The resort Pitsunda is 25 kilometers to the south of Gagra. For several thousand years the mountain river Bzyb, which takes its rise from the Lake Ritsa, had taken a lot of sand to the sea and created there a big promontory, where a settlement was founded in ancient time, which is now the resort Pitsunda.
The true gem of the resort is the Pitsunda relict pine grove. On the Black Sea you can find the similar groves only in Pitsunda and in the area of Gelendzhik-Divnomorsk. This grove stretches for over 4 kilometers along the shore and envelop the city of Pitsunda from three sides. Most trees of the grove are over 200 years old.
In the Soviet time immediately on the beach within the Pitsunda pine grove there were erected several multi-story sanatoriums united in a single complex «Pitsunda Resort». The city properly is at a distance from the beach, and to get there you will have to go several hundred meters through the relict grove. However, this stroll can hardly be considered difficult, and if anything, it creates a peculiar atmosphere of the resort, since the crowns of the trees and the sea breeze preserve a very pleasant coolness even during the hottest summer months.
In Pitsunda you should also see the nearby boxwood grove. Walking in the boxwood grove you seem to be in a fairy forest. Apart from Pitsunda, you can also find boxwood groves in the Navalishensky Canyon and the canyon of the river Psakho near Sochi.
When in Pitsunda you should visit the Great Pityus history museum. There you can see a temple of the 10 century. The temple has impressive dimensions: height – 29 meters, wall thickness – 1.5 meters, length – 40 meters. The ancient craftsmen created there a very good acoustics. In 1975 a German organ was installed in the temple, and now the concerts of classical music are held there.
