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AbkhaziaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
The Assumption Cathedral and Monastery are one of the oldest Christian churches in Abkhazia, which has not only survived to this day, but is also operational and in good condition. In our opinion, among the many ancient temples on the territory of the republic, the Dranda temple is one of the most interesting, and we definitely recommend visiting it if you are vacationing in Sukhum or Ochamchira. In principle, you can go here from more remote resorts, especially since this can be done with the help of inexpensive group excursions.
The territory of the Dranda monastery is impressive, it houses the cathedral itself, the memorial of John of Kronstadt, a church shop, there is a holy spring and a font for men and women, the ruins of old buildings that were once the cells of monks and converted into dormitories in Soviet times, and even an observation deck overlooking the valley of the Kudry Khuchi River, also known as the Small Kodor. There is also a lot of greenery here, tall eucalyptus trees and slender cypresses grow. There is also a somewhat unpleasant "landmark" in the neighborhood – the only prison operating in Abkhazia, which appeared here in Soviet times, when the temple was closed.
Attention! The Cathedral of Dranda is not only a landmark, but also an active religious building. Do not visit it in short skirts, shorts, T-shirts with open shoulders and in provocative clothes. We urge you to show respect to believers and local residents.
The history of the Cathedral of Dranda
The exact date of the foundation of the cathedral is unknown, but it is believed that it was during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian the Great, i.e. in the VI-VII centuries. In the Middle Ages, the residence of bishops was located here, and during the Turkish invasion, great damage was done. Russian and Georgian historian, archaeologist and ethnographer Dmitry Bakradze, who visited the temple in 1860, said that inside it was painted with frescoes, but they have not survived to this day.
The monastery appeared here only in 1883, it was founded by monks who arrived from New Athos. But it did not last long, until 1928. Then the Soviet authorities decided that the monastery had no place here, and organized a collective farm within its walls, the monks were evicted, and dormitories for collective farmers were equipped in their cells. Only in 2011 the temple finally returned to the Orthodox Church.
🕐 Working hours
From 08:00 to 18:00.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
Free of charge.
🚶 How to get there
The Dranda Cathedral is located in the village of Dranda, 20 kilometers from Sukhum (cathedral on the map). You can get here with excursions, by your own transport or by suburban buses.
If you don't have your own transport, but you want to visit the temple without excursion groups, then it's easy to do. A taxi from the center of Sukhum here will cost about 600 rubles one way, with a wait and return trip of about 1500 rubles. But it can be much cheaper. To do this, take the bus to Ochamchira (from the bus station next to the railway station, run every hour, cost about 50 USD), get off the highway near the village of Dranda and walk one kilometer to the temple. Also, other suburban minibuses run around the village of Dranda, for example, they recover from the Rynok stop on Ardzhinba Street in Sukhum every half hour.
Excursions are not sold separately only to the Dranda Temple, but include visits to other attractions. For example, there are excursions to Ilora Temple+Dranda, Trout fishing+Dranda, or the ghost town+Dranda. Minimum price of the tour from Sukhum from 1000 rubles, from Gagra from 2000 rubles. Excursions are sold in hotels, travel agencies and distributors on the streets of resorts. For example, in Sukhumi there are a lot of places of sale on the embankment, in Gagra there are sales both on the embankment and on the streets of the city. You can also buy tours of Abkhazia online.
💥 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: