Why go
Mtirala—meaning 'weeping' in Georgian—earns its name from 4,500mm of annual rainfall that drenches one of Europe's wettest corners. This 15,806-hectare sanctuary in the Lesser Caucasus harbors relict Colchic rainforest, a botanical refuge that survived Ice Ages when glaciers scraped Europe bare. Here, Pontic rhododendrons tower like trees, lianas strangle ancient oaks, and the understory teems with 284 vertebrate species including brown bears, lynx, and the near-mythical Caucasian salamander. The park protects a living museum of Tertiary flora found almost nowhere else on Earth, while offering hikers the rare chance to pass from subtropical jungle to alpine meadows in a single day.