The resort of Sochi itself is a landmark: the climate, the natural complex, the picturesque vegetation, the pure tender sea - all this makes Sochi one of the most attractive destinations on the Black Sea coast of Russia. And yet, there is something to see. One of the symbols of Sochi is the Rotunda, a classical architectural structure in the water area of ​​the Sochi seaport.

A bit of history

People long ago chose the coast of the Western Caucasus for settlement, in particular, in the vicinity of present Sochi, archaeologists have found traces of human settlements of the early Paleolithic times. Presumably, people penetrated here from Asia Minor approximately 350-400 thousand years ago, as evidenced by the silicon tools found during excavations. Deep track in the history of Sochi is left an ancient era, a confirmation of the mention of the region in the annals and literature.

The history of Sochi as a city began much later, in 1838, when the construction of the first in the resort of Fort Alexandria was started. June 14, 1909 in the city was opened the first hotel "Caucasian Riviera" and began counting the life of the city as a resort. The hotel had such infrequent amenities for those times, like running water, sewerage, own power plant. By this time, the bathing establishment on the Matsesta hydrogen sulphide source had already been opened.

Under the Soviet regime, the resort began to develop especially intensively and in a short time turned into an elite one, the status was constantly reinforced by the erection of architectural structures and the attitude of power structures. Magnificent buildings of health resorts, usually palace architecture, have become a decoration of the city. Its squares and fountains create an atmosphere of well-being and serenity. Nevertheless, the main attractions of the city are associated with its unique climate and rich nature.

Surroundings of Sochi

The surroundings of the city of Sochi are so interesting, and remarkable, that since 1983 they are declared the National Park, where any human activity is banned. The nature here is extremely picturesque. About 40 rivers and streams flow through the park, giving freshness and coolness to a variety of plants. More than 100 waterfalls in height from 2 to 73 meters make the picture even more picturesque. On the territory of the park there are about 200 karst caves, some of which are the subject of scientific research.

Vorontsovskie caves are perhaps the most famous of all and represent the largest in the Caucasus underground agglomeration .The difference in heights in these caves is about 240 meters, some of the karstic cavities are filled with water, narrow passages between halls in caves are sometimes hardly accessible to humans .Visiting this landmark leaves a lot of impressions and emotions, especially since in many compartments of the Vorontsov caves there are traces of ancient people's parking .In the vicinity of Sochi you can see the famous dolmens .Until now, there has been a debate about where they came from in this region and what their purpose is, but the fact remains: there are a lot of them here, the inscriptions and drawings on them allow one to think that these are some cult buildings of ancient people .

Tired of seeing numerous, sometimes very ambiguous attractions, you can afford to relax on a boat trip and enjoy the spectacle of the most important landmark of Sochi - the sea.