Artvin is a rugged mountain province in northeastern Turkey, bordered by Georgia to the east and the Black Sea coast to the north. The province shelters a remarkable concentration of medieval Georgian Orthodox churches and monasteries hidden in forested valleys, alongside the Çoruh River — one of the world's fastest-flowing rivers and a world-class whitewater rafting destination. Dense chestnut and pine forests cloak the slopes of the Kaçkar and Karçal mountain ranges, while high plateaus offer cool summer escapes and pastoral landscapes that have changed little in centuries.
Top attractions
The most popular and significant attractions in Artvin.
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1
Dolishane Monastery
Dolishane is a former Georgian monastery church dating to the medieval Bagratid period, when this valley belonged to the Georgian kingdom of Tao-Klarjeti. The stone structure has lost its roof and much of its interior decoration, but the carved facade reliefs and the basic outline of the domed church plan are still readable. Visitors reach it via a rural approach through Pirnallı village, with the building standing alone in farmland rather than inside any managed heritage site.
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2
Borçka Karagöl Natural Lake
Karagöl is a small lake formed behind a natural landslide dam, sitting inside forested terrain near Camili village in the Borçka district. It's part of the Karagöl-Sahara National Park area, known for dense Caucasian forest cover and a cooler microclimate than the Çoruh valley below. The lake itself is modest in size, and the appeal is the surrounding walking trails and forest rather than any built attraction at the water's edge.
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3
Çoruh River Rafting Corridor
The Çoruh is one of Turkey's fastest-flowing rivers, and the stretch through Yusufeli district has been a established whitewater rafting corridor for both domestic and international paddlers. Local operators run day trips launching from points around Yusufeli, with rapids graded from moderate to demanding depending on the section and the season's water levels. Dam construction has altered parts of the river's course in recent years, so operators route trips around the sections still runnable.
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4
Kafkasör Plateau
Kafkasör is a highland plateau above Artvin city, used as pasture for most of the year and as the site of the annual Artvin Kafkasör Festival in late June, which centers on traditional bull-wrestling (boğa güreşi) matches. Outside festival dates it functions as a quiet grazing plateau with open meadow and forest edges, reachable by road from the city below. The change in elevation from the Çoruh valley makes it noticeably cooler than Artvin itself.
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5
Tbeti (Tbet) Georgian Church
Tbeti was a major Georgian monastic church built under the Bagratid dynasty, once one of the more significant religious centers of Tao-Klarjeti before the border shifted and the site passed out of Georgian control. What remains today is a partial ruin near Cevizli village in Şavşat district, with sections of the walls and some carved stonework surviving above the modern village houses that have grown up around and even into parts of the old complex. The setting, wedged into a mountain valley, gives a sense of how remote this monastic network was even at its peak.
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6
Hatilla Valley National Park
Hatilla Valley National Park protects a steep, forested valley system near Artvin city, with the Hatilla stream cutting through mixed Caucasian forest and rising into higher alpine terrain. It's less developed for mass tourism than some other Turkish national parks, with hiking routes rather than paved viewpoints forming the main draw. The elevation range within the park means conditions can shift quickly from valley floor to higher trail sections.
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7
Ishan Monastery
Ishan is a tenth-century Georgian monastery church near Yusufeli, built during the Bagratid period and considered one of the better-preserved examples of Georgian ecclesiastical architecture in the region. Its most distinctive feature is a large dome supported on a drum with blind arcading, still substantially intact despite the church's exposure over the centuries. The surrounding monastic outbuildings are mostly gone, leaving the church itself as the visible structure on a hillside above İşhan village.
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8
Artvin Castle (Çoruh Kalesi)
Artvin Castle sits on a rocky outcrop above the old Çarşı district of Artvin city, overlooking the Çoruh river gorge below. Its exact founding date is debated among sources spanning Byzantine and later periods, but what survives today is a partial ruin of walls rather than a complete fortress. The main reason to climb up is less the ruin itself and more the position it occupies above the town and gorge.
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9
Macahel (Camili) Biosphere Reserve
Camili is a cluster of villages tucked into a valley near the Georgian border, and it's one of only a handful of UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserves in Turkey. The draw is the temperate rainforest itself: old-growth chestnut and fir forest kept intact partly because the area's economy runs on traditional forest beekeeping rather than logging. Walking the village paths, you pass wooden hives stacked along the slopes and get a sense of a landscape shaped by people working with the forest rather than clearing it.
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10
Karagöl-Sahara National Park
Centred on Karagöl, a still, forest-ringed lake formed behind a landslide dam, this national park in the hills above Şavşat is one of the quieter alpine escapes in Artvin province. Spruce and fir close in right to the shoreline, and a loop path around the lake makes it an easy, self-contained walk rather than a serious trek. It's a good half-day stop if you want scenery without committing to a longer Kaçkar hike.
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Practical information
What you need to know before you go.
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Tips for visiting attractions
Make the most of your sightseeing time.
Visit popular attractions early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid crowds and harsh midday light.
Book tickets online in advance for major attractions to skip long queues and sometimes save money.
Many cities offer multi-attraction passes that include public transport. Calculate whether they save you money based on your itinerary.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit to visit the Georgian churches?
No permit is required. Most Georgian churches in Artvin are open access; a few (Dolishane, Ishan) may be locked — ask in the nearest village for the key holder (muhtar or local caretaker).
Is Artvin suitable for non-hikers?
Yes. Many top sites — Borçka Karagöl, Kafkasör Plateau, Borçka Dam, Artvin Castle — require minimal walking. However, a car is strongly recommended as public transport to most attractions is infrequent.
Is it possible to cross to Georgia from Artvin?
Yes. The Sarp border crossing near Hopa is open 24 hours. Check current Georgian visa requirements at mfa.gov.ge. Hopa is 75 km from Artvin city by dolmuş or bus.