Park · Khobi Municipality, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
Kolkheti National Park
კოლხეთის ეროვნული პარკი · Colchis National Park
A coastal wetland national park on Georgia's Black Sea shore around Lake Paliastomi near Poti, protecting Colchic marsh and lowland forest on a bird migration route.
Where it is
42.1519, 41.8401
Why go
Kolkheti National Park, established in 1998, covers the eastern Black Sea shore and the Lake Paliastomi basin across municipalities of Samegrelo and Guria, and protects Colchic marshes and lowland forest. It is seen from the water. The administration runs boat tours from its visitor centre in Poti's Maltakva district, on Paliastomi Lake and up the Pichori river, and a separate boat route in the Churia river valley, about 50 km from Zugdidi, as well as birdwatching and eco-educational tours. The national tourism administration records 194 bird species; the agency names early spring and autumn as the best time for birdwatching. Protected trees include Colchic oak, wing-nut and Colchic box. The agency states that tours run year-round on reservation only and are not conducted in bad weather.
Getting there
Boat tours start from the visitor centre at 222 Guria Street in Poti's Maltakva district, which is the map pin. The Churia valley route is run separately on the Zugdidi side. The Agency of Protected Areas states that tours run only on reservation and are not conducted in bad weather (read 1 October 2026).
Best time to visit
Early spring and autumn for birdwatching, per the Agency of Protected Areas.
Near Kolkheti National Park
Church
Poti Cathedral
Poti's neo-Byzantine cathedral in the city park on the left bank of the Rioni, a scaled-down recreation of Hagia Sophia completed in 1907 with its dome built entirely in reinforced concrete.
14 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Khobi Monastery
Also known as Nojikhevi Monastery, this 13th–14th-century complex just north of the town of Khobi kept a robe venerated as the Virgin Mary's in a silver reliquary until Soviet rule, after which its relics went to the museum in Zugdidi.
21 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Museum
Ozurgeti History Museum
The regional history and ethnography museum of Guria in Ozurgeti, holding finds from the ruined ancient city of Vashnari alongside Colchian Bronze Age tools and ancient coinage.
29 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Shemokmedi Monastery
A walled monastery beside the Bzhuzhi River in the Guria village of Shemokmedi, where Prince Vakhtang I Gurieli built the domed 'Zarzma' church in the 16th century for the Transfiguration icon brought from Zarzma Monastery.
33 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