You will probably smell Matsesta before you see it. The valley, a short way inland from the Black Sea in the southern part of Greater Sochi, is famous for its hydrogen sulphide springs, which rise warm from deep underground and carry a strong whiff of rotten eggs. The name is often translated from the local Ubykh or Circassian language as fire water. For more than a century, these springs have been used for therapeutic baths, and in the Soviet era Matsesta became one of the best known spas in the country, with sanatoriums built for workers, officials and the party elite.
Stalin himself came to take the waters, and his summer dacha, set in green woods on a hill not far away, is still preserved, with dark green walls designed to blend into the forest. The bathhouses in the valley, some grand and columned, others utilitarian, still operate, and people come for treatments for skin, joints and circulation. The valley itself is lush and subtropical, with dense forest of oak, hornbeam, chestnut, and climbing vines, and the humidity in summer can be heavy.
For riders, Matsesta is a stop on the road from the coast up toward the mountains. The coastal highway through Sochi is busy, often congested and full of impatient drivers, but once you turn inland the roads become narrower and more winding, climbing through forest with tight bends and steep gradients. The surface is generally good but can be slippery after rain, which is frequent on this coast. The best time to ride is spring or autumn, when the temperature is pleasant and the crowds thinner.
There are cafes and shops in Matsesta, and fuel is easy to find in nearby Khosta and Sochi. If you have time, try a short sulphur bath, which is said to be relaxing after a day in the saddle, though the smell lingers. Nearby, the Agura gorge has a series of waterfalls reached by a walking path, a cool, green escape from the heat of the coast. Matsesta is a strange place, half spa, half time capsule, and well worth a pause on the way up into the hills.