"Gagra before the war" Gagra by budapest8

I visited in the days I was living in Russia and the CCCP before that.
I had no information whatsoever, no Lonely Planet or VT to guide
me being pre-internet days. I just wanted to travel and explore
and visit somewhere new on the Black Sea. I was able to by
2 tickets by train with the help of my girlfreind at the time from
Leningrad to Adler. I copied some facts below to give more background.

Gagra is a city in the Abkhazia region of western Georgia,
sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea,
at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. Its subtropical climate
made Gagra a popular health resort in Imperial Russian and
Soviet times.

Since the Abkhazian war in the 1990s, however, the city has
become depopulated and increasingly decrepit.
It had a population of 26,636 in 1989 but this has certainly
fallen considerably due to the mass expulsion of ethnic Georgians
from Abkhazia. The town is still much frequented by Russian tourists,
who come from the Russian resort of Sochi, situated just 22 km to the
north.

Wharf in Gagra

Will be writing about my trip to Gagra with
Lada from St.Petersburg where we lived
by trian to Adler then taxi across the border
to Gagra. We stayed a week in this beautiful
seaside resort, but we were the only tourists.

Coastline of Gagra

Flora and Agricultural Production

Gagra, ensconced in the middle of the Black Sea coast, boasts a subtropical climate in which palms and other exotic flora thrive. For example, extending to the cape of Pitsunda are found specimens of the rarest kinds of pine trees.
In the fertile valley between the Joekvara and Bziphi rivers, citrus plantations and gardens flourish. Outside the valley are found more green dells and sand dunes. The location is very agriculturally productive. Many exotic flowers and fruits were brought here from different places of the world, then adopted for local cultivation. This region supplied various health centers in Georgia with fruits and vegetables year round.

Tourism????

Winding through the mountains and valleys are many tourist routes, where one can see old castles, churches, monuments and stone ruins. While these tours can only offer a brief introduction to the beauties of Gagra, the sea, forests, rock formations, and perpetual mountain snow will certainly remain in the visitor’s memory. Well if they don't step on a landmine!

• Pros:Beautiful Black sea resort, no tourists
• Cons:War torn and not so safe as 15 years ago.