Sochi Arboretum and Riviera Park: Subtropical Terraces, Rotunda and Magnolia Alleys

Two late-19th-century private estates gave Sochi its reputation as a subtropical botanical garden long before Soviet sanatorium builders arrived. In the Khostinsky District just southeast of the city centre, the Sochi Arboretum (Dendrarium) climbs the terraced slope of Lysaya Mountain on both sides of Kurortny Prospekt, while on the right bank of the Sochi River in Tsentralny District, merchant Vasily Khludov's 1898 Riviera Park preserves over 10,000 evergreen trees and shrubs beside Riviera Beach.

The Sochi Arboretum (Dendrarium) at 74 Kurortny Prospekt

In 1889, Sergei Nikolayevich Khudekov, publisher of the Petersburgskaya Gazeta, playwright, and art collector, purchased 50 dessiatines of land on the slope of Lysaya Mountain. By 1892, working alongside his friend and gardener Karl Langau, Khudekov had laid out a 15-hectare landscaped park modelled on late-19th-century Franco-Italian terraced gardens, flanked by plum and peach orchards. In 1899 he completed his hillside residence, Villa Nadezhda, named in honour of his wife Nadezhda Alekseyevna. Plants were acquired from botanical gardens in Crimea, Germany, and the Caucasus, including Prince Oldenburgsky's nursery in Gagra; by 1917 more than 550 species grew on the estate, and Khudekov adorned the staircases and pergolas with cast-iron vases and sculptures ordered in France from the Franco-Italian foundry of A. Durenne and P. Capellaro.

Nationalised in 1922 and transferred in 1944 to the Sochi Scientific Research Forest Experimental Station (today a structural division of Sochi National Park), the modern Arboretum encompasses 76 species of pine, 80 species of oak, and 24 species of palm, alongside cypresses, sequoias, eucalypts, and bamboo groves. The park is split by Kurortny Prospekt into two contrasting sections linked by an underpass and an aerial cableway:

• The Cable Car and Upper Park: Opened on 7 June 1977 to designs by architect G. S. Sechinashvili and chief cableway engineer V. M. Lezhava of the Gruzgiproshakht institute, the nearly 900-metre aerial tramway lifts visitors from Kurortny Prospekt to the highest point of the Upper Park. Starting at the top observation deck lets you walk downhill through the geographical tree sections (Australian, Caucasian, East Asian, North American, and Mediterranean), past the Mauritanian Arbour, the restored Villa Nadezhda, and the 2012 replica slab dolmen.
• The Lower Park: Across the avenue, flat shaded paths wind around cascades of ponds, a rose garden, and enclosures inhabited by pelicans, swans, and peacocks.

Riviera Park in Central Sochi

Located on the northern side of the Sochi River near Riviera Beach, Riviera Park was founded in 1898 by Vasily Alekseyevich Khludov, scion of a prominent Moscow merchant dynasty. Beginning in 1882 and 1883, Khludov acquired the Razdolnoye estate from First Guild merchant Nikolai Mamontov, assembling 1,284 dessiatines of land between the Sochi and Psakhe rivers known as the Khludov Side. In 1885, forest clearing began for an ornamental park designed by agronomist Reinhold Garbe with the participation of Professor Gustav Vobst, head gardener of the Moscow Botanical Garden.

Covering 14.27 hectares today, Riviera Park holds a dendrological collection of 240 plant species (including 50 rare varieties) and more than 10,000 trees and shrubs. Highlights along its central avenues include Khludov's historic dacha, the Glade of Friendship where visiting statesmen and cosmonauts planted southern magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora), and the nearby Subtropical Botanic Garden's 1934 Tree of Friendship citrus hybrid. Pair both parks with the nearby Sochi Art Museum and Winter Theatre.