We had found another National Park, where we wanted to go on a hike to explore the special vegetation of this area. Lagodekhi National Park is located in north-eastern Georgia on the southern slopes of the Caucasus and at the border to Azerbaijan and Dagestan. It was originally protected in 1912, under the Russian Empire, as the first nature reserve in Georgia. We decided on the hike to the ruins of Matchi castle, as we had found a perfect place for the night just where the hike starts.
Eurasian lynx, grey wolf and brown bear live in this area, we only met other hikers, mushroom gatherers and of course the border police, as the hike leads directly along the border. We enjoyed the Oriental hornbeam and maple forest, and many lovely little mushrooms we noticed along the way.
We had a great hike through this beautiful forest, which took us about 4.5 hours. If you go there, take your passport, as you will come past a camp of the border police, where you will get a permit. There are 2 more day hikes, which both lead to a waterfall or you could do a longer organised tour higher up into the mountains.
We are now on our way to Vashlovani National Park, but will stop at Signagi first, to explore this little town. More on our next post!