Adjara: The Treasure of Georgia

Aug 14, 2012 by Diana Davoyan

Summer is a special season; everyone is looking forward to time off to rest well, discover new places, explore new things in life and simply escape daily routine.

I took a vacation for my birthday, August 6th to celebrate it with my Mom and sister at the Georgian seaside. It’s the second time I was at the Black sea; the 1st one was four years ago, in 2008.

We stayed in a small Georgian city – Kobuleti, which is close to Batumi – the capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia.

The city is small but quite noisy in the summer due to a large number of tourists. It has many café & restaurants at the seaside. Not far from Kobuleti is a fantastic amusement park – Tsitsinatela. However, if you plan to stay here long, you may get bored in several days.

When in Adjara, I would recommend you to take tours to discover this little amazingly beautiful part of Georgia. We took a tour to Sarpi, Gonio, Batumi and Makhinjauri on the third day of our arrival. First, the mini-bus took us to Sarpi which is on the border between Georgia and Turkey. The nature in Sarpi is fascinating and the sea is cleaner than both in Kobuleti and Batumi. Sarpi is mainly for the ones who enjoy tranquil places with green nature.

The next stop was at Gonio fortress which was built in the 1st century AD. In the 2nd century AD it was a well-fortified Roman city, known for its hippodrome and the theatre.

After Gonio we stopped in Batumi. Batumi is not only the capital but the most beautiful city of Adjara. The town has a lot of new constructions, hotels, resorts, neat squares, etc. It has changed a lot since 2008. When in Batumi, don’t miss seeing:

• 150-meter-tall glass tower of the Georgian alphabet
• Batumi Neptun Square
• Theater Square
• Medea Statue

We also took a cruise and it was really breathtaking to feel yourself in the middle of the sea and watch the towns turning smaller as we sailed away. The cruise was one of the memorable parts of the trip.

The final stop was at the Batumi botanical garden – Makhinjauri. This is the place where you can walk for hours and it seems you’ll never reach the end. The botanical garden is very large with a huge number of unique plants. If you look down from the garden, you’ll be amazed by the spectacular view of the Black sea .

Don’t miss your chance of exploring Georgia!

Batumi: