- Location: Khelvachauri Municipality (Machakhela gorge)
- Total area: 8.733 ha
- Distance from Batumi: 25 km
Machakhela National park (announced as a national park in 2012) is located in the gorge of the Machakhela River. Machakhela itself is a transboundary River between Georgia and Turkey.
Machakhela National park borders with Jamil Biosphere Reserve in Turkey thus creating favorable conditions for developing a transboundary cooperation.
Machakhela gorge is characterized by a unique variety of relict and endemic plants. Most of the territory of the gorge is occupied by the colchic type mixed forests with domination of beech. Dominant species are beech, chestnut, oak, spruce, etc. Among woody plants there are 13 species enlisted in the Red Book of Georgia. Machakhela national park is also rich in fauna.
Machakhela National Park is located within the administrative borders of the Khelvachauri and Keda municipalities in the Machakhela gorge. It has been created for the purposes of maintaining the unique biological and landscape diversity, protecting the Colchis forest ecosystems, and developing the ecological safety and tourist and recreational activities in natural environment.
The territory represents the part of the ecological corridor connecting Western Georgian protected areas (Mtirala National Park and Kintrishi Protected Areas) and North Turkish protected areas (Jamil Biosphere Reserve) with each other. It also has an important function in forming the network of protected areas in the western part of lesser Caucasus and development of transboundary conservation of Georgia -Turkey.
Caucasian bees, brown bears, Caspian snowcocks, Caucasian salamanders, yew, Chorokhi oak, rhododendron ungerii, Lazian iris can all be seen in the territory of Machakhela National Park. Protection of the local architectural and cultural heritage and organic agriculture is also important.
Useful link: Agency of Protected Areas