Kolkheti National Park

Kolkheti national park covers what remains of the wetlands of the Colchis plain, the low ground behind the Black Sea coast that classical writers knew as Colchis: Lake Paliastomi, a large shallow brackish lake connected to the sea, the rivers and canals around it, wetland forest of alder and oak, and the percolation bogs, raised peat domes fed only by rainfall that are rare in this part of the world and are among the reasons the area was inscribed by UNESCO in 2021 as part of the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands. Boat trips run from Poti onto the lake and into the channels, and the birdlife on passage is substantial.

History

Around 2000 BC the first Georgian state, Colchis, arose here, where the first Georgian coins were minted, and in Greek myth Colchis was the land of the Golden Fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts. Milesian Greeks set up trading posts on the coast at Phasis and elsewhere in the 6th-5th centuries BC, part of Colchis was joined to the Kingdom of Iberia around 302 BC, Mithridates VI of Pontus conquered it around 101 BC, and the Romans built forts along the coast; by the 3rd-4th centuries most of the local kingdoms had fallen under the kings of Lazica. The national park was established in 1998-1999 under a coastal management project backed by the World Bank, taking in the former Kolkheti State Nature Reserve of 1947 and Lake Paliastomi (Wikipedia, Kolkheti National Park).

What's there

• Lake Paliastomi - the shallow brackish lake behind the coast.
• Percolation peat bogs - rain-fed raised mires, rare at this latitude.
• Wetland alder forest - the flooded woodland of the plain.
• Migrating birds - the passage over the Black Sea coast.

When to go

April to June and September to November for bird passage; summer is hot and humid with heavy mosquitoes. A day. Boat trips are arranged at the Poti visitor centre.

Practical notes

Mosquitoes here are severe from late spring to autumn. Boat availability depends on weather and staff. Parts of the park are degraded by drainage and past peat extraction. Poti itself is an industrial port with limited appeal.

Nearby

Poti is adjacent; Kobuleti bogs lie south along the coast.

Key facts