Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park

Is there an entrance fee?

No. The official price list from Georgia's Agency of Protected Areas only charges for overnight stays, gear rental and tent pitches — walking in costs nothing. A few older guidebooks mention a paid hiking pass, so ask when you register, but don't expect a ticket booth.

If you stay the night, a bed in a tourist shelter is 20 or 30 GEL per person depending on the hut (10 GEL for pupils and students), a tent pitch is 10 GEL a day and the Marelisi hotel 25 GEL. The visitor centre rents tents (20 GEL), sleeping bags (5), backpacks (10), bikes (35) and snowshoes (20 GEL a day). Book shelter beds there in advance.

Payment: the agency doesn't say whether the visitor centre takes cards, so carry Georgian lari in cash. Marshrutkas (shared minibuses) and village taxis are cash-only in practice.

What is Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park?

It's one of the largest protected areas in the Caucasus, stretching across the Lesser Caucasus from the Borjomi gorge west towards Imereti and into six municipalities. Georgia created it in 1995 with help from WWF and the German government, and it formally opened in 2001. Its core is the old Borjomi nature reserve right behind the spa town.

Spruce, fir and beech forest gives way to subalpine meadows higher up, and in the west, around Kharagauli, to damp Colchic woodland. The top is Mount Sametskhvario at 2,642 m. Red deer, brown bears and wolves live here, though you'll see tracks far more often than animals. Near Atskuri, the park has been breeding wild goats since 2006 to return them to the mountains.

For a visitor in Borjomi, the park means waymarked trails — anything from a two-hour loop by the visitor centre to a four-day traverse with nights in wooden huts.

Best day hikes from Borjomi

• Information Trail — starts at the visitor centre, about 3 km and 1.5–2 hours. Steep at first, then easy forest paths. Pick this if you have half a day or kids in tow.
• Likani Valley loop — about 7 km from Likani ranger station, 5 km up the valley from the visitor centre (take a taxi). A gentle riverside forest walk.
• Footprint Trail — about 13 km and 6–8 hours from Likani over the ridge to Kvabiskhevi village on the Akhaltsikhe road, with roughly 800 m up and down, old yews and views over the gorge. Catch a marshrutka or taxi back from the main road.
• Day one of Trail 1 — Likani to the Lomi Mountain shelter, 15 km and 5–6 hours uphill. Not an out-and-back day: you need to sleep at the top.
• Winter (December–February) — snowshoe routes from Likani and Atskuri, with snowshoes rented at the visitor centre.

Multi-day treks and shelters

The park's flagship routes, as described by the agency: Trail 1, Nikoloz Romanov — 43 km over 3 days from Likani ranger station (930 m) via Lomi Mountain to Marelisi, moderate. Trail 2, St Andrew the First-Called — 54 km over 4 days from Atskuri via Amarati shelter and Mount Sametskhvario, difficult. Trail 3, Panoramas — a 34 km two-day loop from Atskuri, also difficult.

Atskuri ranger station is 27 km from the visitor centre on the Akhaltsikhe road, so you'll need a taxi. You sleep in tourist shelters (Lomismta, Amarati, Sakhvlari and others) or your own tent. Huts are basic and may have no electricity — carry all your food. Trails 1–3 can also be ridden on horseback — ask about horses at the visitor centre.

When is the best time to go?

The park is open all year, but May to October is the hiking season for most people. Caucasian rhododendrons and orchids flower in May and June, summer forest is cooler than town, and October turns the slopes gold. From December to February the high trails are under snow and only the snowshoe routes make sense.

From October to April you may meet shepherds' dogs near flocks — give them a wide berth. Start any full-day hike in the morning: setting off after lunch is too late, especially in autumn when it gets dark early.

Is it worth it?

Yes, if you like walking and have at least half a day. This is real wild forest on Borjomi's doorstep: half an hour's walk from town to the trailhead, and an hour into the climb you'll have it nearly to yourself. With a night or two to spare, the treks to Lomi Mountain and Sametskhvario rank among Georgia's best hikes outside the Greater Caucasus.

Not really, if you're in Borjomi for one day for the spa town itself. There are no tidy paths, cafés or rides — just forest and steep climbs. In that case walk through Central Park to the sulphur pools and save the national park for another trip.

National park, Central Park or the Green Monastery?

One day in Borjomi — go for Central Park. Two days — give the second to the national park.

Views in Borjomi: compare and choose

Borjomi spots with views, rated by YesGo. Tap a column header to sort.

Nearby and on your route

37

Borjomi Museum of Local Lore

Borjomi, Georgia

1 h · 3–5 GEL · 13 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Borjomi Museum of Local Lore

42

Likani Palace (Romanov Palace)

Borjomi, Georgia

30 min · Free, outside view only · 20 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Likani Palace (Romanov Palace)

30

Kukushka Train (Borjomi–Bakuriani Railway)

Borjomi, Georgia

4 h · Not running; new fare not announced · 22 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Kukushka Train (Borjomi–Bakuriani Railway)

45

Villa Firuza (Mirza Riza Khan House)

Borjomi, Georgia

15 min · Free — seen from the street · 28 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Villa Firuza (Mirza Riza Khan House)

How to do it right

• Register the evening before — then you can hit the trail as soon as it's light.
• For a first taste, the Information Trail is enough: forest and gorge views without a long climb.
• For the Footprint Trail, take a taxi to Likani ranger station and a marshrutka back from Kvabiskhevi.
• Nights up high are cold even in summer — for a shelter stay bring a warm layer and a sleeping bag.
• After a long hike, soak in the sulphur pools at the far end of Central Park.
• Save 112, Georgia's emergency number, before you go — it's the one to call from the trail.

Questions