We have prepared a video review for you, in which we will tell you about some of the top places in Abkhazia.
Together we will take a walk through the country residence of Stalin, look at the dacha of Khrushchev, see the most healing waterfall and visit the most beautiful point of lake Ritsa.
JOSEPH STALIN
The emerald-green house merges with the surrounding nature, and therefore it is almost impossible to notice it from the lake.
The house has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a Banquet hall where Stalin ate alone. He would sit facing the door so that he could see everyone who came in.
Ready-made food was delivered by boat. Stalin did not like pungent smells. Therefore, the kitchen was located outside the cottage, on the Milk waterfall. By the way, he preferred simple food to overseas delicacies. For example, baked potatoes!
However, Stalin was not an ascetic. Here, for example, is one of the three bedrooms. To create a conservative and restrained, at first glance, interior, the most expensive wood species in the world were used. The wall covering in the bedroom is made of Karelian birch. It usually makes beautiful Souvenirs: boxes, cigarette cases, jewelry.On the beds are German mattresses with seaweed, brought by order of Stalin from Germany.
Stalin was worried about his life, so every room had alarm buttons disguised as sockets. At the same time, no one, not even the guards, knew which of the bedrooms he would Wake up in. And he could change the room several times a night.
The main antidepressant for Stalin was work. His vacation was more like a remote trip.
But the Ritz was no exception. There is no office at the dacha.
And Stalin came to the Ritsa only at the height of the season. But he couldn't take all the advantages of a summer vacation.
Because of the atrophy of his left arm, Stalin was afraid of water. Swimming in the lake was replaced by boat trips along the Ritsa.
After Stalin's death, Khrushchev became the new owner of the dacha. But he was in no hurry to use the house. Only a few years later, Khrushchev decides to build a new house for himself on the Ritz. The bedrooms in the house are made in the same style. You might think that the design was done by a tired designer. However, with this clever decision, the owner of the house immediately made it clear that he does not single out anyone and all guests are equally welcome.
The two residences will be United by a long corridor Brezhnev, who, like his predecessors, did not remain indifferent to the Ritz.
Therefore, today, to view the interiors of two houses, tourists do not need to go outside....
A fair question, but who now owns the dacha?
Today, the country residence is state-owned by the independent Republic of Abkhazia.
And in many ways, this is why it continues to be open to tourists, which is not the case with other Stalinist dachas, which you can't enter without a special pass.
In addition to the house on the Ritz, you should look at the Milk waterfall.
The water in it is healing, rich in natural minerals. No wonder there are always a lot of people here.
But the most crowded place on the Ritz is the observation deck. All tourists are taken here. Here you can have lunch, buy Souvenirs and, most importantly, rent a catamaran. There are so many applicants that by midday the mountain lake looks more like the Grand canal in Venice.
We may have made a mistake by not taking a boat trip. But there is a reason to return to the Ritsa again.
There is another place on the lake that must be visited. It is marked as a beach on the map.
It is located on the way to Stalin's dacha, near the Milk waterfall.
It was here that the beauty of the wild was revealed to us in all its grandeur.
Being here, you understand why Ritsa is called one of the most beautiful lakes in the Caucasus.
There are many legends about the appearance of the lake, and one is more mysterious than the other. But, in reality, the mountain formation, which today is considered the pearl of Abkhazia, arose as a result of a natural disaster only 300 years ago. Then a strong earthquake collapsed part of the mountain. Debris blocked the path of the Lashipse river. So a young lake was formed on the site of the dam.
For photo and video shooting, this place is ideal at any time of the year. Not only the trees on the mountain slopes change color, but also the water in the lake.
In may, the water turns green-yellow, and in winter it becomes blue-blue.
By the way, near the beach there is an outdoor cafe with a barbecue, where you will fry beef and trout. Prices are above average. Two servings of the first, second and salads cost us almost three thousand rubles. But there is a bonus - very polite staff and delicious homemade cakes.
However, you can only get to the cafe, as well as to the beach, by car. This place is not included in the tourist bus route.