Top 12 Marvelous Things to Do in Zugdidi for a Day or Two

Samegrelo region in western Georgia is often overlooked by many travelers coming to the country. Most of them know Zugdidi, Samegrelo’s capital, as a quick stop to change transport for Mestia in Svaneti. However, there are exciting things to do in Zugdidi, so it’s worth spending a day or two here.

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Why visit zugdidi?

Samegrelo is famous for its untouched natural beauty, fairytale-like castle, delicious cuisine, Black Sea coastal towns with clearer water than in Batumi, mountain lakes, gorgeous waterfalls, and medieval ruined city that hardly sees any traveler, to name a few. Therefore, Zugdidi makes a great base to explore the wild and gorgeous nature.

Apart from this, the reason to visit Zugdidi is to admire the only European-style castle in Georgia and learn more about the Dadiani Dynasty. The family was one of the most powerful ones in Georgia over the centuries and was closely linked to Napoleon’s family.

How to get to Zugdidi

Getting to Zugdidi from Tbilisi or other towns of the country is no problem at all. There are daily marshrutkas and trains between the cities, so here are the most valuable means of public transport to take.

Tbilisi Zugdidi Train

The day train from Tbilisi to Zugdidi runs daily once a day. The ticket costs 16 GEL for the second-class carriage. Check the Georgian Railway website or Tkt.ge to check the availability, and timetable and purchase it online. The train takes around 6hr to get from Tbilisi to Zugdidi. Unfortunately, Georgian trains are not fast.

Tbilisi Zugdidi Marshrutka

Similar to the train, marshrutka from Tbilisi to Zugdidi runs daily but is more frequent than trains. If you opt-in for a minibus, get to the Didube Bus station at the Didube Metro stop and ask where Zugdidi vehicles stand. Once you find it, secure your seat, pay the driver, and wait until they depart. The journey takes around 3-4hr depending on the traffic.

Kutaisi Zugdidi Marshrutka

As we were on a route already, we took a marshrutka from Kutaisi to Zugdidi. Marshrutkas from Kutaisi to Zugdidi depart from the Central Bus Station near McDonald’s. The journey takes around two hours.

Where to stay in Zugdidi

Zugdidi has various accommodation types catering to all budgets. The most common place to stay in Zugdidi are homestays or guest houses. However, if this is not your preferred accommodation type, there are several hotels in Zugdidi too. Here are some of my favorite places to stay in Zugdidi.

Guesthouse: Casa de Khasia – my preferred stay in Zugdidi by far. The hosts are incredibly welcoming and friendly, while the house is centrally located and close to the city’s main attractions. There are various rooms for you to choose from, either with private or shared bathrooms. The breakfast is included in the room price, and the hostess prepares a delicious and filling meal to fuel you up. Moreover, they have a tiny museum showcasing the everyday items of Megrelians and how they lived centuries and decades ago.

Budget hotel: Garden Palace is an excellent option for those on the budget and prefers to stay in Zugdidi. With a terrace and a bar, the hotel offers a comfortable ambiance and plenty of outdoor seating areas for a nice meal or a cup of a beverage. The rooms of the hotel have all the necessary items.

Luxury: LETO Boutique Hotel Zugdidi – this luxurious hotel offers a spa and wellness center, a terrace, and a bar in the heart of Zugdidi. If you come here in summer, you can also enjoy a relaxing dip in its outdoor swimming pool. The rooms have air-conditioning, a kettle, minibar, and a safe for your valuables, to name a few.

Things to do in Zugdidi

Visit Dadiani Palace Museum

This fairytale-like castle belonged to the rulers of the Samegrelo region – the Dadian dynasty. Touring the grounds of the castle is one of the first things to do in Zugdidi. The current building was built at the beginning of the 19th century. Today, the area consists of this castle, a church, and a botanical garden.

Ekaterine Chavchavadze-Dadiani, the wife of Samegrelo ruler David Dadiani, decided to reconstruct the original palace in the 1860s. She hired a German architect who chose to include Gothic-style elements during the reconstruction, resulting in a present look.

Today, the palace hosts a museum showcasing the personal belongings of the dynasty as well as some of the rare finds of art, culture, and weaponry from Georgia and abroad.

Unfortunately, the visitors’ have access to the second floor of the palace only; the rest is closed.

