Western Caucasus Biosphere Reserve & Krasnaya Polyana
UNESCO World Heritage mountain wilderness rising from boxwood gorges to 3,000-metre glaciers
Accessed via the Mzymta valley and the Aibga ridge trails above Rosa Khutor.
Sochi & Western Caucasus, Russia
Ideal: 2–3 daysBest: May–SepPrice: Moderate
In 60 seconds
Sochi & Western Caucasus in 60 seconds
Where the humid Black Sea coast meets the three-thousand-metre ridges of the Greater Caucasus along the Mzymta River valley, Sochi links a subtropical coastal promenade and nineteenth-century Dendrarium with the high-mountain valley of Krasnaya Polyana and the adjacent UNESCO World Heritage wilderness of the Western Caucasus Biosphere Reserve.
Best for
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Mountains
- Black Sea
- Nature
- Hiking
Known for
- Western Caucasus Biosphere Reserve & Krasnaya Polyana
- Sochi Dendrarium (Arboretum)
- Mount Akhun Observation Tower
Skip if
You want a quiet historic town rather than a spread-out coastal-and-mountain resort corridor.
Your match
Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Sochi & Western Caucasus fits them. Choose interests
See
Must experience
The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.
Sochi Dendrarium (Arboretum)
1892 terraced subtropical botanical park founded by Sergei Khudekov
Contains over 1,800 species of palms, cypresses, magnolias and Caucasian flora.
Mount Akhun Observation Tower
1936 thirty-metre Romanesque limestone tower on a 663-metre coastal ridge
Designed by Sergei Vorobyov for panoramas from the Black Sea to the snow-capped Caucasus crest.
Beyond the obvious
Hidden gems
Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.
Tiso-Samshitovaya Roshcha (Yew and Boxwood Grove) at Khosta
Relict Tertiary-period forest of ancient English yew and Colchic boxwood above the Khosta canyon
Part of the Caucasian State Nature Biosphere Reserve.