All of Mountain Adjara in One Day: Day Trip from Batumi with a Georgian Feast

We pick you up from stops near hotels; the address comes the evening before.

The first stop, 20 km from Batumi. The Chorokhi comes from Turkey, the Adzharistskali runs down from the Adjara mountains, and where they meet you can see the water of the two rivers is a different color.

Across the road from the confluence, behind the trees - easy to drive past. A few steps up and you see a cascade over rock and moss. Locals call it Kibura, after the mountain above it.

The highest waterfall of the trip, at least 30 meters of sheer rock. A short climb over stones leads from the platform to the pool. By the road people sell churchkhela (walnuts in grape juice) and homemade wine.

A stone arch over the Adzharistskali, about 6 m above the water, with no railings. The bridge is medieval; it carries Queen Tamar's name by local tradition. You can walk across to the other bank.

A footbridge on cables near the village of Mirveti. The deck sways a little under your steps, so hold children by the hand.

A waterfall about 20 m high, tucked into a gorge behind the village. The path runs through a boxwood forest, the climb is easy. It is quieter here than at Makhuntseti: there are no stalls.

A small stone bridge from the 11th-13th centuries, its arch resting straight on the rock. This road once led to Tao-Klarjeti (old Georgian lands, now in Turkey).

Lunch in a mountain village at a shared table: khachapuri, lobio, pkhali (greens with walnuts), trout, wine and chacha (grape vodka). Performers sing and dance in national costume; you can try the costume on and join the dance.

A viewpoint above the gorge. Machakhela has been a national park since 2012, its slopes covered with chestnut and beech forest. The upper part of the gorge has been in Turkey since 1921.

The water steps down the rock like a staircase. The waterfall is right by the road in the Machakhela valley, no long walk needed.

The longest stone arch of the day: almost 20 m from support to support, the vault 5.3 m above the river. One end of the bridge is set straight into the cliff.

A reinforced concrete gun emplacement from the Second World War in the village of Skurdidi, with cramped rooms for soldiers and ammunition. A short stop for anyone interested in military history.

A narrow waterfall on the side of the Machakhela Gorge. We do not stop here: you see it from the window on the way to the suspension bridge.

A footbridge on cables over the Machakhlistskali, not far from Gvara Fortress. The wooden deck sways, so we cross one at a time and hold on to the cable.

A sculpture of a rifle by the river. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the villages of the gorge made rifles valued across the whole area, and almost every village had a workshop.

The last stop: a fortress on a rock up to 50 m above the Machakhela River. From the top you see the gorges meet, and in the evening the light is softer - the best time for photos.