Batumi Botanical Garden is a must have to visit tourism attraction site when in Batumi.
Botanical Garden is actually located at the place called Mtsvane Kontskhi ("The Green Cape") in distance of some 10 km from Batumi city on the Black Sea shore, it is one of the largest botanical gardens in the former Soviet Union.
You can get here either by hiring a taxi from Batumi (I negotiated price for about 10 GEL .March 2016) or using mini vans (marshrutkas) from city,
If you have already visited Tbilisi Botanical Garden you will notice that Tbilisi garden is a weak echo of botanical garden if compared to this one, located in Batumi.
Our taxi driver recommended us to take second entrance, instead of main entrance. Which means - you don't have to walk twice (forth and back) the same route, instead you start your walk from the end and reach main entrance, from where marshrutkas departs back to Batumi.
Entrance fee at Batumi Botanical Garden: 8 GEL
Tourist cab at Batumi Botanical Garden
For additional 3 GEL you can take a ride in such vehicle to explore garden, we decided to walk.
Glass house
It turned out it's not allowed to enter glass houses at this garden, but hey, right here we started our trip.
Hiking trails at Batumi Botanical Garden
It's definitely worth of taking a hike here.
Batumi Botanical garden
Currently, the garden consists of nine floristic sectors, those of Caucasian humid subtropics, East Asia, New Zealand, South America, the Himalayas, Mexico, Australia, and of the Mediterranean. The garden collection comprises 2037 taxonomic units of ligneous plants, including 104 of Caucasian origin.
Palms at Batumi Botanical Garden
The Batumi Botanical Garden was started by the Russian botanist Andrey Nikolayevich Krasnov (1862-1914), brother of General Pyotr Krasnov, in the 1880s and officially opened on November 3, 1912. He was aided by two skilled gardeners and decorators – the French D’Alphonse and the Georgian Yason Gordeziani. Krasnov died in 1914 and was interred at the garden which still houses his grave and statue.
Bamboo trees
Under the Soviet Union, the garden was further expanded and developed, since 1925, into a principal institution for the study ofCaucasian maritime subtropical cultures.
View towards Black Sea from Botanical Garden
The Batumi Botanical Garden had formerly been operated by the Georgian Academy of Sciences. Since 2006, it is an independent institution.
At Batumi Botanical Garden
View toward Batumi city
Might be a really cool place for sunset/sunrise photography
View towards Kobuleti / Black Sea
Surrounding Adjarian mountains
Man selling kvass
There are small cafeteria at main entrance of Botanical garden, also some souvenirs and gifts can be bought here.
The Bottom Line
It took us about 3 hours to complete route from one entrance to second, and it was worth it. Grab your best gear and go Batumi.
Official website: www.bbg.ge (Georgian only)