Georgia

The Lush Wonderland: Exploring Batumi’s Botanical Garden

Gate

What kind of fool goes to a Botanical Garden in the rain?

This one.

When inclement weather nixed my original plan of biking and beaching, I hopped onto a marshrutka (or, minibus) to explore Batumi’s Botanical Garden. The girl at my hostel recommended it heartily, and the rain seemed to have downgraded to drizzling in dribs and drabs, so I caught the #38 marshrutka and hoped for the best.

Inside the Garden

The ride there was easy—the marshrutka driver took pity on my inability to communicate and not only made sure I knew when my stop was, but also managed to point me in the direction of the garden’s front gate. Soon I found myself crossing long gray train tracks and entering Batumi’s lush, fabulous wonderland.

Tracks in Batumi

Batumi’s Botanical Garden is the largest in the former Soviet Union, and the primary location dedicated to the study of Caucasian flora and fauna. It was founded in 1912, and though it was previously run by the Georgian Academy of Sciences, it’s been its own entity since 2006. But it feels in many ways like a relic of an older time, a place that the world has passed by. The flora grows mad over every man-made thing.

The Trees Are Taking Over

Batumi’s climate is subtropical, and the morning’s rain left the air saturated with moisture. I felt like I was walking into some strange undiscovered jungle, with flowers bursting into bloom around every corner.

Flower in Batumi's Botanical Garden

I climbed the Garden’s hills higher and higher, following the signs that indicated the main route. Eventually, the lush trees and ferns fields parted and I looked out onto the foggy Black Sea.

The Black Sea

Every twist of the path pulled me deeper into the wild and dropped me in the middle of another ecosystem—seemingly every region of the world was represented. One minute, I was in a Japanese garden…

Japanese Mirror Garden…the next, I was wandering through a bamboo forest…

Bamboo Forest

…and eventually, I was deposited at a crumbly gate that stared out at the sea.

The Gate To The Sea

It was strange. The former grandeur was marred with graffiti; the sea itself was cut off by old winding train tracks. A view that could have been epic, revelatory—leaving the contained Botanical Garden to gaze at the sea—was instead circumscribed, cut off. I could see the main city in the shadowy blue distance, I could feel the heavy dark green leaves of the Garden hanging over me. All as I stood on train tracks, connecting the two. The juxtaposition of all these things was beautiful, somehow historical and alive at the same time.

Batumi from a distance

I chatted with some girls working at the Botanical Garden who were shocked when I told them I was from the USA—they had never seen an American tourist there. Well, my fellow Americans, you’re missing out. Batumi’s Botanical Garden is mysterious, lush, and simply stunning. It’s pure Eden.

10 Comments

  • solkoffphotography
    August 16, 2013 at 5:08 PM

    Awesome pictures. Keep it up!(:

    Reply
  • pollyheath
    August 17, 2013 at 12:27 AM

    This is seriously glorious. I kind of believe that the Black Sea/Caucasus region is one of the most wild, wonderful places in the world.

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      August 17, 2013 at 7:57 PM

      Thank you! I agree– the Caucasus and the Black Sea are really magical. Blew me away.

      Reply
  • Barbara G.
    August 17, 2013 at 5:14 PM

    Katrinka, Katrinka, I thinka your blog is fascinating. It’s a gift for my inbox.

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      August 17, 2013 at 7:56 PM

      Thank you so much Barbara, it really means a lot to me 🙂

      Reply
  • Katie
    August 20, 2013 at 10:48 AM

    There is a special place in my heart for botanical gardens and this one is just pure magic. I really hope I get to visit one day!

    Reply
  • Stefania
    August 21, 2013 at 9:42 PM

    I love the picture of the Japanese mirror garden. I just recently discovered that in Padua, just half an hour away from my home, there is a botanical garden which is actually a UNESCO heritage site! Padua has plenty of things to see (like Cappella degli Scrovegni by Giotto), but this one escaped me! I must check it out!

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      August 21, 2013 at 11:26 PM

      That sounds amazing! Botanical gardens really can be wondrous. Also, regarding the mirror garden: I spent so much time trying to sound out Cyrillic or decode Georgian script that it actually tok me a minute to realize that the sign was in English, just upside-down!

      Reply
  • Wondernuts
    August 23, 2013 at 12:04 AM

    I really like the Japanese mirror photo. Very cute! At first I was like, “what is that writing?!!”

    Reply

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