Khimsa
3,138 m
Georgia
Also known as კაპიშისტრა, Капышистра, +2Also known as
კაპიშისტრა · Капышистра · Химса · Chimsa
- Elevation
- 3,138 m
- Prominence
- 829 m
- Difficulty
- 4/10
- Alpine hike
- Best Season
- Aug
- Routes
- 1
Not currently accessible
Reaching it means a multi-day trek in Russian-occupied Abkhazia, legally entered only via the Enguri crossing.
Routes
1Approximate line — not for navigation
An automated check found that parts of this line could not be matched to mapped trails, so it may stray far from the real route. Use it for planning only, with a map and a guidebook.
Why? 8 check notes
- danger scan: Dzykhva → Khimsa: straight line 8503 m (limit 200 m)
- danger scan: Dzykhva → Khimsa: sustained 59° > 40° on a straight line
- danger scan: Dzykhva → Khimsa: straight line dips 626 m below both ends
- last routed vertex 8503 m from the summit (closed by straight)
- 25% straight-line fallback
- ascent 5080 m is 1.7× the net gain 2940 m: the line probably detours down and back up (not a traverse)
- low confidence 0.3
- Dzykhva → Khimsa: straight (snap_failed; DEM rejected: DEM path dips 450 m below both endpoints (ridge style scramble), 8.5 km)
Sources differ: 1A (Russian/Soviet tourist grade, for the climb from the Khimsa Pass to the ridge) (N. D. Bondarev, 'V gorakh Abkhazii' (via kmvline.ru))
A multi-day expedition into the wildest part of Abkhazia: an old shepherds' path from the East Gumista valley north of Sukhumi round Mount Dzykhva to the Akhata pastures (1,800 m) and the Khimsa Pass (about 2,450–2,540 m), then about 500 m up rock steps, scree and snowfields past the Khimsa lakes to the ridge and the flat Khimsa glacier below the summit rocks.
Elevation Profile
approximate line- Distance
- ≈ 33.5 km
- one way
- Ascent
- ≈ +5,080 m
- −2,140 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 3,138 m
- Time Up
- ≈ 25h 24m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- ≈ 21h 29m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
The only detailed description we found is from a Soviet-era guidebook (N. D. Bondarev, 'In the Mountains of Abkhazia'), so treat it as an outline. From the Sukhumi hydroelectric dam on the Gumista above Akhaldsheni, a path follows the East Gumista through dense Colchic forest, then climbs a long, steep forest track to a ridge at about 1,300 m and on to a broad shoulder at 1,700 m. It continues along or below the ridge (an upper and a lower variant) round Mount Dzykhva (2,711 m) to the upper Akhata valley, where there is a good camp at about 1,800 m and shepherds' huts nearby. From Akhata the path climbs to the Akhata–Lykama watershed (2,300 m) and, skirting the head of the valley, reaches the Khimsa Pass after about 6 km; two small lakes lie on its south side. From a camp at the pass, Bondarev allows 5–8 hours with light packs to reach the glacier and return. Start from the lakes at the foot of the Khimsa rock massif: get above the cliff band over the lakes, skirt a big-boulder scree to the left, climb further rocks to a snowfield and go straight up over scree, broken rock and snow, about 500 m of ascent. The trickiest rock is just below a rock saddle at about 2,900 m on the ridge south of the summit pinnacle. Above lies the flat Khimsa glacier between two rock ridges; crevasses appear only on its southern tongue. The final summit rocks are not described in the sources we found. The area is very often in cloud: warm moist air from the Black Sea condenses over the massif, and shepherds give the Khimsa Pass a bad reputation for sudden fog in which the path is easily lost. Trails that were maintained in Soviet times are now overgrown, with fallen bridges and tall vegetation.
Start
Sukhumi hydroelectric dam198 m
- None to the trailhead. Sukhumi is reached by road from the Russian border at Psou (illegal under Georgian law) or, for foreigners with an Abkhaz entry permit, via the Enguri crossing from Zugdidi.
Waypoints
- Trailhead: Sukhumi hydroelectric dam198 m
Road end on the Gumista above Akhaldsheni; trail continues up the East Gumista via Tsimur
- Feature: Dzykhva2,672 m
The path skirts the mountain; its summit is an optional side trip by the south ridge
- Summit: Khimsa3,138 m
Key Passages
- Steep forest climb above the East Gumista
- Khimsa Pass in fog
- Rock band and snowfield above the Khimsa lakes
- Broken rock below the 2,900 m saddle
Equipment
0/7 packedDownloads
Route confidence 30%No GPX or KML while the mountain is not accessible.
Overview
The highest point of the Bzyb Range (3,138 m) in the mountains of Abkhazia, a rocky massif holding a flat glacier about 3 km long that is unexpected this close to the Black Sea. Reaching it is a multi-day trek through overgrown Colchic forest in a territory outside Georgian government control.
