Georgians unconditionally love their country and, discussing the reasons for this love, they, regardless of the region of their birth and residence, repeat in unison: “Georgia has everything: mountains and sea, architecture and vineyards.” Indeed, all natural diversity is concentrated in a relatively small area of the country (Georgia is 245 times smaller than Russia). Georgia consists of one city of national importance (of course, this is the magnificent Tbilisi), 9 regions and the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. I will tell you about my favorite regions that have been well studied over the months of traveling around Georgia.

Kartli, which is divided into Kvemo Kartli and Shida Kartli

The Kartli region is a must-visit for those interested in the history and culture of Georgia: the region is rich in ancient fortresses and temples, museums and art galleries. It is in Kartli that the active social, cultural and political life of Georgia is concentrated; it is the central and most densely populated region of the country. Capital Tbilisi(and this is 1,200,000 inhabitants) is located here, and in the Middle Ages the Georgian state began from here.

ride the Argo cable car, one of the longest in the world: 2600 meters of smooth ride above the city of Batumi with views of the green mountains and the Black Sea. At the top station there is a restaurant with live music and an area for the best selfies;
go to a concert in the new Concert Hall, built under Saakashvili. An elegant oriental-style building with fountains at the entrance is located very close to the sea. After the concert, you can walk to the city center (it will take an hour and a half). If Sukhishvili (the legendary Georgian folk dance ensemble) is performing during your trip to Batumi, be sure to buy a ticket;
go for one day to Sarpi beach, located on the border with Turkey. At least MTS, as soon as you find yourself in Sarpi, sends SMS “Welcome to Turkey”. The cleanest beach in Adjara with pebbles and turquoise clear water. There are a couple of cafes and shops on the shore; you can rent sun umbrellas and sun loungers. Spending the whole day here is wonderful; minibuses run regularly to Batumi. There is no point in staying here overnight: the settlement is small and almost always crowded with trucks and cars heading to Turkey. By the way, if you wish, you can look into a neighboring state;
eat khachapuri in Adjarian style. Of course, you need to try it in your homeland - in Adjara. The well-known “boat” of dough, filled with cheese and a fresh raw egg, can replace an entire lunch or dinner. There are specimens with five eggs! It’s better to take these for the whole company;

come to Batumi Boulevard, wide, spacious, illuminated. There is a new one and an old one, the construction of which began in 1881 with the participation of two German gardeners. The length of the boulevard is 7 kilometers, and surprises await you at every step. For example, dancing fountains. Or the monument to Ali and Nino (there’s a whole dramatic story about lovers who couldn’t be together because of religious issues). Or - attention! - the so-called Chacha Tower, or simply Chacha Tower. According to Saakashvili’s plan, real chacha was supposed to flow from the fountains near this tower (which is terribly reminiscent of a mosque). The idea was incredible, but it was not destined to come true. Attractions, benches, bars and all the light of Batumi - everyone walks along the boulevard in the evening. At any time you can go to the beach and continue your walk along the galley shore;
if you are traveling with a child, then you have a direct route to the Batumi Dolphinarium. I wasn’t there, but everyone was delighted. Performances take place in the morning and evening, last half an hour and cost from 15 GEL (6 USD). There is also the opportunity to swim with dolphins.

Samtskhe-Javakheti

In summer, the region is suitable for a relaxing holiday in nature, horseback riding and hiking routes in the surrounding mountains, rafting on the Kura River and the search for spiritual harmony. In winter, it is worth coming to Samtskhe-Javakheti for active recreation: from December to March there are ski resorts with excellent snow cover.

One of the southern regions of Georgia, lost in the green mountains (not as high as in Svaneti or Tusheti, but still), is famous for its air. Residents of many regions of the country admit that Samtskhe-Javakheti has the cleanest air.

Akhaltsikhe

The capital, Akhaltsikhe, is unremarkable. All guidebooks write about the Rabati fortress, but, as for me, there is nothing to do there. Rabati is a sparkling new fortress with a mosque, synagogue and temple outside the ramparts. Many people like it, but when you realize that the buildings are new, interest in the place fades. By the way, the name of the city of Akhaltsikhe literally translates as “new fortress,” so everything turned out very logical.

Vardzia

Vardzia- this is where you need to go! A cave city-monastery of the 12th century with a church and frescoes of that time at an altitude of 1300 meters above sea level (in the fall of 2016 the frescoes were damaged in a fire, but let’s hope that experts will be able to preserve them at least partially), where the monks now live.

The road to Vardzia also deserves attention: the ribbon of the Kura winds below (in Georgian - Mtkvari), there are vineyards and picturesque villages with the purest springs and mulberry vodka for sale. If you are traveling to Vardzia from (and, most likely, this will be the case), along the way, visit the Green Monastery, one of the oldest monasteries in Georgia. A road of wondrous beauty leads to the monastery (and it is good both in summer and winter). The monastery itself is a quiet place with a small 9th century temple, a chapel, a spring of holy water and a cool river nearby. There is another room where the skulls of monks who died defending the monastery from the Ottomans are kept.

is a nice little town that you can spend a day or even two exploring if you're not in a rush. What to do here?

take a ride on the cable car and descend from there to the city on foot: the winding road runs through a coniferous forest;
take a photo with the Tchaikovsky monument in the city center (did you know that the composer loved these places and wrote more than one of his works in Georgia?);
take a walk to the pool with warm mineral water and, of course, take a swim. The road goes along the Borjomka riverbed through the gorge. Very beautiful;
walk along the Borjomka River within the city, drink tasteless but healthy water from the source, sit in the black gazebos above the water;
eat delicious and cheap shawarma in front of the station building;
see the carved house of Mirza Riza Khan, which was originally the summer residence of the Iranian consul. The house is called “firuza” (“turquoise”), fully justifying its appearance;
if you have absolutely nothing to do, go to the Museum of Local Lore: it is one of the oldest museums in Georgia (opened in 1926). Inside are archaeological artifacts, dishes, stuffed animals. I was much more impressed by the museum building: it is the former imperial office of the late 19th century;

Bakuriani

Bakuriani– another charming place in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region. In winter they go skiing there, and in summer and in the off-season it’s good to just take a walk, have lunch at some restaurant and go back.

In the case of Bakuriani, it is much more important not where, but how.

You can only get there from the mountains (on the other side), and this is where the fun begins. You can get there in half an hour by minibus and consider yourself doing well. But there is an option not for wimps, but for connoisseurs of beauty: the Cuckoo train. It departs twice a day (at 7 and 11 am) and covers a distance of 40 kilometers in two hours! Along the way you will see cows, villages, people and children waving at the train, rocks approaching the carriages and green mountains. Such a trip costs two hours, especially since you can return by minibus.

Anything to add?

Tusheti(თუშეთი) is a region in a difficult-to-reach region of northeastern Georgia, bordering Chechnya in the north and Dagestan in the east.

This area relates to Akhmetinsky district Kakheti and essentially the indigenous people who previously inhabited Tusheti live most of the time in northern Kakheti.

A seasonal method of residence has been adopted here: since the connection with the “mainland” exists only from the end of June to mid-October (during the same period, tourists can get to Tusheti).

Tush residents migrate like migratory birds from the village Kvemo-Alvani Alazani Valley to their ancestral nests in large villages of Tusheti: Omalo(Omalo) Shenako(Shenako) Dartlo(Dartlo) and smaller farms.

Tusheti in Georgia

Compared to the mountaineers of the western part of Georgia (Svaneti), the Tushins are Orthodox Christians.

But with certain differences:

– Tush residents don’t eat pork
– do not allow women near temples
- and according to historical information - they previously engaged in sacrifices on altars (simply - they slaughtered sheep).

Although, to be honest, I didn’t see any temples in Tusheti.
For example, in the village of Dartlo, a temple is called a ruin consisting of three half-collapsed walls, where the court of the seven elders of this village once sat.

The perimeter of this ruin is marked by a frail fence made of poles, and the guide immediately warns the girls that they cannot go there.

I’ll say right away that these three walls do not represent any picturesque value.

Tusheti on the map

Geographically, the Tusheti region is a buffer on the way from Chechnya and Dagestan to the fertile Alazani Valley, and in the past the Tush people often clashed with detachments of warlike highlanders from the north.

Therefore, everywhere on the hills here there are towers of a characteristically pyramidal shape with a sloping roof and small loopholes up the wall.

As a rule, women with children and old people took refuge in such towers, and men repelled the enemy’s attack at the foot of the tower.

Sentinels from afar saw the approach of the Chechens by the glare of reflections from sabers and shields, after which a mass evacuation took place to shelter towers.

