(Source: https://vseprootpusk.ru/dendrarij-v-sochi?preview=true)

Sochi Arboretum is simply perfect for you to retreat from the city hustle and bustle, have a good rest and relax.

A huge collection of rare subtropical plants from around the world is gathered on the vast area of the Arboretum. Alleys, pergolas, ponds, fountains and gazebos, sculptures, aviaries with ostriches and freely walking peacocks: all these are situated on a one-kilometer-long slope of the mountain and are interspersed with blossoming plants.

Kurortny Avenue built back in 1933-1934 divides the Arboretum into two parts: Upper and Lower. The Upper part is bigger, it is a kind of park descending to the avenue. The main staircase serving as a guide for visitors is built in the middle. The staircase is surrounded by the thickets of tropical plants, winding paths through which you can reach the avenue and then, via the underground passage, come to the flat Lower part of the Arboretum.

If you want to go above from the lower part, you should not necessarily climb by feet: there is a cableway next to the Lower Park. It is old, it was opened in 1977, but it is still working properly. You can use it to get to the top and then safely go down from there.

History

Sochi Arboretum is more than one hundred years old. In 1889 Sergey Khudekov, a nobleman born in Ryazan and a writer and a playwright of the capital city, a publisher of the “Petersburgskaya” newspaper, bought a plot of 140 acres of land in Dakhovskii Posad (Sochi), where he founded a subtropical park (48.5 acres) and a fruit garden (32.5 acres). 

The park was created in a mixed style of park architecture, characteristic of XIX century. The collection of the Khudekovsky Park had 220 species of exotic trees. The park’s owner adored small architectural forms, so they filled the park after a dacha called “Nadezhda” in honor of Khudekov’s wife was built in the centre of the Arboretum in 1899. 

The snow-white terrace was the place for an architectural ensemble called “Morning” consisting of five sculptures: “Rooster”, “Fisherman”, “Swimming Girl” and two “Shepherd” sculptures. The descending staircase is still framed by the antique vases for flowers and the sculptures “A Roman woman with a dagger”, “A Roman man with a ball” and “A boy with a fish”. 

Khudekov was the one who ordered to erect a fountain called “Cupids” and a sculpture called “The dancing girl” (Sergei Nikolaevich was a great fan of ballet). Khudekov’s descendants were not destined to live in a tropical manor. The park was severely damaged during the Civil War, but the most part of it was restored later. In 1920 the Khudekovsky Estate was nationalized, renamed as “Arboretum” and opened for visits.

During the Soviet period the park was thoroughly taken care of. New plants and architectural structures appeared: the central fountain called “Fairy Tale” (by the sculptor V. Bogatyrev), the pool with the sculpture “A girl among the leaves” at the administrative building, the “Flora” pavilion, the sculptures “Nature” and “Neptune” in the Lower Park.

Pecularities

You can access the Arboretum by car: there is a parking lot in the middle of the Upper Park. Please, coordinate this issue with the park’s employees at the entrance.

The carriages of the cableway are departing every fifteen minutes. If there are a lot of people, you’ll have to stand in line. The cableway is located at the level of the Lower Park, but to the right of the park, closer to the centre of Sochi.

Carefully look at the signs: the entrance to the building is located in an unobvious place. The ticket purchased in the Upper Park should be presented in the Lower Park, because Kurortny Avenue is not a part of the Arboretum, that means, you enter it again in its Lower part.

The territory of the Arboretum has a couple of cafes and numerous tents selling pies and drinks.