You’ll find more than 4,000 items, including archeological finds, a numismatic collection of the family, historical death masks, handwritten documents, to name a few.

The museum houses two most essential items – a seamless robe of the Virgin Mary and Napoleon I death mask, brought to Georgia by Achille Murat, the son-in-law of David Daidiani.

Opening hours:   Every day 10am – 6pm; Closed on Mondays and official holidays

Entrance fee: 5 GEL for adults, 1 GEL for students

Stroll in Zugdidi Botanical Garden

Zugdidi Botanical Garden, located right next to the Dadiani Palace, is open any time of the day. You can walk around free of charge and enjoy a pleasant walk in nature. The garden is quite large and showcases various plants, trees, flowers, and bushes brought from worldwide.

David Dadiani created the garden for his wife, Ekaterine, and invited that-time famous gardener and florist Joseph Baban and Italian specialists.

Ekaterine has ordered the seeds and young plants from France, specifically from the gardens of Versailles. Sadly, Ottoman Commander Omar Pasha ordered to destroy the garden in 1856.

The princess managed to revive the original look of the garden. The plants and trees from India, Japan, and Italy are still preserved even today.

Overlook at Abkhazia from Rukhi Castle

One of the things to do in Zugdidi is to take a short trip outside of the city and visit the historic and strategically located Rukhi Castle. Nestled along the Patara Enguri river, it is very close to the border of Abkhazia, now occupied territory by Russia. Therefore, you can see part of the breakaway region by overlooking from the castle grounds.

Built during the Middle Ages by the Dadiani Family, the Rukhi fortress served as an important strategic location to develop trade routes in the Samegrelo region and protect it from the invaders.

A 10-12 meter high wall surrounded the castle. However, what you see today is far from its original state. Even though the majority of the remains of the castle are covered with a plant, it still is a fascinating historical landmark to see near Zugdidi.

How to get to Rukhi Castle

It would be best to take a local marshrutka that stops at the Zugdidi bazaar near Rustaveli Street. Once you get there, ask around for the exact location of the marshrutkas going to Rukhi village. The cost for one way ticket is 1 GEL. Tell the driver you are going to the castle, and they will drop you off nearby. On your way back to Zugdidi, please wait for it on the same spot it dropped you off.

Indulge in Megrelian cuisine at Diaroni

Each region of Georgia has its distinguished meals, making Georgian cuisine a very diverse one. Therefore, one of the things to do in Zugdidi is to try as many local meals as possible. And the best place to do so is in the Diaroni restaurant.

Megrelian cuisine is known for its hot and spicy dishes rich in aromas and flavors. Here’s my recommendation of those meals you need to try in Samegrelo:

Ghomi – a cornmeal dish and the staple of the region. To make this simple meal more appealing, you need to put slices of sulguni cheese, a salty mozzarella-like cheese inside, and let it melt inside.

Another version of Ghomi is topped with a mixture of nadughi (ricotta-like cheese) and the mint. It’s called Ghomi with Puchkholia cheese.

Elarji – this is my favorite version of Ghomi! The cheese is already melted during the preparation resulting in a very creamy, gooey, stretchy, and cheesy meal.

Kupati – a Georgian sausage and a very popular meal all over the country with a distinctive spicy flavor. It’s made either from beef, pork, or pig organs such as liver, lung, and spleen.

Gebzhalia – a cold cheese appetizer and another my favorite meal of the region. They make rolls from sulguni cheese filled with mint and put them in a sauce made from milk, nadughi, and sour cream. It’s simply divine!

Megruli Khachapuri – the local version of this pizza-like cheese pie includes extra cheese on top.

Kharcho – this meat and walnut stew is another staple you need to try in Zugdidi. Usually, both Ghomi and Elarji are the side dishes to Kharcho. The meal mostly calls for beef meat, but some places also make it with chicken. To eat it properly, dip Ghomi or Elarji in the stew and enjoy. Bon Appetit!

See the second tallest concrete arch dam in the world

One of the best things to do in Zugdidi is to take another short trip to Enguri Dam, a hydroelectric dam built on the Enguri River, and admire the world’s second tallest concrete arch dam.

