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AbkhaziaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
The monkey nursery in Sukhum is one of the few places in the whole of Abkhazia where you can go with the whole family. Most tourists perceive it simply as a zoo, but in fact it is not only an attraction and entertainment, but to a greater extent part of the Research Institute of Experimental Pathology and therapy of the Academy of Sciences of Abkhazia. It was founded in 1927, and at a certain point in history the number of individuals here reached 2000! However, during the war with Georgia, it was very badly damaged, the number of animals was reduced to 27. Today, the Institute and nursery are being restored again, although it is still very far from normal.
In a relatively small area in cages there are 5-6 species of monkeys. All views are separated, cells are signed. And although it seems that there are quite a lot of cells and animals, in fact they just repeat themselves, and, by and large, the main part is only 3 species of monkeys. Animals can be fed (food is sold at the entrance, but you can bring your own fruits or vegetables, bread, seeds), but you need to do this with caution. In general, it is better not to come close to the cages: monkeys can grab and scratch, drag glasses, phones, cameras into the cage, and you should not count on their return. Be especially careful with baboons hamadryas, they are very aggressive.
In general, the impressions of visiting the nursery you may remain ambivalent. On the one hand, it is interesting to see and feed exotic animals. On the other hand, the nursery is a real ruin and dirt: the cells are old and dilapidated, the territory is unkempt, the staff is not particularly friendly. Even the entrance to the nursery runs along a dilapidated asphalt road, which has long required major repairs. Beautiful and clean only facade cells at the entrance, which, by the way, can be viewed for free. Therefore, we would not recommend necessarily visiting this place, especially if you have already been to similar places in other countries or "communicated" with monkeys in Russian zoos.
🕐 Working hours
from 11:00 to 19:00, seven days a week.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
adults-250 rubles, children 7-12 years-50 rubles, children under 7 years-free of charge. Parking in front of the entrance is paid-100 rubles.
🚶 How to get there
the nursery is located on Mount Trapezium in the north of the city (nurseries on the map. Theoretically, from the center and from the embankment you can walk here, but after a walk of one and a half to two kilometers, then you still have to climb to the top of the hill to the entrance. You can also take the city bus number 1, and further into the hill on foot. By private car from Gumskaya street you need to turn off the sign to the nursery, and then you will have to overcome a small rise along a broken narrow road for one car, you will have to leave with oncoming traffic on local extensions. Near the entrance there is paid parking (100 rubles from visitors, local - free of charge), there is nowhere to put it for free.
💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Pitsunda with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at options with online booking on these proven search and comparison sites price: