Lake Rica, Abkhazia, Georgia

4.5 (1.196 reviews) Spent 1-2 hours Ranking #2 in Gagra Bodies of Water

A gorgeous forest, lake, and surrounding mountains, where Medea enjoyed Nature without Jason & his Argonauts

Lake Ritsa occupies a part of valley of the Lashipse River. Lake length is about 2000 m, and maximal depth is 750 m. Five rivers fall into Ritsa Lake besides Lashipse and only one river Jupshara flows from the lake. Water never freezes in the lake. Lake Ritsa is definitely the most famous sight in the mountains of Abkhazia and its natural symbol. The region around Lake Ritsa is a part of the Euxine-Colchic deciduous forests, hence the many references to the most famous Colchis queen of all time and legends, Medea [who did NOT kill nor eat her children as repeated by the Argonauts in their corrupted accounts of history, recycled by Euripides' inaccurate invention also! -- at least Georgians believe that Medea is innocent and kindly, the founder of modern medicine, and that they are still today descendents of the noble Colchis Kingdom, which extended to ancient Troy]. The Soviet leader from Georgia, Joseph Stalin, had one of his summer-houses (dacha) by Ritsa lake also.
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Address

, Gagra, Georgia.

Current local date and time now

Monday, May 13, 2024, 9:52

User Ratings

4.5 based on (1.196 reviews)

Excellent
75%
Good
16%
Satisfactory
6%
Poor
2%
Terrible
1%

Reviews

  • 5Gyan Fernando 5:00 PM Jun 2, 2018
    Stunning Lake
    This deep-water lake known also as Lake Ritsa is in Abkhazia, a disputed territory of Georgia. It is fairly close to Gagra and the area is known as Ritsa Relict National Park. The lake is stunning and surrounded by high mountains. It is possible to have a boat trip on the lake. Nikita Kruchev's dacha is on the far side of the lake. On one side of the lake there are touristy bazaars and souvenir shops.
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  • 5Andrew_K 5:00 PM Sep 6, 2018
    High spot in Abkhazia
    This is one of the most beautiful spots in Abkhazia. We visited in beautiful weather and it was really a sight for sore eyes. Its easy to get there on one of the many mini busses that you can easily find though the hotels on in the town of Gagra. We made rather too many stops in the way there and back which mage the trip unnecessarily long. Pity one cant skip the zip wire, and the truly terrible wine tasting !!

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