The initial idea to build a hydroelectric dam belongs to the Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev, who wanted to construct it on the Bzyb River in Abkhazia, his favorite resort. The experts advised him against it. Apparently, building such massive construction on the river Bzyb would have had catastrophic effects and caused beach erosion. Therefore, they decided to make it on the Enguri River instead.

How to get to Enguri Dam

The best way to get to the Enguri Dam is by car as there is no direct public transport from Zugdidi to Enguri Dam. Another option is to get a taxi in Zugdidi to take you there. Or, if you are planning on visiting Mestia and have organized a private car transfer from Zugdidi to Mestia, ask the driver to make a short detour as the dam is on the way.

Alternatively, you can take a marshrutka from the bazaar on Rustaveli street towards Jvari and then take a taxi from there.

Enjoy a relaxing day at the Black Sea coast

Part of the Black Sea coast stretches to the Samegrelo region, where Anaklia and Ganmukhuri beaches are local favorites during the summer months.

Both beaches are pebble ones, located very close to Zugdidi. However, in terms of swimming, Ganmukhuri is the cleanest, as the River Enguri brings a bit of dirt when it connects to the Black Sea in Anaklia.

Admire the evolution of post bas-relief

Most of the people walk by this relief, not noticing its existence or not knowing the details. It’s pretty fascinating art to look at and admire how postal services developed over the years.

Placed on one side of the post office in Zugdidi a bit higher than the eye level, the bas-relief was created at the beginning of the 1980s. Commissioned to the workshop of famous sculptor Zurab Tsereteli, the relief showcases the evolution of the service across the world. The main idea of the creation was to popularize it in the region.

Find it at the interaction of Rustaveli street and Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze highway

Soak up local culture at Folk House

Are you looking for extraordinary things to do in Zugdidi? Then, make sure you book an appointment at Folk House.

Located at Tamar Mepe street (former Kirov st), it is home of Besik (Beso) Tchitanava, a self-taught and quite famous polyphony singer, embroiderer, chef, composer, and architect, to name a few. He has dedicated his life to sharing and preserving Megrelian traditions, which resulted in creating the Folk House over the years.

There is no best way to describe what Folk House is – it’s a little bit of everything that Besik does; it’s a small museum, studio, and a restaurant displaying various musical instruments, his embroidery, other ethnography items of the region, and other crafts.

Besik is a virtuoso and a great host who will sing Megrelian polyphony songs and teach you one on the spot, cook some meals in front of you and even let you participate, and tell you various stories, to name a few. There won’t be another table when you book lunch with him, so he devotes his full attention to you.

Apart from being a very talented person and a huge source of information about local customs and traditions, he has been a chef at French-Megrelian royal family, where he taught himself the French language. He is even a godfather of the princess. And if you are interested to learn more, he will be more than happy to tell you the story.

On our visit, we prepared Gebzhalia from scratch using a pre-historic method, two stones to grind the mint. “The origin of the blender,” he noted when showing us how to do it properly. Then, we made delicious lemonade and an effortless dessert called Beserti, a.k.a Beso’s dessert. However, this was not all; we had so much food that there was no space left on the table.

Besiki spreaks only Russian and French. You will need an interpretor for English.

Ask your hotel or guesthouse to call and make a booking.

Number to call: +995 577 743 414

Lunch menu starts from 35 GEL per person

Other things to do in Zugdidi to explore Samegrelo

As I mentioned earlier, the city makes a great base to take various day trips from Zugdidi to nearby exciting and unique places, be it historic buildings, cathedrals, national parks, or canyons. The best way to get to them is via car. Check out GoTrip to find a driver to take you from Zugdidi to any nearby location. Here are some of my recommendations:

Nokalakevi Archeological Museum-Reserve – a vast complex ruins and one of the best examples of ancient Georgian architecture. It is closely related to the history of the Egrisi Kingdom, the adoption of Christianity, and the legend of the Argonauts and Jason.

Martvili Canyon – the very famous canyon in Samegrelo and a popular day trip from Kutaisi. Known for its emerald green waters, the main attraction is to take a tour through beautiful scenery.

Poti – biggest post city of the country known for historic buildings, red lighthouse, soviet mosaics, and European architecture in some parts of the city. It also has closer access to Kolkheti National Park.

Kolkheti National Park – recently recognized as the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park is a jewel of the region created to protect and preserve migratory birds and wetland ecosystems.

→ Read my detailed post on things to do in Samegrelo

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