Why this ride
304 km from Batumi to Batumi, about 6 h 08 of riding. On the way it passes Grigoleti, Imnati, Pitshora and Nabada.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Batumi day out · Nabada
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 304 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 08
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Batumi
Batumi is Georgia's seaside city, and it feels a little like three cities layered together. The old Black Sea port still has its cobbled streets and nineteenth-century buildings, the boulevard runs for miles along a pebbly beach, and behind it all rise the glassy towers of a recent building boom, some of them rather outlandish. Behind the city the Lesser Caucasus climbs steeply into green hills, and that backdrop is what makes the town interesting for riders.
Read the complete Batumi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Batumi is where the day begins. Next is Grigoleti.
2. Grigoleti
Grigoleti is a strip of pine woods and black sand on Georgia's Black Sea coast, squeezed between the sea and the great reed beds of Lake Paliastomi, a few kilometres north of the resort of Ureki and a short hop south of the port of Poti. It is a holiday place for Georgian families rather than foreign tourists, with guesthouses among the trees, wooden cafés and a beach that stretches as far as you can see. The sand here, and even more at Ureki, is dark and magnetic, full of iron-rich minerals washed down from the mountains, and locals swear it does wonders for aching joints. After a long day in the saddle feel free to test the theory.
Read the complete Grigoleti write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Grigoleti comes up about 60 km into the recorded legs. Next is Imnati.
3. Imnati
Imnati sits on the Kolkheti lowland, the flat, wet corner of western Georgia where the Rioni river reaches the Black Sea. The land here is marsh, reed bed and alder forest, laced with canals and small lakes, and it is one of the most important wetlands in the region, with a coastal national park that UNESCO recognised in 2021 for its Colchic rainforests and wetlands. Poti, ten kilometres away, is a port town of nearly fifty thousand people, with a harbour full of cranes and a quiet old centre.
Read the complete Imnati write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 72 km into the recorded legs you reach Imnati. Next is Pitshora.
4. Pitshora
Close to the Black Sea coast of western Georgia, north of the port city of Poti, the land dissolves into marsh. This is the Colchic lowland, where the Rioni and smaller rivers have built a wide plain of peat bogs, alder swamps and lakes, and Pitshora is one of the wetland areas protected here as part of the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands World Heritage site, listed in 2021. The rains are heavy, the air is warm and humid, and the vegetation is lush in a way that feels almost tropical, surprising if you think of the Caucasus as dry mountains.
Read the complete Pitshora write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pitshora, about halfway. Next is Nabada.
5. Nabada
Georgia's Black Sea coast has a wet, green corner that few people think of when they think of the Caucasus. The Rioni river, the ancient Phasis of the Greeks, empties into the sea here, and around its mouth lies the Kolkheti lowland, a flat, humid country of alder swamp, peat bog, reedbeds and shallow lakes. Lake Paliastomi lies just south of Poti, and the Colchic rainforests and wetlands, listed by UNESCO in 2021, preserve a remnant of the forests that once covered the whole plain. This is the land of Colchis, where the Argonauts came for the Golden Fleece, according to the myth, and on a misty morning with the trees draped in lianas it is easy to believe in it.
Read the complete Nabada write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nabada sits at 103 km, about halfway. Next is back through Pitshora.
6. back through Pitshora
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pitshora write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pitshora comes up about 194 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Imnati.
7. back through Imnati
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Imnati write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 232 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Imnati. Next is back through Grigoleti.
8. back through Grigoleti
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Grigoleti write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Grigoleti, late in the day. Next is Batumi.
9. Batumi
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Batumi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 304 km.
Leg by leg
Batumi to Grigoleti
Batumi → Grigoleti is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Grigoleti to Imnati
Grigoleti → Imnati is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Imnati to Pitshora
Imnati → Pitshora is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pitshora to Nabada
Pitshora → Nabada is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Nabada to back through Pitshora
Nabada → back through Pitshora is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pitshora to back through Imnati
back through Pitshora → back through Imnati is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Imnati to back through Grigoleti
back through Imnati → back through Grigoleti is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Grigoleti to Batumi
back through Grigoleti → Batumi is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.