There is a lot to see in New Athos from the city center to the outskirts and suburbs. Below are the most interesting attractions and attractions of New Athos, which can be seen on their own or with a guide.
New Athos Architecture
The most ancient architectural monuments available in New Athos are unique in their essence, preserved to this day from ancient times. Many of them were destroyed and subsequently restored, thanks to which they have preserved to this day, if not the original form, then its closest resemblance.
The architectural heritage of New Athos is represented mainly by religious buildings. The most interesting, beautiful and significant of them are described in the list below.
New Athos Monastery
Perhaps the most famous attraction of New Athos, and maybe even the whole of Abkhazia is the New Athos Monastery. It is a whole complex of six temples. Panteleimon’s Cathedral is the main building of the complex. The cathedral is the largest in Abkhazia and one of the main shrines of the Orthodox world.
Visitors are drawn here by the beauty and cultural significance of the structure. Every year the holy structure is visited by thousands of pilgrims, believers and ordinary tourists.
The building of New Athos Monastery is large and luxurious. The red-orange walls, the silver-gleaming domes, and the green cypresses look grand and solemn. That is why visitors are not only Orthodox pilgrims, but also ordinary tourists who came to admire the beauty and grandeur of the building.
Entrance is free, but you should not forget about the rules of conduct and proper dress in the territory of religious shrines.
Anakopia Fortress
Another no less interesting sight more than a thousand years old. This is the largest surviving fortress. The structure was reconstructed, but it was not possible to fully restore its original appearance and in some places the fortress looks like ancient ruins. But it even adds sophistication and appeal to those interested in history and culture. The ruins create an atmosphere of antiquity and take observers to the early period of the founding of the city, because this is where the history of New Athos began.
In addition to its historical value, tourists are attracted here by the famous well in the rock, the water in which never runs out. In ancient times, the watchtower served as the castle’s inhabitants’ main vantage point, from where you can see everything from the city center to its environs. It is this tower that has become an ideal observation deck these days.
The Temple and Grotto of St. Simon the Zealot
The austere building of hewn white stone is one of the most important religious shrines. It was named after a revered saint who healed people. The structure was reconstructed, unique ancient frescoes were restored, but only partially. At present, the temple serves for religious rites, services, church services, and baptisms.
Another interesting and important object for people of faith is named after the saint. The Grotto of Simon the Zealot is a place of mass pilgrimages. Here everything is decorated in the same austere and restrained style, with frescoes, icons, faces of saints and other ritual images painted on the walls, carved in the gorge. Both sites are of particular importance to the local population and foreign pilgrims. It is also quite popular to visit the place of the Apostle Simon Kananit.
Church of the Venerable Fathers of Athos
The Church of the Venerable Fathers of Athos is located on the territory of the complex of the Monastery of Simon the Canaanite, which consists of six churches. The building was built in the Neobyzantine style. Its yellow-orange walls, topped with golden domes, are a beautiful decoration of the Black Sea coast.
Dranda Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God
The Drand Monastery is another significant religious structure. For local residents, it plays an important role for worship, rituals, services, and is a religious shrine.
The Cathedral of the Assumption attracts tourists not only with its cultural value, but also with its unusual architecture. The building has an unusual polyhedral shape, pentahedral protrusions, its sixteen-sided dome topped with a thin graceful cross. The walls of red bricks are finished with plaster. On the whole, the building looks quite restrained and austere, but very unusual.
Sculptures and museums in New Athos
No less interesting to visit, may be museums with exhibits of antiquity, the world-famous sculpture.
Museum of the Kingdom of Abkhazia
The Local History Museum is located near the New Athos Monastery and waterfall. There is a collection of ancient archaeological finds, reflecting the ancient life of the local population. A collection of ancient weapons will also be an interesting object to observe here.
Golden Fleece” sculpture
Ancient mythology was the basis for this sculpture, located at the entrance to the New Athos Cave. The statue became very popular due to the worldwide popularity of the myth of the miraculous Golden Fleece. The number of foreign tourists visiting this sculpture is very high, to see it come fans of legends and history from all over the world.
Eagle Torturing the Snake” sculpture
An equally popular among tourists sculpture depicting a large eagle and a snake in the grip of its claws used to be located near the Novoafon waterfall. Now it can be seen in the park near the pond with the black swans.
Mermaid” sculpture
The sculpture is interesting because it is believed that not everyone can see it. Only the most fortunate are shown it in full, and from the rest is hidden by a waterfall. The sculpture is really hard to see, especially in its entirety. And to photograph it is considered even more fortunate, because behind the dense jets of waterfall very rarely get good shots.
The nature of New Athos
In addition to the luxurious man-made masterpieces, New Athos is also famous for its beautiful nature, rich in all kinds of non-creative sights, definitely worthy to visit them. They are a must in any tourist itinerary of visitors to New Athos.
Iberian Mountain
The smaller of the two mountains, between which is located New Athos. This mountain is interesting not so much by itself as by what can be found on it. At its summit is located the ancient Anakopia fortress, and on the slopes you can find the entrance to the New Athos Cave, which is one of the most attractive to tourists the beauty of non-human-made New Athos.
You can climb to the top of the serpentine on foot or on horseback. Climbing up there you can see a beautiful panorama of the Black Sea coast.
New Athos Cave
Caves have always been amazing natural phenomena, but when they reach this scale, they become stunningly interesting, mind-boggling objects. A huge cave in Iversky mountain, whose length is almost two kilometers, will surprise tourists with large halls with grottoes and lakes, bizarre stalactites and stalagmites, underground galleries.
There are regular guided tours, even organized circulation of the excursion train, from which you can conveniently view the cave.
New Athos Waterfall
Near the temple of St. Simon the Zealot can be found a very interesting attraction. This is a waterfall, which is difficult to categorize as a natural or man-made monuments. The fact is that the dam with a waterfall more than eight meters high is artificially created. The monks of the New Athos Monastery built it so that they could use the water from the river floodplain, which was stagnating and swamping due to lack of outflow.
After the appearance of the dam, water became usable, and man-made waterfall was in the list of the most interesting places of New Athos.
Psyrtskha Nature Reserve
On the territory of the reserve you can enjoy beautiful views of the river, untouched forests, which cover the hilly terrain, to admire the wildlife in all its glory. Here you can relax from the hustle and bustle and just take a walk in the fresh air among the natural beauties. The reserve is great for walks with children.
Other attractions in New Athos
The following places will be interesting to visit, which should also be a must-see.
Stalin’s Dacha
Here in Soviet times was one of Joseph Vissarionovich’s dachas. The house is small, but its decoration is unique and rich. The interior of the house is made of many different types of wood. It is interesting to see the dacha not only from the inside, but also from the outside. The surrounding park has eucalyptus trees, olive trees, and many different varieties of roses.
Seaside Park
There is a unique park near the New Athos Monastery. There are seven man-made ponds in which the monks raised fish among the lush vegetation, sculptures and benches. The park and ponds are famous for being home to black swans.
Embankment
The embankment is probably the best street in New Athos for leisurely walks. Shrubs and palm trees grow along the long, wide paved street, and there is a beautiful view of the Black Sea behind the fence.
Lamb’s Grotto
It is a corridor of about seven meters in length. On the walls of the sanctuary you can see drawings from different eras, most of which have a cult religious meaning. The significance of all the drawings is not fully investigated, but although they date from very different time periods and centuries, there are similarities.
Infrastructure of the city center
New Athos is a resort town, popular with tourists from different countries. For travelers there are all conditions for a comfortable stay. At the disposal of tourists hotels, restaurants, cafes and other facilities for recreation and entertainment.
Many hotels are designed for exactly what their guests will see the main attractions of New Athos. For example, the hotel “Gryphon” is located in close proximity to the main cultural, historical and architectural monuments of New Athos. In the restaurant “Gryphon” at the hotel you can taste the national cuisine, listen to live music, to dance.
In general, New Athos is a great place to travel, presenting a variety of architecture, nature and infrastructure. Here you can take part in fascinating guided tours to the ancient shrines, walk through the picturesque regions of New Athos, enjoy the nature of the surroundings, relax on clean well-groomed beaches of the Black Sea and just have a good time.
Video overview of New Athos attractions
For fans of travel and just a good holiday destination can be the city of New Athos. This wonderful resort of Abkhazia on the Black Sea is an incredible combination of sea coast, mountains, forests and ancient architecture. Its historical and cultural value is very attractive for tourists, and New Athos in Abkhazia is one of the most popular resorts on the Black Sea coast.
New Athos sightseeing map
In advance, choose the most interesting places to visit Novy Afon and get acquainted with the culture and history of the city will help to photo sights with a description, as well as maps. Living in these places will allow you to experience the unforgettable atmosphere of one of the most popular resort towns of Abkhazia and the Black Sea coast.