New Athos Cave, Show cave in Novy Afon, Abkhazia, Georgia

The New Athos Cave is a karst cavity beneath the northern slope of Iver Mountain, with a total depth of 183 metres and passages running 3,285 metres. Its halls hold white and amber stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, columns and calcite flowers, plus lakes such as Anatolia, 26 metres deep at 10 °C. A 1,291-metre cave railway with three stations brings visitors inside.

A resident discovered the entrance in 1961 by climbing down a shaft and exploring the first hundred meters below. Soviet scientists later worked on opening up the further passages and building the infrastructure before the cave was opened to visitors.

The cave takes its name from New Athos, the town above it, whose Orthodox monastery and the shrine of Simon the Canaanite stand nearby. Inside, the Aphartsa hall is named after the Abkhaz two-stringed bowed instrument and occasionally hosts concerts. The halls were renamed twice, most recently after the 1992–1993 war.

The tour follows paved paths and staircases, with the ground sometimes damp and slippery in places. Warm clothing is advisable because the temperature inside remains cool throughout the year, regardless of the season outside.

The largest hall can hold nearly three thousand people at once and has occasionally been used for concerts because the acoustics there are especially clear. The system runs partly below sea level even though the coast is only a few kilometers away.