In the center of Tbilisi tourists are welcomed by the Tbilisi Botanical Garden located in the Narikala fortress. It occupies an area of 161 hectares and is the National Botanical Garden of Georgia. The Garden obtains a collection of almost 4.500 taxonomic groups.
The Botanical Garden has two entrances: one is from the top of Narikala fortress, you can reach there by Aerial tram from Rike Park. The second is from Abanotubani, which is right behind the Tbilisi Mosque.
In case heights don’t frighten you, you will have a special chance to take a spectacular view to Tbilisi canal approaching the edge of parking situated at the main entrance gates.
This Garden has a history of more than three centuries. The first records of its existence were made in 1671, by the French traveler Jean Chardin. It was referred as royal gardens and was probably founded in 1625. The Gardens was also known as “fortress gardens” or “Seidabad gardens” in history.
Later, the gardens are remembered in the notes by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1701) and on the map of Tbilisi which was composed by Prince Vakhushti in 1735. The Garden suffered a lot during the Persian invasion in 1795 and was revived at the beginning of the 19th century and after that was called Tiflis Botanical Garden in 1845.