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AbkhaziaWhat to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting
Holy Waterfall one of the farthest waterfalls in Abkhazia, located far to the southeast of Abkhazia, a few kilometers from the border with Georgia and further along the road after the abandoned cities Tkuarchal and Akarmara. However, for all its remoteness, it is not very difficult to get to it, it is reached first by an asphalt road, and then by a dirt road on the last kilometers, along which, in good weather, you can drive any car. Well, if you don't have your own transport, then it's easy to get here with excursions to the ghost towns of Tkuarchal and Akarmara, but we'll tell you more about this at the end of the article, and first about the waterfall itself.:
The Holy Waterfall has been known to locals and experienced travelers for a long time, but for mass tourists it became a discovery relatively recently, just a few years ago, when affordable group tours began to be offered in these parts to abandoned ghost towns. He is the smallest of the trinity of Holy waterfalls, Irina and the Giant, who are located in this mountainous corner of Abkhazia. But even so, its height and power are impressive, because it is almost 40 meters high, and it is almost like a 15-storey building. It is formed on the Khudzga River, which feeds on the waters of melting glaciers, and therefore the water in it is very cold, almost icy all year round. So only the bravest dare to swim in it. If you're one of those, then don't forget to bring a swimsuit here. Also next to the waterfall there is a cafe "At the Holy Waterfall", actually through it there is an exit to the waterfall.
How to visit the Holy Waterfall
The Holy Waterfall is not visited as a separate attraction, it is too far away. Usually people go to him to see at least three waterfalls at once: Svyatoy, Irina and the Giant (they are all nearby), the abandoned ghost towns of Akarmara and Tkuarchal, and additionally you can see the waterfall here Gold Carrier. Also on the way in this direction you can visit Gup waterfall, The new Gup Waterfall, Radon baths, and a few other interesting places. But it's impossible to visit all this for a trip in one day, you just don't have enough energy and time. Therefore, group excursions from resorts in this direction, as a rule, include only Akarmara and Tkuarchal, and the three main waterfalls of the Saint, Irina and the Giant.
If you want to see as much as possible, you can come here on your own on your own transport with an overnight stay. That's exactly what we did, and with one overnight stay we managed to see everything (or almost everything). You can spend the night here in a guest house operating with hot radon springs at the entrance to Akarmara. If you are traveling with a tent, you can set up a tent anywhere along the way (there are many exits from the road and convenient sites for overnight stays). Or as we did, we set up a tent near the cafe "Paradise Corner", and met the dawn right at the waterfall. However, for this we advise you to coordinate the installation of the tent with the owner or the cafe staff, in our experience they allowed it without problems and were even very happy about it.
🕐 Working hours
Access to the waterfall is possible around the clock, it is better to visit during daylight hours.
💵 Entrance fee / ticket price
A fee (eco–collection) of 300 rubles / person is charged for travel / passage to the waterfall, children under 10 years old are free of charge. If you arrive here early in the morning (before 10 o'clock), then there is a chance to travel for free, since there may not be any toll collectors at this time.
🚶 How to get there
The Holy waterfall is located far away in the south-east of Abkhazia in the mountains on the road beyond the famous abandoned ghost towns of Tkuarchal and Akarmara (waterfall on the map). For reference, there are 90 kilometers from Sukhum to here, and almost 180 from Gagra. There is no way to get here by public transport, a taxi will be very expensive, so people usually go here with a group or individual excursion, and it is also easy to get there on their own by their own transport:
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Holy Waterfall with a guided tour
There are no separate excursions to the waterfall, but its visit is included in the excursion programs to the abandoned towns of Tkuarchal and Akarmara. As standard, these excursions include a visit to the trinity of the Saint, Irina and the Giant waterfalls at once, the entrance fee for them is the same for all three waterfalls at once. Additionally, some excursions may also include a visit to the Gold-bearing waterfall, which is also located in these parts, but you will have to pay extra for the entrance to it. You can buy such excursions at all popular resorts from distributors on the street and in travel agencies, but the most convenient points for departure are Sukhum and Ochamchira, because they are the closest, which means you will spend less time on the road. For reference, excursions cost from 2,600 rubles from Sukhum and from 3,000 from Gagra, and this price already includes all entrance fees and a jeep ride to the waterfalls.
If you prefer individual trips rather than trips in a large group, we advise you to watch these excursions:
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Holy Waterfall on its own
If you are traveling by car, then this is a great way to get to the waterfall and at the same time visit many other attractions along the way. As we have already written above, ideally you should come here with an overnight stay, but in principle almost everything can be seen in one light day, but it is advisable to arrive as early as possible. Ideally, you should be here already at 10 o'clock before the appearance of large groups with tourists, and for this you need to leave the resorts at 6-7 o'clock, because the road is not very far, but because of its not very good condition, it takes a lot of time.
The road to the Holy Waterfall is difficult, especially in the last kilometers, but in good weather it is passable for any car. There is only one route here, so follow the navigator and you won't make a mistake.
At first, excellent asphalt leads to the city of Tkuarchal. After Tkuarchal to the ghost town of Akarmara, you will need to drive 9 kilometers along an old, heavily broken asphalt road, which sometimes turns into a rocky primer. You should drive carefully, take your time. At the entrance to the city of Akarmara you will be met by drivers of sightseeing jeeps who offer trips to three waterfalls at a price of 3,500 rubles per car for 6 people. In 2023, it was really possible to bargain even up to 3,000 rubles, but here you need to discuss where you want to go for this price, and ideally you need to negotiate a trip to all four waterfalls behind the Akarmara, to the Gold-Bearer, Saint, Irina and the Giant, but it will probably cost a little more.
But in fact, it is not necessary to hire an excursion jeep here, and you can continue driving on your own. The road to the Holy Waterfall is not so bad, you will need to drive 5 kilometers from the parking lot with sightseeing jeeps. In dry weather and with a good driving experience, crossovers and even sedans without all-wheel drive quietly pass here. However, be careful, it's still a mountain road with difficult conditions, and if you have no experience and feel sorry for the car, then it's better to agree to a jeep ride. But it is very difficult to get to the other two waterfalls Irina and the Giant without an SUV. But you can also walk to them, you will have to walk 1.7 kilometers with a climb of almost 300 meters, which will take at least an hour in one direction. The branch of the road to them does not start from the Holy Waterfall, but about a kilometer before it, there are signs there.
In 2023-2024, the road to the city of Akarmara and waterfalls is being repaired. To what condition it will be repaired, and whether a hard asphalt surface will be laid, we do not know, but it will definitely be even easier to get here!
The road after Akarmara is like this, but maybe it will get better soon
💥 We remind you that it is much more interesting to get acquainted with the sights of Abkhazia with the help of excursions, and therefore we advise you to look at online booking options on these proven search and price comparison sites: