Algeti National Park

Algeti National Park sits on the eastern slope of the Trialeti range near Manglisi and is the closest substantial forest massif to Tbilisi. Its value is primarily botanical: Oriental spruce and Caucasian fir reach the eastern limit of their range here. Further west, in the humid forests of Colchis, both species are ordinary; at Algeti they are already rare, which is precisely why the area was protected in the first place.

The park covers roughly six thousand hectares and spans altitudes from about a thousand to two thousand metres. Several marked trails have been laid out: a short ninety-minute loop from the visitor centre, and longer circuits of six to eight kilometres that climb to the ridge and open views down the Algeti valley. There are picnic areas with tables and designated tent pitches for anyone wanting to stay overnight.

Algeti is the kind of place where you can walk for hours at a weekend and meet almost nobody — organised tourism barely touches it, and Tbilisi day-trippers tend to stop at Kojori or Manglisi instead. Roe deer, wild boar and fox are present, and bears live here too, though sightings are rare. Late spring and autumn are the best seasons, with the forest at its most colourful.