In July-August, there are crowds of vacationers on the Sochi beaches. This makes people look for solitude in the mountain cluster of the resort city at least for a few days. There are a lot of travelers who like to go to Sochi in the summer season not to the seaside, but to the mountains, and there are good reasons for this. The EcoTourism EXPERT’s correspondent tried to understand the reasons and visited all the popular slopes of the Sochi skiing cluster in the height of the summer season.
Reason 1. Cheap and cheerful
In contrast to the high winter season, summer prices in Krasnaya Polyana are more attractive. Of course, there are expensive top hotels, but you can always find a very good option that is 3, 5 or even 7 times more profitable than at the seaside and, most importantly, as much cheaper than in January through March. In August, for example, we easily booked a cozy room with a large balcony and air conditioning in a modern artist-built hotel in Estosadok for only 3 thousand rubles per night.
Reason 2. Stylish and modern
As a Sochi Winter Olympics’ legacy, Krasnaya Polyana has high-quality sports facilities, excellent roads, new beautiful buildings in the Mediterranean style like the ones in the Italian and Swiss Alps, modern hotels with swimming pools, good transport links, including Lastochka high-speed trains going to Sochi, the coast and the airport. Now, when domestic tourism has received a second wind, all this has turned out to be very popular among the Russians.
Reason 3. In July your sledge remember
In summer, most of the cable cars of the three main ski resorts - Krasnaya Polyana, Rosa Khutor and Gazprom - are open. Those who enjoy skiing can take a closer look at the ski slopes, if they want to come here in the winter season. And everyone enjoys walking along the paved terrain cure paths marked in green, blue, red and black depending on a difficulty level (the ski slopes are marked as well as), and travelers take a cable car (gondolas or open chairs) running up to the top, which is a very nice experience in the summer hot weather. Each of the three ski resorts has its own attraction, so it is best to have at least three days - for a full inspection and relaxation at each of them.
Reason 4. Alpine views for Russian rubles
A visit to each of the mountain resorts using a full-day card can cost 1.5 to 2 thousand per person, good discounts are provided for children and older people. It is more convenient and cheaper to buy tickets for cable cars via the Internet, which also allows you to avoid queues. This is especially true of the Rosa Khutor resort, the most modern and most popular. This is partly due to the fact that the famous Olympic Village is located here at an altitude of 1,100 meters, and cable-cars allow the tourists to climb to a height of more than 2,300 meters and go to the highest observation deck in Sochi - the Stone Pillar - at an altitude of more than 2,500 meters.
At the Rosa Khutor resort, the mountains look huge and wild. Once, we were caught by the heavy rain and hail on the top of Rosa Peak a few years ago and people did not even get out of the cabins and preferred to immediately go down to the lower level. In good clear weather, the views here are the most amazing, but not all routes are suitable for leisurely walks as the slopes are quite steep and it’s slippery on the pebbles.
The Krasnaya Polyana resort makes a completely different impression. It is more comfortable and looks cozy. There are no huge tourist groups here, the paths go along shady comfortable places. Both in Krasnaya Polyana and Rosa Khutor there are beautiful waterfalls, equipped viewing platforms, numerous high-mountain attractions - alpine coasters (rodelbahns), high-mountain swing sets, a bike park, rope parks and sky bridges over the abyss. Particularly impressive is the ‘glass’ bridge in Rosa Khutor.
If you have one day more, take a chance and visit the Gazprom’s mountain-tourist center that is a real Alpine Switzerland in style. There are even fewer tourists and even more comfortable walking areas at this center, an extensive network of cable cars and stunning views of the Caucasus Mountains and alpine meadows. And there is also the Husky Center admired by both adults and children.
In addition to hiking in the mountains to waterfalls and relict forests, you can take a horseback ride or enjoy quad biking, ballooning or rafting along the Mzymta River in inflatable kayaks, or visit the museum of archeology and the My Russia ethnopark in the valley or taste delicious food at the local cafes.
Reason 5. Mountains and waters
By the way, at all three resorts there is an opportunity to stay at a hotel located not only in the valley but also in the mountains - on the first level of the cable car way. In this case, you can walk and also live for several days in the mountains. The Gazprom resort also has thermal zones, outdoor pools with panoramic views and even a Water Park (Aquapark) surrounded by mountain peaks.
Some hotels offer a free transfer to a good beach in Imeretinskaya Bay, and you can also quickly and conveniently reach the Sochi beaches by a Lastochka high-speed train or by a regular one. So, if you wish, you can also enjoy the sea while staying in the Sochi mountains!
It’s worth mentioning that autumn in the Sochi mountains is no less impressive but in terms of prices, it is the low season.
Photo courtesy of the author.
