Karagöl–Sahara National Park: Şavşat’s Lake and High Pastures

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1. What is Karagöl–Sahara National Park?
2. How do you get to Karagöl–Sahara National Park?
3. When is the best time to visit Karagöl–Sahara National Park?
4. What is the history of Karagöl–Sahara National Park?
5. What is Karagöl–Sahara National Park famous for?
6. What can you do at Karagöl–Sahara National Park?
7. Frequently asked questions about Karagöl–Sahara National Park
8. What do the official records say about Karagöl–Sahara National Park?

What is Karagöl–Sahara National Park?

Karagöl–Sahara National Park protects two separate pieces of the mountains around Şavşat, in the eastern part of Artvin province. The first is Şavşat Karagöl, a lake of 8–10 hectares in dense forest northeast of the town. The second is the Sahara plateau, a high, open pasture on the way to Ardahan. Together they cover 3,251 hectares at an average altitude of about 1,800 metres.

The name Sahara has nothing to do with deserts: here it is the name of a green, grassy plateau with cold springs, where the people of Şavşat bring their animals in summer. Karagöl, the “Black Lake”, takes its name, like its namesake at Borçka, from the dark colour of its water under the trees.

How do you get to Karagöl–Sahara National Park?

Şavşat is on the road from Artvin city to Ardahan. For Karagöl, head northeast from Şavşat on the mountain road; the 2002 inventory gives 30 km on an earth road, while more recent sources give about 45 km. Allow at least an hour, and travel by your own car, a hired vehicle or a local driver, as the inventory advised. The Sahara plateau is about 17 km from Şavşat on the Ardahan side.

The nearest airport is Rize–Artvin at Pazar, reached via Hopa, Borçka and Artvin. Coming from the east, Kars Airport is the alternative.

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When is the best time to visit Karagöl–Sahara National Park?

June to October is the season. July and August are best for the Sahara plateau, when the meadows are green and the plateau houses are in use. Karagöl is beautiful all summer, and in October the forest around it turns gold and red, which makes it a favourite for autumn photography. From late autumn to spring, snow often makes the roads impassable, though the frozen lake under snow has its own visitors when the road is open.

What is the history of Karagöl–Sahara National Park?

Both areas have long been part of the seasonal life of Şavşat: summer pastures, forest and water for the villages of the district. The 2002 inventory describes Sahara as one of Artvin’s important plateaus, with wide pastures and cold water, and lists the Şavşat Sahara festival among the province’s July events.

The two areas were declared a national park on 31 August 1994, the same day as Hatila Valley National Park near Artvin city and Kaçkar Mountains National Park. In 2002 the inventory noted that Karagöl had electricity and water and that the regional forestry directorate kept a rest building and a radio post there.

Şavşat itself has a long history. In the Middle Ages it lay in the Georgian lands of Tao-Klarjeti, and the inventory dates the town’s castle to the 9th-century Bagratid kingdom and the church at nearby Cevizli to 899–914. On that church, it notes, the ram’s-head reliefs and the ram’s-head statues on the roof suggest that the Bagratids felt sympathy for the Oğuz Turks, for whom the ram was sacred.

What is Karagöl–Sahara National Park famous for?

• Şavşat Karagöl. A dark forest lake in a mountain setting, especially photogenic in autumn.
• The Sahara plateau. Broad summer meadows with long views, still used for grazing.
• Wildlife. The inventory notes that the same wild animals as at Borçka Karagöl live in the forests around Şavşat: lynx, brown bear, wild goat, mountain fowl and birds of prey.

What can you do at Karagöl–Sahara National Park?

Walk around Karagöl. The lake and the forest around it are the park’s main attraction, good for an easy walk, a picnic and photography.

Spend a day on the Sahara plateau. The open meadows suit walking, and in summer you may meet families staying in their plateau houses.

Visit the Georgian churches of Şavşat. The Cevizli (Tbeti) church, 6 km northeast of Şavşat, was built in 899–914 by Ashot Kukh, whose tomb lies beside it. The inventory describes its cut-stone walls, cross plan and carvings, including a relief of Christ above the north windows and rams’ heads. The ruins of Köprülü church, 7 km northwest of Şavşat, are thought to have been the centre of the churches of the area.

See Şavşat Castle. Built in the 9th century by the Bagratid kingdom and later used by the Ottomans, the castle in Söğütlü quarter is abandoned, but most of its walls still stand.

Continue to the Arsiyan plateaus. The inventory lists the Arsiyan plateaus, running along the Georgian border southeast of Şavşat, among Artvin’s summer pastures.

Come prepared. Both parts of the park are well above 1,500 metres, so even in July bring warm clothing and rain gear. Fill the tank and buy supplies in Şavşat, and ask locally about the condition of the Karagöl road after heavy rain.

Frequently asked questions about Karagöl–Sahara National Park

What do the official records say about Karagöl–Sahara National Park?

Karagöl, 8–10 hectares in size, north-east of Şavşat district, can be reached by 30 km of earth road with private or hired vehicles. At Karagöl there is electricity and water, and the Regional Forestry Directorate’s rest building and radio are in service. In and around Şavşat, as at Borçka Karagöl, wild animals live.

The Sahara Plateau, between Şavşat and Ardahan, is one of the important plateaus of Artvin with its wide pastures and cold waters. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Artvin Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)