Sochi to Rival Alpine Ski Resorts

The fascinating natural surroundings also contribute to Sochi’s special charm. The picturesque ski area has a lot to offer. It may well soon rival famous Alpine ski resorts such as St. Moritz or Kitzbühel. In any case, more and more people in Russia are becoming interested in ski vacations and skiing. Perhaps this also has something to do with the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi.

It will certainly take some time for the many construction sites preparing Sochi for the 2014 Olympics to be completed. The newly built expressway, for example, will surely help improve access to the ski area.

In any case, Sochi has a ski area with a special charm to offer. The beaches on the Black Sea beckon with mild, subtropical winters and hot summers. Sochi’s location on the same latitude as Nice, together with its proximity to the sea, explains these climatic conditions and the subtropical vegetation.

Russia’s first nature reserve, Sochi National Park, lies near the ski resort. Together with the adjoining Caucasus Nature Reserve, this park in the hinterland of Sochi provides a suitable habitat for many animals and plants. Majestic eagles soar overhead. Ibex, bison, bears, deer, lynxes, wild boar and wolves also have plenty of room in this magnificent natural paradise. Leopards are also to be reintroduced into the wild in the Caucasus.

The national park, which covers about 400,000 hectares northeast of Sochi, is very reminiscent of beautiful Ticino in Switzerland. That is why the region is also known as Russian Switzerland. It was Russia’s first national park. The highest peaks in the Caucasus Nature Reserve are Smidovich, at 3,360 metres, and Chugush, at 3,240 metres.

New ski resorts are being built in this natural paradise in time for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The Krasnaya Polyana region is being made ready for the Games. The ski area offers holidaymakers slopes for all ability levels. The ski season lasts until the end of May.

The views from the ski slopes over the Caucasus’s dreamlike landscape alone will remain unforgettable for skiers. And after the 2014 Winter Olympics, this ski area in a natural paradise will surely offer a stunning alternative to the Alps.