Samtskhe-Javakheti, Mtkvari gorge

Borjomi

The spa town in the forest, with a national park at the door.

Best time: All year; greenest from May to October, snowy and quiet in winter.
From Tbilisi: 2 h 30 min, 160 km

Borjomi is a 19th-century resort town in a narrow, wooded gorge of the Mtkvari river, famous across the former Soviet Union for its mineral water. The Central Park with the warm spring, the old pavilions and the cable car are a short walk from any hotel.

It is two and a half hours from Tbilisi and the natural base for the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, the ski resort of Bakuriani thirty kilometres up the mountain, and the cave monastery of Vardzia two hours further south.

Don't miss

Central Park
Drink the water at the source, walk up the gorge to the hot pools, ride the cable car to the plateau.
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
Marked trails from a few hours to several days through one of Europe's largest protected forests.
Bakuriani
The family ski resort at 1,700 m, thirty minutes away through the pines.
Vardzia
The 12th-century cave city carved into a cliff above the Mtkvari, a full day trip.