Adjara Coastline: Home to the Beautiful Mountains, Beaches and the City of Batumi

When choosing a vacation destination, it is important not to be limited. For travellers, who want to explore as much as possible in a short amount of time, Adjara, Georgia is a perfect place.

Located in southwest Georgia, Adjara is stretched on the Black Sea coast, while sitting on the lush Lesser Caucasus Mountains. It is a diverse holiday destination and it has a lot to offer. Adjara has it all: a subtropical climate, warm sea water, sand beaches, mountain springs and green forest hills.

Besides natural wonders, Adjara has a nice beach towns and cities. The largest city of them is Batumi, which is the second largest city of Georgia. Batumi is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Black Sea region. It demonstrates a perfect example of new, modern architectural buildings, while preserving ancient port and Old city. In the second half of the 20th century, European architects worked on modernization of the city.

Today, Batumi is the best tourist destination, with boulevard, botanical garden, dolphinarium, seaside cafes, restaurants and modern architecture.

Little further north along the coast, there are a couple of towns worth visiting while in Adjara.

Kobuleti and Ureki

These towns are for more laid back vacation days; when you want to be closer to civilization, but still have some privacy. Kobuleti coastline offers great shading, with beautiful pine trees. Also, Kobuleti is home to the longest street of Georgia. Davit Aghmashenebeli street is 9.3 miles long.

Technically, Ureki is not in Adjara region, but it is part of the coastline. It may not be as fancy as Batumi, but Ureki is worth visiting. The town is famous for its blackest magnetic sand, which is thought to have healing power.

Khulo district is for more adventurous tourists, who don’t want to just lay on a beach resort and soak up the sun. During the medieval times, it used to be a center of the trading road. There are historical buildings, still present in the district.

With a little effort and hiking, visitors can see 10th century Khikhani Fortress, at 7217 feet above sea level.

Located high in the mountains, Khulo district offers a beautiful scenery. Goderdzi pass, Beshumi and Green lake: all located at over 6700 feet above sea level and will leave visitors speechless.

Also, Khulo is home to the second longest ropeway in Europe, that has no support structure. The Khulo-Togo ropeway is 5639 feet long and rides at 918 feet high. For some tourists it may seem extreme, but for locals it is part of a daily commute. The ropeway connects around eight villages to Khulo center.

Mtirala National Park detains the moisture of the sea and determines the highly humid air in Adjara. On average, 4520 mm rainfall occurs throughout the year in Mtirala, making it the wettest place in the country. That’s why the mountain got its name. “Mtirala” means crybaby in Georgian.
There, visitors can explore beautiful valley of Chakvistskali River, the pristine gorges of the beech and the 49 ft tall waterfall of Chestnut.

Mtirala National Park offers one and two day tourist routes. There are picnic and camping places. Also, there are designated places for the bonfire. There is a tourist shelter, on the 9th kilometer of the trail. The National Park offers visitors hiking, horse riding, scientific and eco-tours. Also, visitors have an opportunity to enjoy extreme entertainment: zipline. Get on the 656ft long cable and swing down, through the tall trees.

Besides high mountain historical monuments, Adjara has two ancient fortresses: Gonio and Petra, that are easily accessible.

Gonio Apsaros Fortress is mentioned as early as the 1st century by Pliny the Elder. In the second century, there were five cohort of Romans. During this period Apsarus was a well-fortified and well-equipped fortress. After XII century, when it came under Byzantyn influence, the name was changed to Gonio. Also, the grave of the apostle Matthias, is believed to be on the fortress territory.

Petra was a historic fortress city in the Kingdom of Egrisi. “Petra” is the Byzantine name of this fortress and “Kajeti Fortress” is Georgian. Probably, this fortress is mentioned in the poem “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin”.

Petra was located on a seaside rocky terrain. The Greek name “Petra” means rock. The fortress was built in the 5th century,by the Romans. It was located strategically, between the sea and rock, which made it inaccessible.

Mighty fortress is long gone, but the ruins are still preserved. The archaeological complex includes: citadel, the ruins of the palace, antique bath, agricultural and soldiers’ units.

Accommodation in Adjara is, as diverse, as Adjara itself. Whether you prefer a luxurious spa resort, or you’re on a budget, you have a lot of options. Whole coastline of Adjara packed, with high end hotels and resorts, as well as mom and pop guesthouses.

And most of all, no matter where you stay, you must try Georgian cuisine, along with Georgian wine. There are many delicious dishes, but Adjarian Khachapuri is a must have, while visiting Adjara.

Overall, Adjara is a great place to spend holiday. Whether you are attending a concert on the Black Sea Arena, or planning to stay longer, you’ll find something interesting there.