Bakuriani


Bakuriani is a daba and a skiing resort in the Borjomi district of Georgia. It is located on the northern slope of the Trialeti Range, at an elevation of 1,700 meters above sea level.

Geography

The region around Bakuriani is covered by coniferous forests. The resort lies from Borjomi and is located within the so-called Bakuriani Depression/caldera. The resort is connected with Borjomi by an electrified narrow-gauge railway. The present-day area of the town was built up by lava flows from the nearby Mukhera volcano.

Ski resort

The ski area of the resort is split into two separate parts: Didveli and Kokhta/Kokhta-Mitarbi. Mount Kokhta provides a maximum skiable altitude of, whereas the highest lift in Didveli reaches.
The first ski base was opened in 1932. From Bakuriani to Kokhtagori Mountain and Tskhratskaro Pass there are ski lifts, ski tramps. There is artificial snowfall on Didveli skiing routes.

Climate

The climate of Bakuriani is transitional from humid maritime to relatively humid continental. The winters are cold and experience significant snowfall while the summers are long and warm. Average annual temperature of the town is 4.3 degrees Celsius. The average temperature in January is -7.3 degrees Celsius while the average August temperature is 15 degrees Celsius. The annual precipitation is. The depth of snow from December to March is. Bakuriani is also home to the Botanical Garden of the Georgian Academy of Sciences.

People

It was the home town of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died during event training on the first day of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He lived in Bakuriani for much his life, and the street he lived on was named in his honor after his death. Georgia's flag-bearing athlete at the opening ceremony, alpine skier Iason Abramashvili, also resides there; he thought of withdrawing, but ultimately decided to compete to honor Kumaritashvili's memory.
The 37 km Borjomi-Bakuriani railway "Kukushka" uses 912 mm track gauge.
A few km south of Bakuriani lies the trajectory of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline.