Photo: Dosseman (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source Artvin is one of the most mountainous and greenest provinces of the Black Sea region, bringing together the 10th-century Georgian monasteries of İşhan, Dörtkilise, Barhal and Tbeti on the steep slopes of the Çoruh valley, Camili, Türkiye's first UNESCO biosphere reserve, the Karagöl and Hatila national parks, the Yusufeli slopes of the Kaçkars and the Kafkasör bull wrestling.
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19 places worth seeing in Artvin, from historic monuments to natural wonders, grouped by type. Open any of them on the map with a single click.
Photo: Dosseman (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source Known locally as Livane Castle, it was built in 937 by the Georgian king Ashot the Great and controlled the approach to the town and traffic along the Çoruh. It was repaired and enlarged in the Ottoman period, restored in 2004 and opened to visitors with floodlighting in 2012.
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Photo: Bertramz (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Source A castle-town in Ardanuç, the capital of Klarjeti; it goes back to the time of the Georgian king Vakhtang Gorgasali (5th century), was refounded in the 9th century by Ashot I Kuropalates and passed to the Ottomans in 1551. The 220-metre-long castle stands on a giant block of rock.
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Photo: Sairzamanlar (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source The most important historic building in the town of Şavşat; it is attributed to Adarnase I of Iberia (d. 923). The nearby 9th–10th-century Satle Church is largely standing.
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Photo: Partridgebirdie (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A Georgian monastery in the village of İşhan in Yusufeli; it was founded in the 9th century by the monk Saba on the site of a 7th-century church and renovated in 1032 by the architect Ivane Morchaisdze. One of the five episcopal seats of the Çoruh basin, it is among the masterpieces of Tao-Klarjeti with its dome and relief-decorated façades.
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Photo: Volker Höhfeld (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A 10th-century Georgian monastery 5 km from the village of Tekkale in Yusufeli; its name is a translation of the Georgian Othta Eklesia ("four churches"). Its large basilica, decorated with rows of blind arches, is a counterpart of the Barhal Church.
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Photo: Scott Dexter (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Source The main church of the monastery in the village of Altıparmak in Yusufeli, built between 961 and 973 by the Georgian king David III; a three-aisled basilica measuring 28 × 19 metres, it is one of the best-preserved Georgian buildings in the region. It was converted into a mosque in 1677.
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Photo: Bertramz (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Source The main church of the Tbeti Monastery in the village of Cevizli in Şavşat; the first building was erected in the time of Ashot Kuhi (before 918) and enlarged in the 11th and 13th centuries. Although largely ruined, its cut-stone masonry is still impressive.
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Photo: bynyalcin (CC BY 3.0) · Source A forest-ringed highland pasture at an altitude of about 1,200 metres, 12 km from the city centre; it hosts the bull wrestling of the annual Kafkasör Culture, Tourism and Arts Festival.
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Photo: Seymark (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A narrow V-shaped valley, in places a canyon, 10 km from Artvin centre; slopes reach gradients of up to 100 per cent in places. It is a national park rich in wildlife, with more than 500 plant species and animals such as bears, wild goats and capercaillies.
View on mapA canyon 2.5 km long and in places 200 metres deep, at kilometre 25 of the Artvin–Ardanuç road, 7 km from Ardanuç; it was declared a nature park in 2018.
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Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · Source The national park in Şavşat has two parts: Karagöl, a landslide lake surrounded by spruce and pine forests 45 km north of the district, and the Sahara Plateau, 17 km away at 1,700–1,800 metres. The Meşeli fairy chimneys also lie within the park boundaries.
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Photo: Laz (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A two-part landslide lake 25–27 km from Borçka, within the Borçka Lake Nature Park established in 2002. Wooden walkways have been laid around its shores.
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Photo: Leplebi (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A 27,152-hectare basin covering Camili and the surrounding villages on the Georgian border in Borçka; it was declared Türkiye's first biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2005. Sixty-five per cent of the area is forest, 990 plant taxa have been recorded, and it is the habitat of the Caucasian bee. In 1921, 12 of Macahel's villages were left in Georgia and 6 in Türkiye.
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Photo: Enverkaranfil (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source Within the Camili Biosphere Reserve, a waterfall that drops 63 metres in a single step on the Maral Stream in the Karçal Mountains; it is 55 km from Borçka and 90 km from Artvin.
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Photo: Yenertan (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source Mount Kaçkar, at 3,937 metres, is the highest point of the north-eastern Anatolian mountains. The villages of Yaylalar (Hevek) and Olgunlar in Yusufeli are the starting points of the walking routes to the summit and the glacial lakes.
View on mapThe roughly 100-km stretch of the Çoruh within Yusufeli was one of the most challenging rafting and canoeing courses in Türkiye. Because dams have turned part of the river into a lake, rafting today takes place mostly at Barhal and on the remaining free-flowing sections of the Çoruh.
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Photo: Mehmet Ali Acar (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A 249-metre-high concrete arch dam on the Çoruh, on the Artvin–Erzurum road; it is the second highest dam in Türkiye and opened in 2012.
View on mapHopa, one of the centres of Laz culture, has wooden Laz mosques dating from the 19th century. The Sarp Border Gate, 15 km east of the district, opened in 1989 and is about 20 km from Batumi.
View on mapA coastal district famous for the Arhavi Culture and Arts Festival, held since 1973; to the south, highland pastures such as Agara, Soğuksu and Şenyurt rise to 2,000 metres.
View on mapArtvin lies in the far north-east of Türkiye, on the Georgian border, in the deep valley that the Çoruh River has cut between the Kaçkar and Karçal mountains. The provincial centre is built on a steep slope overlooking the Çoruh, at an altitude of about 500 metres; within a very short distance, between the 30-km coastal strip (Hopa and Arhavi) and 3,937-metre Mount Kaçkar, you find very different climates and vegetation.
