Javakheti National Park

Javakheti National Park was created in 2011, and it is not a single block of land but a network of lakes and wetlands scattered across the plateau: Khanchali, Bugdasheni, Madatapa, Sulda and Kartsakhi. All of them sit near two thousand metres on open, treeless volcanic upland.

Birds are the point. Javakheti lies on the migration corridor running north from Africa and Asia, and in spring and autumn the lakes take in thousands of birds: cranes, geese, many species of duck, waders and herons. Dalmatian pelicans breed at Khanchali and Bugdasheni — a species that has become rare across Europe and that holds on in Georgia essentially here.

Khanchali has a story of its own. In the Soviet period the lake was drained for irrigation, and its level stayed unstable for years afterwards. Over the last decade work has gone into restoring the water regime, and the birds have returned. It is one of the less common cases where restoration is visibly working.

The landscape itself is worth attention. This is a young volcanic plateau, ringed by the cones of the Abuli and Samsari ranges, and the lakes sit in hollows dammed by old lava flows. In summer the surrounding grassland is summer pasture, dotted with shepherds' camps. One practical note: Lake Kartsakhi lies on the Turkish border and the border zone has access restrictions, so do not head there on your own.

Infrastructure is modest: a visitor centre in Ninotsminda, observation towers at Khanchali and Bugdasheni, a few short trails and a cycling route. Entry is free.

Winter deserves plain speech. From November to April the lakes are frozen, the birds are gone, night temperatures drop towards minus thirty, and this is one of the coldest inhabited corners of Georgia. The wind never stops, it drifts snow across the roads, and secondary roads are frequently blocked. Even in summer there is effectively no shade and no shelter anywhere on the plateau.