Batumi and Western Georgia

Western Georgia, with its forests, mountains, and marshes, is separated both geographically and culturally from the vast open plains and fertile fields of eastern Georgia by the Likhi range of mountains. Known as Colchis in ancient times (Land of the Golden Fleece), western Georgia has a rural feel and is a world away from the much busier east of the country.

Kutaisi, Georgia’s second city and the capital of Imareti province, sits beside the rushing Rioni River and is the ideal base from which to discover the area. Cultural highlights include the UNESCO World Heritage Gelati Monastery, Bagrati Cathedral, and the ruins of the ancient Colchian settlement at Vani.

Imareti’s natural wonders provide an equally strong reason to visit. At the brilliantly illuminated Prometheus Cave, visitors will behold spectacular stalactites and journey by boat through a subterranean wonderland. At the same time, a walk in the Okatse Canyon will enable you to enjoy the province’s untouched nature, including a dramatic 780-metre-long suspended walkway. Nearby is the Kinchkha waterfall, one of the tallest in Georgia. The dramatic finger of rock known as the Katskhi pillar is yet another imposing spectacle.

At Zugdidi, in neighbouring Samegrelo province, it is possible to visit the 19th-century palace of the Dadiani dukes, the former feudal rulers of Mingrelia. While less rich culturally, Batumi and the beaches of Georgia’s subtropical Black Sea coastline are extremely popular destinations for Georgian holidaymakers. Sun-kissed Batumi, with its attractive sea-front boulevard, botanical gardens, ornate 19th-century architecture, and relaxed atmosphere, is certainly a pleasant place to relax for a couple of days.

Inland, the bucolic mountains of Adjara are extremely scenic and a haven for traditional village life and free-roaming cattle. Studded with wooden villages, waterfalls and rivers, Adjara’s Alpine-like scenery becomes steadily more magnificent as you approach the Goderdzi pass (2,025m) and cross over into Georgia’s southern Meskheti province.