In the Middle Ages this land was Tao-Klarjeti, the homeland of the Georgian Bagratid dynasty. The monasteries founded in the valleys between the 9th and 11th centuries — İşhan, Dörtkilise (Othta Eklesia) and Barhal (Parhali) in Yusufeli, and Tbeti in Şavşat — are among the finest examples of Georgian architecture. Artvin Castle was built in 937 by the Georgian king Ashot the Great, and Ardanuç was for a long time the capital of Klarjeti. The region came under Ottoman rule in the mid-16th century; after remaining under Russian administration from 1878 to 1921, it was joined to Türkiye by the Treaty of Moscow.
Today Artvin is known for Camili (Macahel), Türkiye’s first UNESCO biosphere reserve, its two national parks (Hatila Valley and Karagöl-Sahara), the giant dams on the Çoruh and the Kafkasör bull wrestling held every June.
Artvin centre is drier than the coast and its winters are colder. Averages for 1949–2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service:
| Month | Avg. high | Avg. low | Rainfall | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.4 °C | −0.1 °C | 85 mm | 13 |
| February | 8.4 °C | 0.5 °C | 72 mm | 13 |
| March | 12.5 °C | 3.0 °C | 61 mm | 14 |
| April | 18.0 °C | 7.3 °C | 53 mm | 13 |
| May | 21.9 °C | 11.2 °C | 54 mm | 14 |
| June | 24.3 °C | 14.4 °C | 48 mm | 13 |
| July | 25.9 °C | 17.0 °C | 32 mm | 8 |
| August | 26.5 °C | 17.3 °C | 29 mm | 8 |
| September | 24.0 °C | 14.3 °C | 39 mm | 9 |
| October | 19.7 °C | 10.3 °C | 61 mm | 11 |
| November | 13.5 °C | 5.8 °C | 75 mm | 11 |
| December | 8.0 °C | 1.9 °C | 87 mm | 12 |
The best time to visit is June to September. July and August are the driest months of the year; the highland roads are open and the Kaçkar treks take place in this period. The Kafkasör bull wrestling is held in late June or early July. In September and October the forests of the Çoruh valley take on autumn colours. In winter the roads up to the high plateaus and to Karagöl may be closed by snow.
By air: The nearest airport is Rize-Artvin Airport, built on land reclaimed from the sea in the Pazar district of Rize and opened in 2022. Havaş buses run from Artvin bus station to the airport via Borçka, Hopa and Arhavi in about 2.5 hours. Hopa is closer to the airport.
By road: Artvin connects to the Black Sea coast road via Hopa, to Erzurum via Yusufeli–Tortum, and to Ardahan via Şavşat–Yalnızçam. The Sarp Border Gate, 15 km east of Hopa, opens onto the Georgian city of Batumi (about 20 km); Turkish citizens may cross with an identity card alone.
Day 1 – Merkez: See Artvin Castle, then go up to the Kafkasör Plateau in the afternoon; follow with a short walk in Hatila Valley.
Day 2 – Şavşat and Ardanuç: In the morning, Cehennem Deresi Canyon and Ardanuç Castle in Ardanuç; in the afternoon, Tbeti Church and Karagöl in Şavşat.
Day 3 – Yusufeli: Drive down the Çoruh valley to Yusufeli and see the İşhan and Dörtkilise monasteries; after Barhal Church in the village of Altıparmak, continue up to the village of Yaylalar at the foot of the Kaçkars.
Extra day – Borçka and Macahel: Borçka Karagöl, the village of Camili and Maral Waterfall (about 90 km from Artvin, with part of the road narrow and winding).
Artvin cuisine is built on anchovies and corn on the coast and on butter, cheese and wheat inland. Products with a geographical indication include Hopa hamsili ekmeği (anchovy cornbread), Hopa Laz böreği (custard-filled pastry) and Borçka demir elması (Borçka iron apple). The honey produced around Camili and Hatila, habitats of the Caucasian bee, and Şavşat’s buttery keta (filled pastry) are also among the flavours worth trying.
Artvin province has 9 districts. Explore the places to visit, local dishes and transport in each one.
Hopa bread made with cornmeal and anchovies, with a registered geographical indication.
A sweet börek made by placing custard between layers of yufka, with a registered geographical indication.
Şavşat ketesi, a buttery pastry with a filling.
A local apple with a registered geographical indication, firm in texture and long-lasting.
The main stops are Artvin Castle, the Kafkasör Plateau, Hatila Valley, the churches of İşhan, Dörtkilise, Barhal and Tbeti, Ardanuç Castle and Cehennem Deresi Canyon, Şavşat Karagöl, Borçka Karagöl, the Camili Biosphere Reserve, Maral Waterfall and the Kaçkar Mountains.
Rize-Artvin Airport in the Pazar district of Rize. Havaş buses take about 2.5 hours from Artvin bus station to the airport.
The Kafkasör Culture, Tourism and Arts Festival is held every year in early summer (usually late June to early July) on the Kafkasör Plateau, 12 km from Artvin.
The Camili (Macahel) basin in Borçka was declared Türkiye's first biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2005; it is the habitat of the Caucasian bee.
In Yusufeli, İşhan Monastery, Dörtkilise and Barhal Church; in Şavşat, Tbeti Church and Satle Church; and the ruined church within Ardanuç Castle.
June to September is the best period. July and August are the driest months, and the highland roads are open.
The information in this guide has been compiled from and checked against the sources below (last checked: 7 October 2026). If you spot an error, please let us know.