Georgia

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands

WHS Score 2.4
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Votes 22 Average 2.77
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Votes for Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands

0.5

  • Yevhen Ivanovych

1.0

  • GZ

1.5

  • Philipp Leu

2.0

  • marcel staron
  • Szucs Tamas

2.5

  • Els Slots
  • Mahuhe
  • Stanislaw Warwas
  • Zoe

3.0

  • Bin
  • Christravelblog
  • Kevin McFarland
  • Kristin
  • Kurt Lauer
  • nan
  • WalGra
  • Zoë Sheng

3.5

  • Jakubmarin
  • Wojciech Fedoruk

4.0

  • Afshin Iranpour
  • Christoph

5.0

  • Joshuakirbens

The Colchic Wetlands and Forests comprise two warm-temperate humid ecosystems: ancient Colchic rainforests and wetlands with bogs and mire.

The seven parks consist of low-altitude wetlands, close to the Black Sea on one side, and higher-altitude ancient deciduous rainforests enclosed by mountain ranges on the other side. Their very wet conditions have led to high levels of endemism and intra-species diversity. The ancient forests are among the most important survivors of the glacial cycles of the Tertiary.

Community Perspective: not all components can be (easily) visited. Mahuhe describes a trip to Mtirala National Park from Batumi, while Stanislaw covered Kintrishi-Mtirala and Pitshora and gave some hints about the illegal entry of two others. Nan added more practical information.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands (ID: 1616)
Country
Georgia
Status
Inscribed 2021 Site history
History of Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands
2021: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Natural
Criteria
  • ix
  • x
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Natural landscape: Forest
Travel Information
No travel information
Recent Connections
View all (28) .
Connections of Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands
Geography
  • Notable lakes
    A significant role within the hydrologic regime of the Kolkheti territories plays also Paliastomi Lake which is the largest of over 40 other smaller lakes in the Kolkheti wetland complex. (Nomination Text, p. 27)
  • Black Sea
    along the Black Sea coast of western Georgia (AB ev)
  • Caucasus
    "The nomination is located entirely in the Caucasus terrestrial hotspot, as well as in a Centre of Plant Diversity and an Endemic Bird Area – the Caucasus" (AB ev)
Ecology
  • Beech Forests
    The Colchic forests comprise several types of vegetation, among which the East-Euxinian beech forests and oak forests that alternate with hornbeam-chestnut-beech forests. (Nomination Text, p. 23)
  • Rainforests
    dominated by Colchic rainforests (AB ev)
  • Critically endangered fauna species
    Six sturgeon, of which four are confirmed to breed in the area are Critically Endangered, among them the Colchic Sturgeon (Acipenser colchicus – CR), which is endemic to the rivers of Kolkheti. (AB ev)

    See www.iucnredlist.org

  • Carnivorous plants
    Round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) in Kobuleti Strict Nature Reserve.

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Turtles and tortoises
    Caspian turtle (Mauremys caspica) and marsh turtle in Kobuleti Protected Areas.

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Fish
    Crit x "The property also harbors sturgeon species, including the Colchic Sturgeon"
  • Eagles
    Booted eagle, Steppe eagle, Eastern imperial eagle, Greater spotted eagle (Nomination file, p. 54)
  • Refugium
    "relict forests, which have survived the glacial cycles of the ice age. The extremely humid nemoral broad-leaved rainforests comprise a highly diverse flora and fauna, with very high densities of endemic and relict species. This is the result of millions of years of uninterrupted evolution and speciation processes within the Colchic Pliocene refugium." (UNESCO)

    See whc.unesco.org

  • Pelicans
    The Dalmatian Pelican is a migratory bird in the area. (Nomination file, p. 54)
  • Swamps and Marshes
    The main ecosystems are ancient deciduous Colchic rainforests and wetlands, percolation bogs and other mire types of the distinct Colchic mire region. The percolation bogs are of particular global importance as they do not exist anywhere else in the world. (Official description)
  • Bird Migrations
    The site is a key stopover for many globally threatened birds that migrate through the Batumi bottleneck. (Official description)
  • Bears
    The nominated property also harbors healthy populations of large mammal species that are not listed as globally threatened, but which are important in the regional context, including European Brown Bear, Grey Wolf and European Lynx. (AB Ev)
  • Gray Wolf
    The nominated property also harbors healthy populations of large mammal species that are not listed as globally threatened, but which are important in the regional context, including European Brown Bear, Grey Wolf and European Lynx. (AB Ev)
  • Salamanders
    Caucasian salamander

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Endemic Bird Species
    Species records include at least approximately 327 bird species. Of the birds, 123 breed in the nominated property, and exhibit high levels of endemism. (AB Ev)
  • Peat
    The Colchic Wetlands comprise a wide range of ecosystems but by far the most relevant to the proposed OUV of the series are peatlands. Within the typology of European mire regions, the peatlands of the Colchis form one of ten distinct mire regions of pan-Europe. Reflecting the warm-temperate environment, this region forms a structural and functional transition between the peatlands of the boreal and those of the tropical zones. (Nomination Text, p. 23)
  • Notable examples of multiple speciation in one site
    Some amphibians provide interesting examples of landscape-dependent speciation in the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands, when specific conditions trigger divergence without full isolation. The endemic herpetofauna of the Mtirala-Kintrishi nominated component area and its surroundings also provide compelling examples of ongoing evolution and speciation within this refuge area. Landscape dependent speciation has also been observed in the snow voles. (Nomination Text, p. 51)
  • Otters
    European Otter (Nomination Text, p. 55)
  • Strict Nature Reserve
    Partly: Kintrishi and Kobuleti Strict Nature Reserve. Access policies are unknown but they are visitable without special permits/tours according to the reviews.
World Heritage Process
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
  • Pliocene
    This is the result of millions of years of uninterrupted evolution and speciation processes within the Colchic Pliocene refugium. (AB ev)
News

No news.

Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 20/05/25.

Els Slots

Colchic Rainforests And Wetlands

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands (Inscribed)

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands by Els Slots

The Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands, being a distinct Floral WHS, never appealed to me much. Still, it was a shoo-in in 2021 as IUCN easily confirmed its global significance (“one of the two most important refuge areas of Arcto-Tertiary geoflora in western Eurasia”; the Hyrcanian Forests are the other one) and was also happy with the site management. I visited the same location as several other reviewers, Mtirala National Park, but happened to do so on a sunny day in May, with the rhododendrons in full bloom.

The road leading up to the park is a winding one, with often no room for cars to pass each other. There are villages and houses everywhere. The Mtirala River flows fast amidst the dense forest landscape. 

My driver (Giga from Gotrip.ge, who spoke good English) knew the area well as he grew up there. We parked at the end of the road and he sent me off to my hike. The guy managing the ropeway across the river now asks for 4 GEL for his services, which hopefully covers keeping the ropes in good shape, as all the effort getting to the other side is done by the passenger him/herself by turning a wheel. You have to keep on turning until you are at the landing station and hear a click.

The hike to the lake and waterfall starts going left from there, and across a small wooden bridge (some signage would be helpful here). After about …

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First published: 08/08/23.

Nan

Colchic Rainforests And Wetlands By Nan

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands (Inscribed)

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands by Nan

Travelling in Georgia you get used to checking the daily weather forecast. Georgia in summer is hot and humid from the Black Sea and has high mountains: All the ingredients you need for subtropical (= heavy) rains and heavy thunderstorms, specifically at the coast. In Batumi it rains roughly 2.100mm each year. This has created a unique subtropical landscape along the coast, breaking down into two types of location as the site's name suggests:

  • Flat wetlands around Poti.
  • Subtropical rainforests in the mountains north-east of Batumi. Funnily, while the Georgians made a huge effort to give each wetland a separate location, they grouped the two rainforest National Parks into one location; a bit misleading.

Of the two types, the mountainous rainforests are the true gem. Exiting the car in Mitrala National Park, we immediately felt the air soaked with water like in a greenhouse. We hiked to the waterfall and were impressed with the scenery.

The wetlands meanwhile are rather mundane and pale in comparison to e.g., the Everglades or the Danube Delta on the western shore of the Black Sea. Our initial plan had been to visit the day prior, but thunderstorms that day meant that no boat was going to the national park, so we came back the next day.

Getting There

Stanislaw has a nice rundown of all the components and their respective accessibility. Accessible for tourists are:

  • Kolkheti National Park: Boat tours can be arranged …
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First published: 22/05/23.

Stanislaw Warwas

Colchic Rainforests And Wetlands

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands (Inscribed)

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands by Stanislaw Warwas

Visited in April 2023

7 components but officially only 2 of them can be visited:

Kintrishi-Mtirala component – two national reserves located in Adjara region; both can be visited as a day trip from the coast and are pretty well organized in situ, with small tourist information centres and some tracks you can follow; Kintrishi National Reserve is easily reachable from Kobuleti (even using public transportation – there are two minibuses from Kobuleti bus station all the way to Varjanauli, from where you can walk or hitchhike to the core zone), Mtirala National Park – from Batumi (two minibuses daily from Batumi new bus station, the first one at 9:30 am, going to the entrance to the park from where there’s another 3 km to the core zone) and from Chakvi (many marshrutkas to Khala and few to Chakvistavi); in both places you’ll have a chance to walk through Colchic rainforest – the higher you climb, the denser it becomes; in my opinion Mitrala looks more interesting, especially the loop path, very steep in some parts; it is recommended to divide it into two days (there’s a shelter on the way), but I did it in one day, it is around 20 km in total, but sometimes very exhausting… the ‘lower part’ of this park (not in the core zone) is very popular during weekends (zipline, canopy walks) so easily you will find somebody who can give you a lift back to the coast…

The component called …

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First published: 28/12/22.

Mahuhe

Colchic Rainforests And Wetlands

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands (Inscribed)

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands by Mahuhe

I visited Mtirala National Park, which is located in the mountainous hinterland of the Adjarian coast and is one of the wettest places in Georgia. It is characterized mainly by its rainforest with many endemic species.

I took a taxi from Batumi. The road from Chakvi to the national park is paved throughout, passes a campsite and the national park administration, and ends at a restaurant. From there, there is a short hiking trail (about 5 km). First you have to pass the restaurant on the right. There is a small cable car over the river, which costs a small fee. The path then leads first along the river, past the high ropes course and then goes through the forest uphill to a waterfall. Back down the mountain there is then a detour to a small idyllic lake. The path is slippery and I recommend proper shoes. With the hike you only enter the edge of the national park - if you want to go deeper, you can also do a two-day tour with an overnight stay at a hut.

The national park is an attraction for day trippers from Batumi. I arrived early and was therefore relatively alone, but on the way back I met whole tour groups. Also, just outside the national park, ziplines, quad tours and the like are offered to tourists. So if you want untouched nature, you have to hike deeper into the park. But for a first impression even the short hike …

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First published: 08/06/19.

Zoë Sheng

Colchic Rainforests And Wetlands

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands (Inscribed)

Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands by Kurt Lauer

I visited Kolkheti on my way to northwest Georgia (Abkhazia and Svaneti). By visited I more or less mean taking a stroll next to lake Paliastomi that borders it. There is actually no way to just walk into the park at the moment which is great for protection but surely a blow for anyone wanting to visit it as the only way to visit is via a boating tour that last around 2 hours. The location just off the Black Sea is great for birds. The area around the park is rather dirty and poor, with Poti being a major port and lots of trucks coming and going (it reminds me of the Bangladesh entry point of the Sundarbans - you will know what I mean if you see it). If this were not on the nominated list I would not drive down to Poti. The road was also under construction and took an extra hour to drive around.

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