Exploring Sukhum in One Day Tour

The embankment of the Makhajirs (ethnic Abkhazians who were evicted by the government to the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century) is a seaside embankment, one of the most picturesque places in the city. The embankment was built at the beginning of the 20th century. The oldest buildings on the embankment are the buildings of the shipping company and the former hotel "Russia". Sergei Yesenin was here in 1925. It is worth starting your journey from this embankment, which tells visitors the history of the city in most detail. There are many hotels, restaurants and cafes on the embankment. White stone houses, interesting balconies and verandas, Venetian brick mansions, together create the original look of the Sukhumi embankment. In May 2010, a monument to the poet Bagrat Shinkuba was erected on the embankment.

Gagra is a town in Abkhazia sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate made Gagra a popular health resort in Imperial Russian and Soviet times. Gagra occupies a narrow coastal belt and the slopes of the Gagra Range, which are covered with thick forests. The summers are very warm (average August temperature of 23° C), and the winters are mild (average January temperature of 6° C). The season lasts the whole year round, and swimming extends from May through October. Along the coast of the Black Sea stretches a beautiful seafront and park (about 14 sq km in area) with ponds and rich subtropical vegetation. Gagra has picturesque environs (the gorges of the Zhvava-Kvara and Tsikherva rivers), and to the south of the city is located the new health resort of Pitsunda. The industry of Gagra is mainly connected with services to the health resort; it includes a meat-packing complex, a dairy, a winery, and a fish-processing plant, among others.

Sukhum is a city on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of the Republic of Abkhazia. Sukhum history can be traced back to the 6th century BC, when it was settled by Greeks, who named it Dioscurias. The city was named Tskhumi when it became part of the Kingdom of Abkhazia and then the Kingdom of Georgia. It became part of the Ottoman Empire in the 1570s, until it was conquered by the Russian Empire in 1810. Within the Soviet Union, it was regarded as a holiday resort. Sukhum houses a number of historical monuments, notably the Besleti Bridge built during the reign of queen Tamar of Georgia in the 12th century. It also retains visible vestiges of the defunct monuments, including the Roman walls, the medieval Castle of Bagrat, several towers of the Kelasuri Wall, also known as Great Abkhazian Wall, constructed between 1628 and 1653 by Levan II Dadiani to protect his fiefdom from the Abkhaz tribes; the 14th-century Genoese fort and the 18th-century Ottoman fortress.

One of the unique attractions of Sukhum is the botanical garden. This is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. It was founded in the 30s of XIX century. In the 40s of the XIX century. the first tea bush obtained from the Nikitsky Botanical Garden (Crimea), the first plants of lemons and oranges were planted in the Garden. Over the past 10 years (since 1995), the Garden collection has been replenished with 200 species of plants - originating from the islands of Taiwan, Hokkaido, etc. The botanical garden covers an area of ​​more than 50 hectares. One of the main attractions is the 300-year-old Caucasian linden, which grew here even before the foundation of the Garden.

The Colonnade in Sukhum on the embankment is located in the capital of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. The colonnade was built in 1948 according to the project of the architect Ya. O. Kvaratskhelia in the Stalinist Empire style. The structure consists of two halves, set on common pedestals. Two parts form an arch for the passage to the embankment, and the colonnade is crowned by two small domes. Many other similar colonnades in resort towns were built according to a similar project.

The Griffin Fountain is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks. The fountain is a sculpture of griffins, from the mouth of which streams of water pour, which then cascade down. Together with the building of the drama theater, it creates a unique architectural complex and is the hallmark of the city.