Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.