Lake Japana. The biggest staritsa (old river) in Georgia.
Nowadays, Lake Japana is used to breed different types of fish here. Not far from the lake there is an architectural monument – a fortress of the Middle Ages. The fortress is built on a hill with a beautiful view of the lake and its expanses. Not far from the fortress there are the remains of an ancient settlement.
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Staritsa (starorechye) is a winding segment of an old riverbed that has partially or completely separated from the river. The old ones arise when the river flow changes, but the old riverbed does not disappear completely, but by changing the outline of the banks, it turns into a meander lake.
Most of the meander lakes, as well as Lake Japana in the Gurian lowland, have the shape of a crescent.
The Japana meander lake (surface area – 1.17 sq.km, average depth – 3.7 m, water volume – 4.3 million cubic meters) has now been turned into a pond, which is used for fish breeding.
The word "jap" in Mengrelian means mulberry (mulberry tree), and "japana" is a place where mulberry trees grow. Mulberry trees were probably common in the village of Japana, the name of which was passed on to the lake.
On the territory of the village there are also lakes Didi Narionali and Patara Narionali (big staritsa and little staritsa).
Not far from Lake Japana there is a monument of Georgian architecture – a medieval fortress. The fortress was built on a rocky hill. At the highest point is the citadel, which is surrounded by a fence, reinforced with columns and towers. The walls are laid out "carpet-like" - of stone, brick and plaster mortar. Not far from the fortress, the remains of an ancient settlement have been preserved.
Location:
Lanchkhut municipality; Guri lowland; at an altitude of 13 m above sea level.
Coordinates:
№ 42⸰05'45''; Е 41⸰12'46''.
How to get:
Not far from the Samtredia-Makhinjauri railway, near Lake Japani, there is a highway of international significance – the Georgian highway C12, as well as a road of domestic significance Japana-Abasha. The distance from Tbilisi to the lake is 270 km, from Lanchkhuti – 12 km, from Kutaisi – 50 km.
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