Macahel: Türkiye’s Biosphere Reserve on the Georgian Border

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1. What is Macahel (Camili Basin)?
2. How do you get to Macahel (Camili Basin)?
3. When is the best time to visit Macahel (Camili Basin)?
4. What is the history of Macahel (Camili Basin)?
5. What is Macahel (Camili Basin) famous for?
6. What can you do at Macahel (Camili Basin)?
7. Frequently asked questions about Macahel (Camili Basin)
8. What do the official records say about Macahel (Camili Basin)?

What is Macahel (Camili Basin)?

Macahel is the local name for the Camili basin, a deep, forested valley in the Borçka district of Artvin, right on the border with Georgia. Six villages, Uğur, Düzenli, Camili, Kayalar, Efeler and Maral, are spread across its slopes, with wooden houses, beehives and small fields cleared from the forest.

In 2005 the basin was designated a biosphere reserve under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere programme, and it is described as Türkiye’s only biosphere reserve. Biosphere reserves are not wilderness parks: they recognise places where people live and work in a way that keeps the landscape healthy. In Macahel that means forest, mountain pasture, traditional farming and, above all, bees.

How do you get to Macahel (Camili Basin)?

The gateway is Borçka, on the main road between Hopa on the Black Sea coast and Artvin city. From Borçka a mountain road climbs east through the forest to the Camili basin; the turn-off for Borçka Karagöl is on the same route, so the two are easily combined.

The nearest airport is Rize–Artvin at Pazar, about an hour’s drive from Hopa; Batumi in Georgia is also close via the Sarp border crossing, although there is no border crossing in Macahel itself. The road is narrow and winding in places, so allow plenty of time and use a car or a local driver.

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When is the best time to visit Macahel (Camili Basin)?

June to October is the season. Early summer is green, with full streams and the Maral waterfall at its strongest. In August the valley celebrates its bees: the inventory lists a Macahel Caucasian bee and honey festival in Borçka in mid-August. October brings autumn colour to the forest. In winter the basin is snowy and the road can be difficult, so check conditions before going.

What is the history of Macahel (Camili Basin)?

Macahel belongs to the old borderlands of the Georgian world. Its name echoes that of the Machakhela valley on the Georgian side, and like the rest of Artvin it passed between Georgian, Ottoman and Russian rule before the border was fixed in 1921.

The villages’ mosques show their Ottoman-era past. The Camili Mosque dates from 1855. The İremit Mosque in Maral village, built in 1851, is a wooden mosque decorated inside with colourful motifs painted with natural dyes.

On 29 June 2005 Türkiye’s national coordination council for UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere programme declared the Camili basin a biosphere reserve. Since then the basin has become a destination for eco-tourism, camping and cultural trips.

Borçka, the district town at the entrance to the valley, also has a place in Türkiye’s farming history: the law of 1924 that launched tea growing in the country named Rize and Borçka as the areas where tea, hazelnut and citrus cultivation were to be developed, with state nurseries handing out saplings free of charge.

What is Macahel (Camili Basin) famous for?

• The Caucasian honeybee. Macahel is known for its pure population of Caucasian bees, a gentle, long-tongued bee prized by beekeepers, and for the honey they produce.
• Biodiversity. 990 plant species have been recorded in the basin, 23 of them endemic.
• Wooden mosques. Village mosques of timber, with painted interiors, from the mid-19th century.
• Maral waterfall. Described as the jewel of the basin.

What can you do at Macahel (Camili Basin)?

See the Maral waterfall. Near the village of Maral, the waterfall drops through the forest and is the basin’s best-known natural sight.

Visit the wooden mosques. The İremit Mosque in Maral (1851), with its painted interior, and the Camili Mosque (1855) show the woodworking traditions of the region. Visit outside prayer times and dress modestly.

Walk between the villages. Footpaths and forest roads link the six villages, passing beehives, hay meadows and wooden houses.

Buy honey. Honey from the Caucasian bees of Macahel is the souvenir to take home; buy it from local producers.

Camp or stay overnight. The basin has become a popular route for camping and eco-trips; staying the night lets you see the valley at dawn and dusk, when it is at its quietest.

Respect the reserve. Macahel is a lived-in landscape. Keep to paths through hay meadows, keep a distance from hives, take rubbish away with you, and ask before photographing people or homes.

Frequently asked questions about Macahel (Camili Basin)

What do the official records say about Macahel (Camili Basin)?

The 2002 inventory, written three years before the biosphere designation, records the Macahel Caucasian Bee and Honey Festival, held in Borçka on 13–20 August, among Artvin’s local events. Of the wider mountain region it says:

The Eastern Black Sea Mountains gain the status of an Important Bird Area with their populations of bearded vulture (20 pairs), griffon vulture (20 pairs), black vulture (10 pairs), golden eagle (10 pairs), Caucasian black grouse (the whole Turkish population is found within this Important Bird Area) and Caspian snowcock. The Eastern Black Sea Mountains are the only area in Türkiye to gain Important Bird Area status because it represents the Eurasian high-mountain (alpine) biome. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Artvin Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)