Mtirala National Park

Mtirala means the crying one, and the name is meteorological: the mountain catches moisture coming off the Black Sea and receives around four and a half thousand millimetres of rain a year, which puts it among the wettest places in Europe. What that produces is Colchic rainforest, a temperate broadleaf forest of chestnut, beech and alder with an understorey of evergreen laurel, rhododendron and holly, hung with lianas and moss, a relict vegetation type that survived the ice ages in this corner of the Black Sea. The park protects part of it and was inscribed by UNESCO in 2021 within the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands property. Trails climb to a lake and a waterfall.

What you actually see

• Colchic rainforest - evergreen understorey under broadleaf canopy.
• Four and a half metres of rain a year - the climate that makes it.
• The waterfall and lake trails - the main routes from the visitor centre.
• Moss and liana growth - the density the humidity produces.

When to go

May to October; it rains in every month, so waterproofs are essential whenever you go. A day. The road to the visitor centre needs a capable vehicle.

Honest expectations

It rains constantly and trails are mud. Leeches and ticks are present in summer. The access road is rough and taxis charge accordingly. Views are usually absent in cloud. Facilities are basic.

Nearby

Batumi is west; Kintrishi lies north.