Batumi is known for a lot of things, but arguably its botanical gardens are one of the highlights more people know about than anything else. Opened in 1912, this sliver of heaven on earth is well over a hundred years old, and the advantages of that for a botanical garden full of trees that are supposed to grow over time is clear. It was one of the greenest adventures of mine to date, so join me now, as we go over this wonderful day trip through some of the finest photographs I could take during this journey of mine.
Simply by taking the bus number 10/10a from Batumi, you can find yourself at the entrance of the Batumi Botanical Gardens. This whole area is as green as it gets, and to make things even better, there is a very busy railroad that you need to cross to get into the park proper. If you are lucky like us, you can see a train pass by, and to see that locomotive come out of the tunnel and pass through all those trees was certainly a sight to behold.
The said railroad actually crosses the entire length of the botanical garden, which means that you can sometimes hear or see the trains as they go up and down this track. These are usually older cargo trains, and their speed seems to be reduced on purpose so as to create as little annoyance to the nature and people around as possible. This whole area is known as the Green Cape, and I think you can figure out why by this photo above.
The botanical garden is home to a ton of flora, though that is nothing to be surprised about. There are flowers and trees from all parts of our globe, and some are grouped together for your convenience. I have never been really into botany myself, so I am uncultured when it comes to these lovely “greens,” but you can browse through what mother nature offers to your heart’s content, after paying the rather steep 20 GEL entry fee at the time of writing this article.
Though I would be more than okay with just a simple path to follow that was lined with pretty trees from faraway countries, Batumi Botanical Garden goes a few steps further and gives you all sorts of these odd buildings and structures that are scattered around as well. Some used to be greenhouses back in the Soviet period, some seems to be remains of villas from the Tsarist era, and some are recreational spaces to add more variety to your walk.
This little Japanese garden is a good example to what I was talking about. We could not go here at the right time when the water would be fully of lily pads, nevertheless, seeing all the colourful fish enjoying their morning swim was an enjoyable experience on its own. Small bamboo bridges and a few “shrines” to look at does not hurt as well.
A “bridge” made out of a tulip tree is one of the highlights of this fascinating place. I have no idea how it was put into that position or if it occurred naturally by some chance but regardless of the reasoning, being able go across a small creek by going over a tree was a special feeling to say the least.
Just as I was wondering about it, I saw this small gathering space for a wedding ceremony. I mean, the whole park is beautiful, it was quite romantic as well, and you are often surrounded by couples, so it makes sense that there is a possibility to be married in this wonderful place. Later on, I would find out that you can even get married in a hall in the Prometheus Cave, so I suppose Georgians love making use of these natural wonders to get married in. I can only support such ingenuity.
Though neither I nor my mother had anything particularly bad to say about the walk itself, I must warn you that it takes a long time to go up and down the whole track, and there are some stairs to deal with on some routes. For those who are concerned about walking too much, there are electric cars that ferry folks around.
After sending our love and prayers to the botanist Andrey Nikolayevich Krasnov, the fine specimen you can see sculptured in this photo, we said goodbye to his crowning achievement to merrily go back to our apartment in town. This was not just a very accessible day trip from Batumi, but also one that is a must go regardless of what you may think about nature. This is such a finely planned out and properly looked after garden that I am sure anyone would find something to enjoy about it, so much so that the entry fee will start to make sense for most as you find more and more things you like about the time you spend in this green jewel of the Pontic coast.