Abkhazia is a de facto partially recognized state in the Southern Caucasus along the eastern coast of the Black Sea. It is only recognized as a state by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria. It has a particularly bloody history with Georgia. During Soviet Georgian times the region had autonomy but during the fall of the Soviet Union the Abkhaz wanted independence from Georgia. The region experienced some extreme ethnic tensions between the Abkhaz and the ethnic Georgians which led to the 92-93 War in Abkhazia. In 1992 Georgia sent in 6000 troops to take over the region and did, but with the help of Russia the Abkhaz were able to take it back by 1993 and slaughtered the Georgians that remained. This was some pretty extreme ethnic cleansing. Despite such a bloody recent past it is still a very interesting region to visit. During normal circumstances it is possible to enter from either Georgia or Russia. Truth be told, it is much easier to enter from Russia and that’s exactly what I did. All you have to do is make sure you have at least a dual entry Russian visa because you have to exit the way you came, you are not allowed to transit through to Georgia. To get to Abkhazia I took an early train from Sochi.
The train ride was only about 5 hours. You go through Russian customs and get stamped out of Russia but you don’t get stamped into Abkhazia. The Abkhaz customs agents will board the train, look at your passport and tell you to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sukhumi to register your passport.
Once I arrived at the Sukhumi Railway Station a nice young lady from my hotel was there to pick me up, she drove me directly over to the ministry of foreign affairs to collect my visa. This is important, if you don’t go and get registered and pick up your visa you will get into trouble when you try to leave.
After getting my visa I went and checked into the Vesna hotel. A very affordable hotel at $39USD per night which was very close to the Black Sea beach. From the hotel you can walk over to the water front promenade, also known as the Nabarezhnaya Makhadzhirov, and follow it for about 2 km. It will lead you directly into the downtown area of the capital.
It’s actually quite a nice stroll along the promenade. There were quite a few locals enjoying the warm weather at the beach as well.
I always enjoy seeing the old Soviet apartment buildings in former Soviet counties. Like relics from a forgotten time.
There were also a lot of Lada’s to be seen in Sukhumi. I’m quite fond of these little Russian cars!
You still see some of the effects of war from the bullet holes that remain in some of the buildings around the city.
However I think the biggest reminder is the former Government building located in the center of the city. This building has been burned out and empty since the Abkhaz took the city back in September 1993. They still keep it standing as a reminder of the war and what they went through.
There are quite a few abandoned buildings left over from the war that you can stumble across and explore if you wish, but be very cautious. There are also some cool statues to see like the Monument to the Unknown Soldier the Defender of the Caucasus.
Another popular place for the locals is the downtown Seafront Promenade. This is a great place for local artists and souvenir shops. It’s quite beautiful here.
I definitely enjoyed my extremely short time in Sukhumi but there are other places to explore in Abkhazia as well. I’d really like to visit Gagra, New Athos and Gali. This is a country I definitely plan on returning to at some point in the future…..
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