Khimsa (also Kapishistra or Kapyshistra) is the culminating summit of the Bzyb Range, a southern spur of the Greater Caucasus north of Sukhumi, about 40 km from the Black Sea. A plateau at 2,600–2,900 m between two rocky ridges carries the Khimsa glacier, which feeds both the Kelasuri on the south side and the Ubush, a tributary of the Bzyb, on the north; it shrank from 1.59 km² to 0.71 km² between 1985 and 2014. The eastern slope is gentle, the others steep, and the lower slopes are covered in subalpine and alpine meadows above dense forest.
In Soviet times a popular trekking route ran from Arkhyz over the Naur Pass into the upper Bzyb and over the Khimsa Pass to the Kelasuri valley and the coast, with side trips to the glacier and summit. Today the area is among the least-visited in the Caucasus: paths and shepherds' bridges have decayed, the forest undergrowth is head-high, and groups go with local guides who arrange transport and paperwork.
The massif is notorious for fog. Warm, moist air from the sea rises over the range, so the summit area is often in cloud even when the coast is clear.
Climbing Notes
Treat Khimsa as a small expedition. Allow five days or more from Sukhumi for the approach from the Gumista valley, a summit day from a camp at the Khimsa Pass, and spare days for weather. The summit climb from the pass is about 500 m over rock steps, scree and snow (Russian grade 1A); an ice axe and a rope for belaying are recommended, and the hardest rock is just below the ridge. Navigation in fog is the main difficulty, so carry GPS tracks and a compass.
Tour operators recommend August as the best month: early summer brings heavy rain and snowmelt that make stream crossings serious, and icy firn on steep slopes. There are no huts or rescue services and no mobile coverage. Most importantly, check the legal and security position before going (see access): the area is in Abkhazia, where the UK and other governments advise against all travel.
History
No first-ascent record was found. Soviet-era guidebooks describe ascents from the Khimsa Pass as a side trip on the trekking route between the upper Bzyb and the Kelasuri valley. Sources disagree about the summit name: Russian Wikipedia and OSM apply Khimsa and Kapyshistra to the same high point, while the Soviet guide describes Khimsa as a pointed peak on the southern ridge and Kapyshistra as a slightly lower rocky peak 1.5 km away.
Season
Best Aug- January: Not advisable
- February: Not advisable
- March: Not advisable
- April: Not advisable
- May: Not advisable
- June: Possible
- July: Good
- August: Best (best window)
- September: Good
- October: Possible
- November: Not advisable
- December: Not advisable
- Jan
- Deep snow; no access
- Feb
- Deep snow; no access
- Mar
- Deep snow; no access
- Apr
- Deep snow; avalanche risk
- May
- Snow on the passes; high rivers
- Jun
- Heavy rain and snowmelt; dangerous stream crossings, icy firn
- Jul
- Snowfields still large; frequent fog
- Aug
- Recommended month by local operators
- Sep
- Drier; early snow possible late in the month
- Oct
- Short days, first snow
- Nov
- Winter
- Dec
- Winter
Access & Permits
- Permits
- Abkhaz entry permitRequired
Abkhazia's de facto authorities require foreigners (other than visa-exempt nationalities such as Russian citizens) to obtain an entry permit from the Abkhaz Ministry of Foreign Affairs before arrival. This is not a Georgian document.
en.wikipedia.org
- Rules
- Abkhazia is a Russian-occupied breakaway region of Georgia. The UK FCDO advises against all travel to Abkhazia and against all but essential travel near the administrative boundary line; consular help is not available there and travel insurance may be invalid.
- Under Georgia's Law on Occupied Territories foreigners may enter Abkhazia only from Georgian-controlled territory (the Enguri crossing near Zugdidi) and must leave the same way. Entering from Russia via Psou is illegal under Georgian law and can lead to prosecution (fines or prison, as Georgia's Foreign Ministry warned in 2014); Abkhaz visas or Russian–Abkhaz border stamps in a passport can lead to fines or refusal of entry to Georgia.
- No huts, no mountain rescue and no mobile coverage in the upper Gumista and Bzyb catchments
- Getting There
Sukhumi
Kutaisi (KUT) or Tbilisi (TBS) via Zugdidi and the Enguri crossing; Sochi (AER) is closer but the Psou route is illegal under Georgian law
- By road from Sukhumi to Akhaldsheni and the Sukhumi hydroelectric dam on the Gumista, then on foot (Soviet-era guide)
- From Georgia proper: Zugdidi – Enguri bridge crossing (with Abkhaz entry permit) – Gali – Sukhumi
Hazards
- Glacier
- Crevasses
- Rockfall
- Weather
- River crossing
- Remoteness