Lagodekhi Protected Areas, National park in Lagodekhi, Georgia

Lagodekhi Protected Areas is a conservation zone on the southern slopes of the Caucasus in the community of Lagodekhi, Georgia, spanning more than 24,000 hectares and rising from around 600 to 3,500 meters above sea level. The landscape changes quickly from dense deciduous forests in the valleys to open high meadows with rock formations and snowfields.

The reserve was created in 1912 and became the first of its kind in Georgia, set up to protect the untouched forests and wildlife from logging and hunting. Over the following decades authorities expanded the protected area several times to include more valleys and higher elevations.

The name Lagodekhi comes from the village at the reserve entrance, not from a Georgian word for lake. The Polish naturalist Ludwik Młokosiewicz, who lived on a forest cottage farm from 1867, discovered more than 60 species here and sent specimens to collections abroad. A local Mlokosevich Society and an advisory board with Lagodekhi Municipality representatives and local guides now take part in managing the protected areas.

The visitor center offers maps and information about five marked hiking trails that take anywhere from a few hours to a full day depending on the route. Some paths lead to waterfalls and high mountain lakes that may be hard to reach in spring due to snowmelt or mud.

In the upper reaches rhododendron bushes grow in large numbers and bloom in early summer, turning the slopes pink. Some valleys hold centuries-old yew trees whose twisted trunks are among the oldest living trees in the region.