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AbkhaziaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
On the way to the mountain lake Mzy, it is above and far beyond Lake Ritsa, there is a small cafe "U Astika", notable for the fact that next to it there is a source of mineral water, which, as stated, helps with eye diseases. On Yandex maps, this source is marked under the name "Auadhara", but in fact the real source of this famous mineral water is a little further away, we are talking about him here.
Nevertheless, the water of this spring is real mineral, has a specific brackish taste and smell of hydrogen sulfide, slightly carbonated. It comes through the pipes from the mountain on the other side of the river, and here they have equipped something like a stone column for its set. You can drink and take with you as much water as you want in the tank, it's free, but there's no point in taking a lot with you. The fact is that like any other natural mineral healing water, it quickly loses its taste and properties upon contact with air and lighting. After a few hours, it starts to smell bad, it turns yellow and becomes cloudy. If you still really want to take it more, then you need to follow a simple popular advice: fill the neck with water to the maximum so that there is no contact with air, and store in a cool dark place.
🕐 Working hours
Around the clock.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
A visit to the spring and a set of water from it 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 of charge. The fee is paid at the entrance to the park at the checkpoint.
🚶 How to get there
Auadhara Ocular mineral spring is located above Ritsa Lake on the way to Mzy Lake (source on the map). You can get to it with jeep tours that take tourists to Lake Mzy, and ordinary excursions to Lake Ritsa do not reach here.
You can get to this place by car, although the road here, to put it mildly, does not lead very far. At first, you will reach Ritsa on excellent asphalt, but after it begins 17 kilometers of terrible road. Once upon a time in Soviet times there was asphalt here, too, but since then, apparently, it has never been repaired, and the road has turned into a sieve of pits. Theoretically, you can drive along it in any car, we have even seen foreign sedans with a low landing, but you will have to drive very carefully and slowly. The pits on the road are deep, with sharp edges, and at least in one place you still have to cross a deep stream that flows right along the road. Therefore, we still recommend driving a car with high ground clearance and short overhangs, preferably on a crossover or SUV.
💥 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: