The land known as Nigal first appears as one of the districts of Colchis in the 7th-century Armenian geography attributed to Ananias of Shirak.

[3] The early 18th-century Georgian scholar Prince Vakhushti refers to it as Ligani and locates the district on either bank of the Chorokhi as far as Art'vani (now Artvin).

[7] In 1878, Nigali was part of the territory ceded by the Ottomans to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Berlin.

The Georgian-speaking element is still present in this area, but knowledge of the Georgian language is weakening among the younger generation.

[9][10] The Georgian portion consists of only 9 villages administered as part of the Khelvachauri Municipality of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara.