This picturesque village is well known to many vacationers who came to the Krasnodar Territory from different parts of the former USSR. For lovers of relaxation on the Russian Black Sea coast, it is not necessary to explain where the Loo resort is located. And for those who do not know yet, let's clarify: the village is located in the Lazarevsky district of Greater Sochi, in the Krasnodar Territory. It stretches for almost six kilometers along the Black Sea coast and has long become a favorite vacation spot for people who prefer peace, not too crowded beaches and comfortable living conditions.
History of the resort
Today Russian Black Sea resorts are actively developing. Loo is one of the most visited of them. Local residents pronounce the name of the village with an emphasis on the last letter, and in connection with this they tell a legend. It says that "loo" is derived from the name of the largest clan of the Abaza, who owned these territories in the XIII-XIV centuries. It sounded like "Lou", "Lau", and possibly "Loov". Accordingly, the village began to be called Loo - the land of Loova.
Ethnographers claim that the first settlements on these lands appeared about five thousand years ago. This is confirmed byman-made ancient dolmen, which is located on the territory of the Lazarevsky district. At different times, ancient Romans, Arabs, Hellenes, Turks, Genoese and Byzantines lived here. In the VI century, these territories became part of Byzantium, which brought Christianity to the local pagans. The history of Loo can be traced through the sights, which are numerous on the territory of the village.
At the beginning of the last century, the village gradually began to expand its borders towards the Adyghe villages. But at that time, malaria was rampant here and the Europeans were in no hurry to settle in these amazing places. The Adygs and Ubykhs, the natives of these lands, have been famous for longevity since ancient times, provided that they did not die of malaria in childhood. This disease was finally defeated only after the revolution of 1917.
In the early sixties of the XX century, Lazarevskoye, as well as the Loo resort and all adjacent territories, became Soviet resorts. Active construction of hotels, he alth resorts, rest houses and sanatoriums began in the village. It should be noted that the development and improvement of Loo in the Krasnodar Territory continues today.
What makes the village attractive?
The basis of Loo's economy in the Krasnodar Territory is the resort industry. Therefore, almost the entire coast is built up with boarding houses, mini-hotels and sanatoriums. On the territory of the resort there are about two hundred guest houses, boarding houses and recreation centers. In Loo, couples with small children, elderly people like to relax. In other words, those who avoid noise and busy leisure.
At the same time, the infrastructure of the Loo resort will not let young people get bored either. They can visit cozy cafe-bars, have fun in nightclubs and discos. Loo is a year-round resort. The swimming season here lasts from April to October, in the rest of the year, medical and he alth-improving and sightseeing tourism is popular. Loo in the Krasnodar Territory opens the high season in early June. And it continues until the end of September.
Loo's water area seems to be created by nature itself for various water procedures, entertainment and diving. Local silt mud and mineral waters from the Imeretinskaya Bay are used in the sanatoriums of the village.
Resort Features
The village of Loo is distinguished by a variety of types of recreation. Each tourist can choose exactly what he likes. Beach holidays are perfectly combined with serious, and most importantly, high-quality treatment and educational excursion tourism. It is this opportunity that attracts many vacationers here.
The healing air of the Loo resort (reviews from tourists confirm this) is saturated with oxygen, sodium chloride, calcium, bromine and magnesium s alts. There are also hydrogen sulfide mineral springs. Highly qualified medical personnel work in boarding houses and sanatoriums equipped with modern equipment. People suffering from diseases of the nervous and circulatory systems, musculoskeletal system, gastrointestinal tract and respiratory organs come to Loo.
Loo Beaches
Of course, the description of the Loo resort will be incomplete if we do not tell you about the beaches of the village. They arechampions in width (up to 90 meters) and quality of rest. Since the resort stretches along the coast, its western part is a continuous zone of beaches with small pebbles, which in places alternate with sand belts.
The main beach of the village is Central. It is equipped with showers, lifeguard stations, rental points. Here you can choose any of the many water activities: parachuting and "bananas", catamarans and others.
The pride of the locals is a two-tiered pier located on this beach, stretching 150 meters into the sea. Boats depart from here for boat trips, lovers of "quiet hunting" go fishing. At night, the beach is illuminated by colored spotlights. We will not hide that in the summer season (during the daytime) it is very crowded here. But this does not bother those vacationers who are alien to the hustle and bustle. There are many other beaches in the village - paid, wild and even its own nudist.
Their division in the village is conditional - there are no fences, only natural obstacles, for example, a rock or a natural turn of the coast. The half-kilometer pebbly strip near the sanatorium "Magadan" is very comfortable, and the beaches and "Mountain Air" and "Dolphin" are cozy and attract a small number of vacationers. The part of the coast that adjoins the mountain range is called wild. Here, on the bank protection dam, tourists like to leave autographs. Despite the name, it is quite comfortable to relax here: there are much fewer people here than on the Central Beach.
Nudists prefer to rest a little further. For them, about a kilometer of pebble-sandy coast is allotted. From overly prying eyes, the beach is securely covered from above by a bank protection dam twined with lianas.
Sights of the Loo resort: the Church of the Apostle Simon the Zealot
The temple was built recently. In 2017, he was only eighteen years old since the formation of the religious community. Despite this, in 2009 it has already undergone reconstruction according to the project of F. I. Afuksenidi. The combination of baroque and modern architectural styles, colorful frescoes - all this attracts guests of the resort.
Open Air Museum
A small museum with exhibits that tell about the life of Armenians more than a hundred years ago. The complex is located in a picturesque place near the river Loo. Tourists can see a water mill in working order, a reconstructed wooden house (saklu), as well as household items of Hamshen Armenians. There are trout in the river that you can feed.
Waterfall "Paradise Delight"
A small waterfall surrounded by perennial trees, hanging bridges will enchant tourists. Not far from this place, there is a cozy restaurant where tired travelers can have a tasty snack after a walk. A little downstream is a small lake with crystal clear cool water, where it is so nice to refresh yourself in a hot season.
Tea Houses
They are located towards the village of Uch-Dere and built on mountain slopes in the seventies of the last century. Beforeonly foreign guests were accepted here. Today, several cafes operate in cozy houses.
Entertainment
Loo has all the conditions for outdoor enthusiasts. Here you can:
- take part in jeeping;
- take a horse ride along the coast;
- participate in exciting diving with underwater excursions;
- do extreme rafting on mountain rivers and much more.
One of the favorite types of recreation is rock climbing, caving, trampolining, various high-speed rides. Such entertainment will make you feel an adrenaline rush.
Don't forget about the only huge AquaLoo water park on the Black Sea coast, where one day is not enough to ride all the slides. On its territory there are eight slides of different lengths, two children's areas, playgrounds, five fresh pools. There is also a closed area, so the water park operates in winter. Free meals will be a nice bonus for guests. On the second floor of the complex there are several saunas and a huge pool with geysers.
Reviews from vacationers
I must say that the Loo resort, which has the most permanent vacationers on the Black Sea coast: people come here with their families for many years and do not stop admiring how the resort is getting prettier and developing year after year. Pretty modest private houses with birdhouses have now been replaced by cozy and modern guest houses with all amenities. ATsanatoriums and boarding houses provide professional assistance in treatment and rehabilitation. This is an ideal place for a relaxing holiday, and a beach holiday here can be combined with an excursion.
