Batumi Botanical Garden: what to see and how to visit

Batumi Botanical Garden is one of the largest botanical gardens in the former USSR and the headline green attraction of the coast. It spreads across Green Cape (Mtsvane Kontskhi), about 9 km north of central Batumi, on slopes that drop straight down to the Black Sea.

The garden was founded by the Russian botanist Andrei Krasnov and officially opened on 3 November 1912. The idea was to gather subtropical flora from around the world in one place — and today the garden is divided into nine floristic zones: the humid subtropics of the Caucasus, East Asia, New Zealand, South America, the Himalayas, Mexico, Australia and the Mediterranean. You can wander among bamboo groves, Japanese maples, eucalyptus and palms for hours.

Beyond the plants, the real bonus of the garden is the views: the trails lead out to lookout points above the sea, and on a clear day you can see the coastline for miles.

How to get there

The garden sits on Green Cape, north of Batumi. You can reach it on the coastal train (the “Green Cape” / Mtsvane Kontskhi stop), by marshrutka along the coast, or by car — the drive takes about 20–30 minutes. Bring comfortable shoes: the grounds are large and hilly. For more on transport along the coast, see our guide to the beaches of Batumi and the coast and the transport section, and for the city itself, the Batumi guide.