AGRI-TOURISM IN SOCHI

What is agrotourism and what does it involve? In Sochi it involves nutritious honey, exotic jam and local cheeses washed down with fragrant tea under the tart aroma of rare spices.

Agrotourism, as a relatively new branch of tourism for Russia, is a quite recent development. It is most clearly illustrated in Sochi – the flagship resort of our large and vast country. This resort oasis attracts tourists regardless of the time of year as it offers multiple vacation options for any season. You can also literally sample agrotourism at any time of the year.

To see firsthand how the world’s most northernmost tea is grown, stroll through scenic mountain surroundings and, of course, try products made from herbs and learn about the cultivation and collection of tea leaves – all this is possible at the Dagomys Tea Plantation located near the villages of Solokh-aul and Matsesta. At the Tea House estate, visitors can better understand Russian culture with its tea drinking tradition. And at the legendary Koshman estate, among other things, you can learn about the history of Krasnodar tea and the how it is produced in addition to seeing the century-old tea plantations.

You can evaluate local wine production with an excursion to the vineyards and listen to a lecture about the history of viticulture and winemaking in the Sochi district at the Vinegrower’s Estate in Adler district.

One can hear fascinating stories about the life and laws of the bee family, and sample honey and fragrant tea at the hospitable apiary of Gamzat Huseynov.

You can see how delicious organic vegetables and fruit are grown, how domestic goats and cows are bred, and how real cheese is made at the Exarcho (Matsesta) and Volino (Krasnaya Volya) farms located in the picturesque surroundings of the resort.

Volino farm operates its own local cheese factory. At a special “taste workshop” professionals make craft cheeses using unique Italian technology. They keep animals right there on the farm, giving care and attention to each goat.

At Exarcho farm, they grow organic vegetables and fruit and make various types of high-quality cheeses. The farm is especially proud of its equestrian club – The Constellation of Sochi, where elite sport horses are kept.

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CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL TOURISM

Cultural and educational tourism is also called excursional tourism. The point of this type of travel is in familiarizing with the culture, history and artistic heritage of the place of visit, and in this regard, Sochi also has quite a lot to offer its guests. The advantageous geographical position of the resort - between the sea and the mountains – has led to the emergence of many wonderful natural phenomena and monuments. The yew-boxwood grove, Akhshtyrskaya and Vorontsovskaya caves, the Еagle cliffs, Agursky waterfalls, and Akhun mountain are traditionally on the must visit list of attractions available in Sochi. Furthermore, this list is growing: for example, as of 2017 the excursions to the waterfalls include a very interesting comfort route to the Mendelikha Park of waterfalls in Rosa Khutor area. Nature lovers are welcome to visit the Sochi national Park, the famous Arboretum and the Yuzhniye Kultury Park. The great history of those places can be discovered drawing on the extant buildings and monuments. It will not take a long time and will leave unforgettable impressions to visit the Volkonsky dolmen, the Genoese fortification remains in Hosta, Godlik medieval fortress, the ancient towers and walls of Achipse near Krasnaya Polyana erected in the sixth-eighth century on one of the roads, which was a part of the Great Silk Way. Within the city itself, one can see the Vereshchagin viaduct and the remains of Navagin fortification wall. Fort Alexandria, the first Russian military-type settlement, which used to be in the area of modern Sochi city center, is at present under protection as a national military fortification monument. The later period historical and architectural monuments including the Marine station, the Indo-European Telegraph, Voronov’s Dacha, the Sochi Lighthouse complex of buildings, the Treasury, Yusupov’s house are in excellent condition and continue to make a great impression on tourists. Experts account for at least 8 architectural styles, explicitly represented in the urban environment of Sochi. The beautiful examples of neo-romanticism include Villa Vera, Jacobson and Zinoviev’s Dacha, the Red Shturm Sanatorium building. The functioning Library named after Pushkin, Gordon's house, Ranovsky brothers’ Teremok are built in the Art Nouveau style. The building of the Sanatorium named after Voroshilov, the former sanatorium Mountain Air, and the building of the Institute of Balneology and Physiotherapy are the examples of constructivism. Primorskaya hotel building, which is the architectural landmark of the resort city, has been erected in the style of Soviet Art Deco, Matsesta Valley Sanatorium belongs to the modernized neo-classicism, Commercial Gallery in Navaginskaya to early modernism and minimalism, and Hotel Dagomys to late modernism and monumentalism. The special charisma of Sochi is even more enhanced by the luxurious buildings in the style of Stalin's Empire such as the Marine Station, the Railway Terminal, and the Sanatorium named after Ordzhonikidze. One of the most famous and frequently visited historical monuments in the resort city is Stalin's Dacha on the territory of the former Green Grove Sanatorium. Impressive monuments of religious architecture in Sochi include the Cathedral of Michael the Archangel, erected in memory of the end of the hostilities of the Caucasian war (1864), and the new Temple of the Miraculous Image of Christ the Savior, built in the Olympic Park on the site where the ruins of a ninth century Byzantine Church were found. The sculptures decorating Sochi are numerous and diverse: the classical monuments to Emperor Nicholas II, Alexander Pushkin, Maxim Gorky, Nikolai Ostrovsky within the space of the city quite naturally coexist with amusing figures of owls, dogs, street musicians. On the territory of the Seaport, where a few scenes of the famous comedy The Diamond Hand were filmed, there is now a sculptural group depicting the characters of that hit movie. Near the Pushkin library in 1913, they erected the monument representing the Gun and Anchor in honor of the victory in the Russian-Turkish war - the only memorial in the country dedicated to that historic event. In Ploschad Iskusstv near the Art Museum there is a symbolic composition called The Golden Fleece, and in the village of Lazarevskoye one can see the majestic monument known as The Good Angel of Peace, opposite Festivalniy Concert Hall there is a monument to Vladimir Vysotsky, and in the resort town of Adler there are mosaic sculptures The Coral and The Fish by Zurab Tsereteli.