Otkhara Rock Monastery in Abkhazia

We will tell you where the Rock Monastery is located and whether it is possible to visit it, how much you will have to pay for the entrance, what the Mchishta river is famous for among the locals, whether it is worth going here and how to get to the monastery by car. Here we share our travel experiences, and you can also learn something new from the experiences of other travelers 💬 in our chat in Abkhazia.

What to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting

The rock monastery in the village of Otkhara is an unusual and little–known landmark in Abkhazia. This structure resembles an impregnable fortress walled up in rocks. Presumably, it was originally a fortress that served as a refuge for the Abkhaz nobility during pirate raids from the sea. Later, in the X-XII centuries, the fortress turned into a monastery.

It is impossible to visit the temple without special climbing equipment, since it is located at an altitude of 50 meters above the earth's surface, and you will have to be content only with observation from afar. The Mchishta River, known for its healing properties, flows next to the monastery. Therefore, many people consider the waters of this mountain stream to be healing and come to visit the monastery to receive healing from various diseases.

The path to the monastery leads through a trout farm, with large ponds filled with fish. There is a cafe on site where you can eat grilled trout.

We will not advise you to go here on purpose, it is a very dubious pleasure to look at the temple from afar, and even for a lot of money. But, if time permits, you can stop here on the way to dolmens of Otkhara.

Visiting Tips

• You can't get close to the temple in bad weather, you'll have to look at it from afar.
• You can't get inside the temple, but it is still possible to climb to it with your own climbing equipment. At the same time, you need to be very careful and prudent, since no one is monitoring his condition and there have already been tragic cases here.
• The employees of the trout farm have not legally set a fee for entering the territory and for parking and will demand payment from you. Even if you come only to a cafe, parking will be paid.

💥 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:

• 📷 Search for excursions in Gagra on Sputnik8.com
• 📷 Search for excursions in Gagra on Tripster.ru