# Gega Waterfall
- URL: https://explore-georgia.ge/en/places/gega-waterfall
- Type: place to visit
- Region: Abkhazia
- Coordinates: 43.435556, 40.442222

The Gega Waterfall lies in Gagra Municipality, in the south-eastern sector of the Arabika karst massif, on the side of the valley of the Gega, a right tributary of the Bzyb, some six kilometres above its confluence with the Iupshara. By different accounts the fall lies between 530 and 650 metres above sea level; the drop is about 70 metres, though some accounts give 50–55. It is also called the Circassian Waterfall.

The fall is karstic in origin: along one stretch part of the river vanishes into a fissure in the limestone, passes through underground corridors and grottoes and leaps from the cliff as a waterfall. The water emerges from a horizontal fissure in Upper Jurassic limestone in three streams with a combined discharge of 0.5 to 2.5 cubic metres a second. From the point where the water comes to light a cave 315 metres long runs into the mountain, its highest point a hundred metres above the entrance; it was surveyed by Siberian speleologists in 1984. To the left of the fall is a grotto formed by water issuing from side fissures, about 15 metres high and 35 wide; its water is prized for its purity and taken for drinking. The water is ice-cold, and snow lies at the foot of the fall almost until the end of summer.

The Gega is 25–26 kilometres long; it rises on the eastern slope of the northern part of the Gagra range at 2,400 metres and forms many rapids and falls in a narrow, picturesque gorge; it is fed by snow and rain, floods in spring, and its long-term mean discharge is 27 cubic metres a second. Near the waterfall, on the right slope of the Gega, is the Gega Cave, explored by Zurab Tatashidze in 1964; the surroundings are clothed in Colchian forest.

## History

The waterfall appears in Soviet cinema: in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson" the fight between Holmes and Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls was shot here. Scenes of "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and "Sportloto-82" and several episodes of the television serial "The Shores", after Chabua Amirejibi's novel "Data Tutashkhia", were filmed here too.

The cave behind the fall was described by Siberian speleologists in 1984, and the nearby Gega Cave was studied by Zurab Tatashidze in 1964; the fall is described in the works of Shalva Kipiani on the karst of Georgia, Zurab Tintilozov on its karst caves and Koba Kharadze on its natural monuments. It is very popular, and in summer large numbers of people come to see it and rest at its foot.

## Visit info

The turning for the waterfall leaves the road to Lake Ritsa at the mouth of the Gega: from there it is about 5 kilometres to the fall, which can be reached by car; the distance from Gagra is about 50 kilometres and from Sukhumi 85. The state of the road, and whether it is passable outside summer, are best checked locally. There is a parking area at the foot of the fall.

Abkhazia is an occupied territory. Under Georgian law entry to the region is lawful only through the Enguri crossing; entry from Russia is a breach of Georgian law. Check the current conditions of movement before travelling.

## Tips

The Gega floods in spring; snow lies at the foot of the fall almost until the end of summer. The water of the left-hand grotto is taken for drinking, so bring a bottle. Warm clothing is needed even in July. The trip combines naturally with Lake Ritsa and the Iupshara canyon.

## Safety

The mountain road can be slippery after rain; at the foot of the fall the rocks are wet and slippery and the water ice-cold, so bathing is dangerous. The cave should be entered only with equipment and experience. Consular assistance in the occupied territory is limited.

## Sources

- [Gega Waterfall — Georgian Wikipedia](https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/გეგის_ჩანჩქერი)
- [Gega Waterfall — Russian Wikipedia](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Гегский_водопад)
- [Gega Waterfall — Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3651879)

## This page in other languages

- [ქართული](https://explore-georgia.ge/ka/adgilebi/gegis-chanchqeri)
- [Русский](https://explore-georgia.ge/ru/mesta/gegskii-vodopad)