The Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands, being a distinct Floral WHS, never appealed to me much. Still, it was a shoo-in in 2021 as IUCN easily confirmed its global significance (“one of the two most important refuge areas of Arcto-Tertiary geoflora in western Eurasia”; the Hyrcanian Forests are the other one) and was also happy with the site management. I visited the same location as several other reviewers, Mtirala National Park, but happened to do so on a sunny day in May, with the rhododendrons in full bloom.

The road leading up to the park is a winding one, with often no room for cars to pass each other. There are villages and houses everywhere. The Mtirala River flows fast amidst the dense forest landscape. 

My driver (Giga from Gotrip.ge, who spoke good English) knew the area well as he grew up there. We parked at the end of the road and he sent me off to my hike. The guy managing the ropeway across the river now asks for 4 GEL for his services, which hopefully covers keeping the ropes in good shape, as all the effort getting to the other side is done by the passenger him/herself by turning a wheel. You have to keep on turning until you are at the landing station and hear a click.

The hike to the lake and waterfall starts going left from there, and across a small wooden bridge (some signage would be helpful here). After about 20 minutes, you arrive at a crossroads where you can choose between going to the lake or the waterfall (you can also do a loop along both). Beforehand, I had worried a bit about the difficulty of the hike, but the path is fairly easy when the weather is dry (it will be muddy and slippery after rainfall). The trail also is not long: from the crossroads, it’s only 1.5km to the waterfall (uphill) and 700m to the lake (downhill). 

As I was feeling lazy, I only went to the lake. I took my time, enjoying the spectacle the blooming rhododendrons provided. These plants are one of the key distinguishing plants of the Colchic Rainforests and a feature that sets it apart from the otherwise similar Hyrcanian Forests – 5 different species (labelled "highly charismatic" in the nomination file) can be found at the site. Many birds can also be heard, but I found it hard to spot, let alone photograph them, since the foliage was so thick.

As pretty as the landscape was, I still have to deduct some points for the lack of UNESCO WH information (no hint at all it’s a WHS), the limited accessibility to most of the 7 locations, and the noisy activities (quad riding, zip line) occurring right at the border of the core zone of Mtirala.