After the fragmentation of the Kingdom of Georgia in the 15th century, it was an important fortified town, sea port and fishing station within the Principality of Mingrelia.

[4] Subsequently, the importance of the Anaklia port significantly reduced, but it remained a minor Black Sea Fleet base in the Soviet times.

In 2006, the Ministry of Defense of Georgia reported numerous damages inflicted by the Russian soldiers upon the 17th-century fortress of Anaklia and accused the peacekeepers of installing latrines and baths within the walls of the fort.

[5] A monument has been erected in Anaklia on May 21, 2012, commemorating Russia's expulsion of the Circassian people from the region following the conclusion of the Caucasian War in the 1860s.

The May 21 date was chosen to coincide with the day on which the Circassian people themselves commemorate the expulsion, which the Georgian government has recognized as an act of genocide.

At the western end of the promenade begins the 540-meter pedestrian bridge that connects the resort to the village Ganmukhuri, located on the opposite side of the Enguri River.

In the north the nearest neighbors of Anaklia are the towns of Gali, Ochamchire and Sokhumi, and in the south of it – Poti, Kobuleti and Batumi.

Anaklia is located on flat terrain, bordered on the north western spurs of the Greater Caucasus Mountains Range, which can be perfectly viewed in clear weather, directly from the sea coast.

There is a very fertile soil that, along with a mild climate, creates good conditions for the cultivation of many crops such as tea, citrus, feijoa, filbert, corn and soybeans.

In May 2024, the Georgia's Ministry of Economy named the China Communications Construction Company as the government's private partner in the joint venture responsible for developing and managing the Anaklia port project.