Journey to Akarmara: Exploring the Haunted Ghost Town in Abkhazia 👻🏚️🌲

This is the picturesque Aaldzga Valley in eastern Abkhazia – a state between the Black Sea and the Caucasus, which is not recognized by most countries in the world. The history of the modern Republic of Abkhazia begins with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the Abkhaz-Georgian war of 1992-1993, during which Abkhazia proclaimed its independence from Georgia. One of the battle zones was Tqwartchal (Tqvarchli) – an industrial town in eastern Abkhazia. Three suburbs of Tqvarchli – Akarmara, Jantukha, and Polyana – lie 10 to 12 km east, upstream along the Aaldzga River. These settlements were connected to Tqvarchli by road and railway. Today, this dismantled and abandoned railway serves as a suitable place for grazing livestock.

Akarmara was a mining town specializing in coal mining. The construction of the town began during Stalin’s era. It consisted of a dozen five-story residential buildings with the necessary infrastructure – there was a hotel, school, hospital, restaurant, cultural center, cinema, guesthouse, and market. Some of the buildings were built after World War II by German prisoners in Stalinist classicism. During the Abkhaz-Georgian war, Tqvarchli and its suburbs endured a year-long siege by Georgian forces. Georgia was unable to regain control over Abkhazia, and in 1993 the war ended. Most Georgians, who made up half of Abkhazia’s population of 500,000, left the country. Like other former Soviet states, Abkhazia experienced a catastrophic industrial decline in the 1990s. All eight coal mines near Akarmara, Jantukha, and Polyana were closed. (Nevertheless, coal is still mined at an altitude of 1,600 meters.) Due to all these factors, Akarmara was nearly abandoned. Some buildings are overgrown, while others have been recently abandoned. There are also habitable five-story buildings. Today, several dozen people live in Akarmara, and there is a roadside stall that also serves as a place to exchange news. The residents are engaged in livestock farming and beekeeping. Recently, Akarmara has become an attractive spot for tourists and post-apocalypse enthusiasts.

Akarmara – the former mining town in Abkhazia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Abkhaz–Georgian war, it was almost abandoned.