliff".
And the sonorous folk name "Forgiving, Motherland!" was fixed here as a result of one of the legends that guides tell tourists:
One of them says that after the Second World War, German prisoners of war built a mountain road or Stalin's dacha in Abkhazia. While working at this place, a truck with Germans fell into the abyss, and one of the prisoners shouted before his death: "Forgiving, Motherland!". There is a version that the truck was not with prisoners, but with Soviet soldiers.
.There is another romantic legend about this place, which guides tell the most impressionable tourists, most often girls. In the middle of the XX century, a magnificent wedding procession stopped in these places. The newlyweds decided to take a photo on the background of the cliff, the bride climbed first. When the groom began to climb the block, grabbing the ledges, the girl slipped and fell into the abyss. The groom climbed onto the stone, looked around the crowd of guests, shouted: "Goodbye, Motherland!" and jumped after the bride. Some tourists claim that in the photos taken in this place, you can see strange glare, similar to ghosts.
Of course, most likely, most of these legends are simply invented by guides for the entertainment of tourists, so do not pay much attention to the interpretation of those events, because each narrator brings something of his own to it.
🕐 Working hours
Around the clock.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
The entrance to the observation deck is free, but it is located on the territory of the Ricin National Park, for which you need to pay an environmental fee: adults – 700 rubles; children 8-12 years old – 200 rubles; children under 8 years old – free. The fee is paid at the entrance to the park at the checkpoint.
🚶 How to get there
The observation deck of the Chabgar cornice or the observation deck "Goodbye, Motherland!" is located on the way to Lake Ritsa before reaching 3 kilometers to it (observation deck on the map). An excellent asphalt road leads to it, and the observation deck itself is located right next to the road. Excursions to the observation deck are not conducted separately, but a stop here is included in all excursions to Lake Ritsa. Such excursions are sold at all resorts of Abkhazia and even in Sochi, cost from 1300 rubles + entrance fee to the park.
💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at online booking options on these proven search and price comparison sites: