From the Military Road we took the shortest possible route to get to Lechuri, where the tarmac ends and a 60km long dangerous road over the Abano pass with 2,826 metres starts. The route from Ananuri at the Military Road via Tianeti to Achmeti and finally to Lechuri was a nice route through the lower …
Further north to the Russian border, near the tiny village of Gveleti, lies a valley known for its waterfalls but also the biodiversity of its fauna. October might not be the perfect month to spot many flowers, but we did our best. Near Stepanzminda we had spent the nights next to a pool, which is …
From the townlet of Stepanzminda, we climbed up to the famous Gergeti Trinity Church, lying on a hill in front of Mount Kazbegi. There is a road leading up and taxi drivers wait at the main square to drive you, but we wanted the experience of hiking up. We chose a longer but not so …
Besides the spectacular mountains, Truso valley is also interesting because of the peculiar travertine formations, mineral springs and a mineral lake, which are a sign of vulcanism in this region. We had spent the night at the beginning of the hike and started early, which allowed us to enjoy the valley all alone. We had a …
On the way north we first visited the church of Samtavisi and then reached the Military road, leading from Tbilisi north to the Russian border. We came past the castle of Ananuri and the skiing resort of Gudauri, with the Georgian-Russian friendship monument, before we crossed the Jvari pass with 2,379 metres. We ended south …
East of Gori lies the ancient rock-hewn town of Uplistsikhe, meaning “the lord’s fortress”. Built on a high rocky bank of the Mtkvari River, it contains various structures dating from the Early Iron Age to the Late Middle Ages. When we arrived it was sunny but soon clouds moved in and a cold wind made us cover up as …
When we arrived at Gori, the native town of Stalin, we were first invited into a Turkish shop for tea, but finally we made it to the bizarre museum. How would the world look like, if this man, and some others too, had not been able to cause so much harm? Hard to tell. Probably …
North of Kutaisi, we wanted to visit a canyon cut into the karst mountains, before we were on our way back to Kutaisi and taking the highway to Tbilisi, where we came past Chinese roadworks. The hike starts at the Okatse Canyon visitor center in Gordi village, where you get your tickets. From there, a 2 km …
Tsqaltubo is known for its radon-carbonate mineral springs, whose natural temperature of 33–35 °C enables the water to be used without preliminary heating for balneotherapies. The “Spring No. 6”, the largest thermal bath and still open, was built in 1950 exclusively for Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union at the time. The spa was especially popular in the Soviet era, attracting around …
After spending the night at a lake near Nikortsminda, we were ready for our first Georgian church. But on the way to Kutaisi we had to stop at another important monastery and at Kutaisi we parked next to the cathedral – more than 3 churches in a row – we expect that this is just …
