Tusheti National Park
Georgia · Europe
About
The Tusheti National Park (Georgian: თუშეთის ეროვნული პარკი) in eastern Georgia is one of the eight new protected areas approved by Parliament of Georgia on 22 April 2003.
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the World Bank were part of this approval process under the "Georgia – Protected Areas Development Project". Plants conserved in the park are pine groves (Pinus sylvestris) and birch groves (Betula pubescens and Betula raddeana).
The Tusheti Protected Areas includes Tusheti National Park, Tusheti Protected Landscape and Tusheti Strict Nature Reserve with total protected area about 113,660.2 ha.
The key faunal species in the park are the Anatolian leopard (Panthera pardus ambornii), bear, chamois, falcon, golden eagle, lammergeyer, lynx, wild goat and wolf. The park was named one of the "12 best places you’ve never heard of" by BudgetTravel in 2011 not only for its rich biodiversity but also for its aesthetic terrain, hamlets, old defense towers, cuisine, and folk culture.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.