Abaata is Gagra's best historic anchor: a ruined 4th- or 5th-century fortress at the edge of Old Gagra, with the 6th-century Gagra Church inside the complex. The church is a plain stone basilica rather than a showpiece, but its age and setting do the work.
Part of the fortress was demolished when Prince of Oldenburg reshaped Gagra as a resort, and the sea has eaten at another part. Enough remains to make the place feel like a real threshold between the old fortified coast and the later holiday town.