The Tusheti region is inaccessible for the standard tourist.
There are no packagers here at all.
The main visitors to Tusheti are tourists “in the know” from Eastern Europe.

Most of all are Poles and, oddly enough, Czechs.
There are many enduro riders traveling on difficult trails.

There are hikers with sticks and tents.
We saw horse explorers of Tusheti, but most still get to Tusheti from northern Kakheti along a mountain path (I won’t call it a road) through a pass Abano(2850m)

How to get to Tusheti

It is best to rent a jeep with a driver, and in 100% of cases the driver will be a Tush native who has a house or relatives in Omalo or Dartlo and is well aware of all the nuances of the road.

As I already wrote above, all Tushino residents move from the mountains to the valley in winter, and during the tourist season they taxi or keep guesthouses in the mountains.

The exchange of jeeps with drivers is located in the central square with the roundabout of the village Kvekmo-Alvani(Kvekmo-Alvani).

It is best to arrive the day before the trip and agree with the driver:
– look at the car, talk to the driver and understand what kind of person he is.
In general, they are all normal guys there.

The car fleet is represented by Japanese right-hand drive SUVs and all-wheel drive minibuses.

Those who wish can cooperate and go to Tusheti together, we prefer to travel not in crowded conditions and without being offended

When you have agreed on the price for the trip (round trip), tell us where to pick you up: they can come to Telavi or another point in the Alazani Valley.
We hired a driver for 500 lari for two days - this price includes everything (fuel, his overnight stay and food).

By and large, there is nothing to do in Tusheti for more than two days, so it is logical to combine a trip to Tusheti with.

Season in Tusheti and weather

The season usually starts from the end of June and lasts until mid-October.
Then the road closes.

The weather is alpine: hot during the day when the sun is shining.
When clouds roll in and the weather in the mountains is difficult to predict, it’s cool.

It was cool in the evening and at night - last night it was 9 degrees and a strong wind was blowing - a warm blanket in the guesthouse and a fireplace saved us.

The road is worth a separate story and is a difficult test for tourists, especially at the beginning of the season, when it is being restored after winter.

It can safely be called a road for the first 20 km, and then I’ll call this fenced serpentine road with one track and an abyss half a kilometer deep - “point test”.

Although if you roll the chacha and don’t look out of the window opposite the window looking at a steep wall with stone screes, it seems to be normal.

Passenger drivers come here, and in the upper Omalo we met two freaked-out (from “where we got to”) Englishmen on a rented Mitsubishi Pajero (they took with them a few liters of chacha and two hitchhikers from Israel and Norway for courage).

But as a warning, at the beginning of the most dangerous serpentine there is a granite monument to four Georgians who flew into an 800-meter abyss.
There is also a bench and a table to sit down and think about whether to go further.

With local drivers, the road is an attraction, beautiful views and shaking for 3-4 hours - that’s how long it takes to cover 50 km of serpentine road to the first village on the way deep into Tusheti - Omalo.

Yes, there are a lot of picturesque things along the way and at first you try to capture everything.
But in truth, after an hour you get tired of slowing down the driver to create an imperishable situation and you just sit and look out the window.
By the way, it’s also a useful pastime.

Omalo and the native village of Mimino - Shenako

Part of the film Mimino, namely where he flies in a helicopter transporting chickens and cows to mountain villages, was filmed on a flat plateau between the villages Omalo And Shenako.

There are still remains of a cornfield runway and a helipad here.

It seems like you can rent a helicopter at the airport near Mtskheta, although now the office that was engaged in commercial transportation has refocused on Svaneti.

The village of Omalo is like the administrative center of Tusheti where the government structures, most guesthouses and even a store where you can buy a bottle of water are located ( you need to take alcohol with you).

Omalo consists of two parts: lower Omalo and, accordingly, upper Omalo.
Upper Omalo is located at the foot of a hill, on top of which there are towers.

The village is essentially several guesthouses, one of which has the funny name “ Lashara“.

The owner stoically endures ridicule, but in the end he can’t stand it and changes the name of his guest house.

80 percent of guesthouses are on booking.com - during the season they say that you need to reserve accommodation in advance: booking accommodation in Omalo (Tushetia)
But when we were there (yesterday) there were no tourists in the village except us.

Housing in Omalo

Having avoided Lashara (something was being concreted there and an angle grinder was howling), we settled in a fairly decent guesthouse, Guest House Shina

This place differs from others in that it has its own food area (I can’t dare to call it a restaurant) with a fireplace, plastic windows with double-glazed windows, and it’s quite cozy.

I would like to immediately dispel ideas about the format and quality of housing in Tusheti: there are no hotels here.
All that is there are guesthouses with small rooms with 2-3 sometimes more beds.

All beds have spring prehistoric mattresses and are equipped with tight synthetic pillows.

Some guesthouses have shared toilets with showers, so when booking, pay attention to this convenience (by the way, in Shina this was all right).

The cost of accommodation includes one, two or three meals a day.
That is, breakfast or breakfast + dinner or “all inclusive”.

You shouldn’t count on any pickles: in Tusheti all products are imported.
Even though the mountaineers historically were engaged in sheep breeding, all lamb is exported to the UAE, Turkey and Iran.

Dinner may include a tomato and cucumber salad, stinky sheep cheese, soup (usually canned, with noodles) and a hot dish: potatoes fried in butter with pieces of beef or cutlets fried in butter.

After dinner, there may be heartburn, so it is advisable to take phosphalugel with you or drink chacha.

In general, I listed the menu for our dinner, but it’s the same in other places.
Horror! Everyone here loves butter and adds it wherever possible, as well as frying food with it..

The frantic Englishmen we met with their backpacker friends apparently did not know that there were no shops in Tusheti, so when they arrived in upper Omalo in the evening, they wandered around the surrounding area in search of food.

By this time I had already gone to bed, so it was mainly Oleg and Ikrinka who communicated with them.
The owners of our guest house at this time closed their kitchen, leaving us a room with a fireplace, an ax and a supply of firewood - by the way, the highlands are very felt when you chop firewood - your heart tries to jump out of your chest and fly away to freedom like a mountain eagle.

So, embarrassed to ask us for leftover food - and we left half the potatoes and all the soup - the tourists invited us to drink chacha.

Ikrinka and Oleg refused, and meanwhile the tourists pitched a tent on the very windy hill - and tried to cook something on a gas stove.

Apparently they didn’t succeed - they just piled on chacha and fell asleep hungry - judging by their morning gloomy appearance.

Hiking in Tusheti

Speaking of tents and wandering on foot, this risks meeting an evil Alabai the size of a calf.

We decided to walk along the road, but the driver did not warn us about the inhabitants of the green hills where cows and sheep graze.

We walked about ten meters and suddenly saw that the driver was waving his hands at us - looking back in the opposite direction, we noticed a herd and a couple of huge wolfhounds in the “at him!” stance.

Everything ended well, but according to locals, there are often cases when dogs attack.

In this case, you need to squat down and wait for the shepherd - the dogs will not let you get up and will try to attack if you run from them.

Who knows what the British did, but in the morning a healthy watchdog was on duty at their tent and then followed them on their heels and wagged his tail - they didn’t pour chacha for him...

Electricity, internet, hot water

There is electricity in the guesthouses - each house has solar panels and water heaters, similar to those in Spain.

That is, progress has reached Omalo lower and upper.
There is no Internet.

There is a cellular connection, but it is weak - one or two bars on the iPhone.
Mobile Internet 2G - depending on your luck, but I managed to check my email.

Dartlo village

It takes about 30 minutes to get to Dartlo from Omalo.
Also a serpentine road, but more or less a well-trodden road without teeth-crushing cobblestones under the wheels.

Dartlo is a fairly compact village located on a hill at the foot of the mountain range, beyond which lies Chechnya.

Above is only the village Kvavlo– it can be seen from below from the watchtower covered with scaffolding – we didn’t want to drive along the serpentine road, so we limited ourselves to inspecting Dartlo.

What I noticed: the residents of Tusheti use flat stone, which is simply lying under their feet, but in our country it costs a lot of money - as roofing material.

A sheathing is made on the rafters, then roofing felt is laid, and a flat stone is placed on top like a tile.

I had a question - what about in winter, when snowdrifts blow up on the roofs. The rafters can withstand it, they say.

In general, all the houses here look very rich due to the fact that natural stone is used in the masonry - small structures are simply built without cement between the stones.

You can wander around the village and take a walk.
There are few local residents and they are indifferent to tourists. But it would be more correct to say that I simply did not see the local residents.

The windows and doors in the houses are wide open and there are no locks on the doors.
The paths in the village are narrow and overgrown with nettles, so walking in shorts was not comfortable.

What to do in Tusheti

Wander through the hills (remember to take a stick and stay away from the flocks of sheep).
Ride horses.

Breathe oxygen-depleted mountain air.
Admire the alpine landscapes...

Tusheti and...

As I wrote earlier, a trip to Tusheti goes well with a wine tour of the factories and farms of the Alazani Valley.

This is exactly the kind of trip we ended up with: 2 days for tasting, 2 days for Tusheti and home.
I wrote about winemaking here: and about Tusheti my story has come to its logical end - I’ll see what happened with the GoPro photos and videos and later I’ll post it in a separate message.

5 /5 (29 )

I started this report with the words “Too lazy to write. There can be no words here, just breathless images” and I thought of sharing with you only photographs.

But no... I was drawn into this writing myself. Here you understand... you can talk forever about travel and places visited.

And even more so about one of the most dangerous roads in the world (included in the top 5).

According to some publishers, this is the road to the Tusheti region of Georgia, where the mountain settlements of Omalo, Shenako, Dartlo, Diklo are located….

The road to O-oo-bla-Ka-a!

65 km from the main highway of Kakheti in the Chievo-Alvani region represent an endless climb into the skies and long descents along the most beautiful serpentines along dangerous kilometer-long cliffs.

There is no question of any barriers, God grant that we successfully pass the oncoming KamAZ.

We drove away from the Mitsubishi Delica without any problems and endlessly overtook them.

The traffic in these places during the tourist season is decent, but the season itself is short, because the road to these valleys is open only from June to October.

The rest of the time, the route is covered with snow or destroyed by floods, as evidenced by the washed-out banks of many rivers and the constant presence of road equipment that is on duty in the most dangerous places.

Autobahn ribbon...

One can only remain silent about the beauty of nature...

People no longer live in the mountains year-round; everyone spends their winter season downstairs in Chievo Alvani. In the summer they work for tourists and I must say they work great. We really enjoyed the warm welcome in our cozy guesthouse in Upper Omalo. The tower is torn from being there, high mountains, coolness, a warm oven, unrealistic treats for dinner and breakfast from the owners.

Guesthouses in Dartlo

It’s a good morning with such a view and a wonderful breakfast from the owners on a cozy frosty balcony.

Of course, among the residents there are also shepherds who are busy with their livestock in the summer season.

One of the best chicks in my life. Diklo. Tusheti.

There has been no electricity supply to the villages since Soviet times; everything is heated with wood, and electricity is used from solar energy. They are not overjoyed with their solar panels and batteries.

I’ll say right away that it’s worth visiting all the villages in the region and budgeting at least 3 days for it. We were in a hurry and didn’t see everything in a couple of days, but some tourists generally limit themselves to Omalo. What about the steep descent and ascent to Shenako (Mimino’s native village), and what about the delightful mountain Dartlo with wonderful stone roofs and towers, located in a very beautiful valley...!?

View of Dartlo Towers

Dartlo out of the way

Upper Omalo and ancestral towers.

Slate stone on the roofs of all houses!

View of Omalo from Dartlo

Former villages and towers

An active church in Tusheti. Ladies are not allowed.

As for the road, I had very strong fears before the trip, and indeed it was scary to drive! Scary Beautiful!!!

We didn’t feel any danger as such; people died here, but 95 percent. The dead were drunk drivers, the remaining 5 percent. As I understand it, this is due to equipment failure or inattention on the road (it’s impossible to see enough of the beauty of those passes).

Two days later, my timing belt breaks in Kobuleti (Batumi) at a speed of 20 km/h. The car stalls while driving with loss of control (the power steering has turned off), and I imagined…. what if it broke in one of the hairpins while descending from the pass...

There are angels above us! Thank you for life and opportunities!

P.S. How do you like the article? You can receive the latest articles by e-mail

It just so happened that I came to Tusheti for the first time recently, when I was already over 50. I felt so sorry that I had not been here in my youth, when the heavy backpack and the burden of current affairs were lighter. However, the unreal beauty of these pristine mountains and canyons, medieval towers of idoms, coniferous forests and emerald fields has not gone away. In general, if there is even a small chance, this amazing island between the mountains is one of the places that should definitely be visited. Anyway, first things first.

Islands among the mountains

There is no centralized power supply in Tusheti. There is a small hydroelectric power station that supplies several villages, there are solar panels at home, and some hotels have gasoline-powered generators. There are several points where cellular communications work, including the administrative center of Omalo. The road has gotten better lately. It goes through the Abano pass, which is 2936 meters high. It's a passenger car, it won't pass, but it's probably possible to drive a crossover if you really don't mind it. But a good SUV, given good weather, will easily travel the 70 km from Alvani to Omalo in 4–5 hours. In general, this road, which in itself makes an indelible impression, was worth driving even if there was nothing on the other side. The road is open approximately 100 warm days a year, all hiking trails from Khevsureti, Dagestan and Chechnya, which pass through passes of more than 3200 meters, are passable for the same 100 days. The rest of the time, the only mode of transport, in which case, is a helicopter. Considering that Valiko from the film “Mimino” was Tushin and flew on this particular flight, it is possible that the helicopter is the same one that we remember from the film.
Tusheti is surrounded on all sides by mountains. The only river flowing out is the Andean Koysu, but there is no path from Dagestan to Tusheti along the river gorge, since the river enters an impassable canyon, which serves as a natural border with Dagestan. This is typical for these mountains. In Tusheti, often, in order to get to the village next to the gorge, you need to climb a ridge, gaining a kilometer in height, and then descend to the neighboring village, because these three kilometers along the river are impassable in principle. At the same time, on the mountains themselves there are quite large, relatively flat areas where pastures and fields are located. These emerald islands between the steep canyons make the landscapes of Tusheti special, unlike other regions of the Caucasus.

The ridge separating Chechnya

The buildings in Tusheti were built from local slate, which was mined right there, next to the building being built. Moreover, not only the walls, but the roofs of houses and towers were made of slate slabs. Therefore, looking at the villages from these houses and towers, you are left with the feeling that they were not built, but that they grew out of these rocks. Often, even with careful inspection, it is difficult to understand where the rock ends and the walls begin. Surprisingly, these towers were built without any binding material, simply by carefully selecting the slabs and their own weight. It’s even more surprising that the height of these elegant structures reaches the height of an 8-story building, and they have stood for many hundreds of years in a fairly seismic zone. There are towers in which family hotels are located. Up the ladder hanging from the wall and into your hotel room. A large “HOTEL” sign will prevent such a tower from being confused with just a tower.

I wanted to, however!

The traditional cuisine of Tushin is simple and unpretentious, the highlands, the diet used to be very meager. However, local cheese, traditional flatbreads with cheese (here they are called not “khachapuri”, but “kotori”), khinkali, common for mountainous regions, are all very tasty. There is one local product that is considered a delicacy in Georgia. This is one of the most expensive products on any Georgian market. We are talking about sheep cheese “Guda”, which matures in a special vessel made from tanned sheep skin. Due to its specific, to put it mildly, smell, not everyone will decide to try it, but if you are a supporter of culinary exoticism, do not miss this opportunity.

Tusheti guda cheese

Several photos of Tusheti

Herd in the Gometsari gorge

Tushins

Hello, my name is David! In front of you - travel blog“Beyond the Seven Mountains Ru”, in which I talk about my trips - all of them are independent and low-budget, but long. Welcome and let's chat!

Tusheti: how to get there, where to live, how much it costs. Photos of the Abano pass, the villages of Omalo and Shenako

My adventures in Tusheti have been told (parts , ), now it’s time for practical questions - “how, where, how much.” I will illustrate the post with photos taken on the first day (Abano pass, Upper Omalo and Shenako).

View from the road to Abano Pass; beyond the Greater Caucasus are the valleys and gorges of Tusheti.

How to get to Tusheti

People usually get to Tusheti by SUV (some tourists on their motorcycles). Minibuses and buses do not go to Tusheti - the road is bad, they cannot.

If you don't have your own car, you need to take a car with a driver. My friends and I (St. Petersburg residents whom I met in Tbilisi) spent the night in, in the morning (8:00) we took a taxi (we agreed with the taxi driver in the evening - there was an overabundance of people willing to tax) and drove to Kvemo Alvani for 12 lari (from Telavi to Alvani You can also get there by minibus). The place where drivers wait for tourists is called the “exchange” - Telavi taxi drivers will find it for you. Here we found three or something cars. We left on one of them. There were no tourists here except us. We wanted to have a fourth passenger, but we were told that people rarely come here one at a time. We waited - alas.

If you don’t know where to stay in Omalo, these same drivers can arrange everything for you - they are from Tusheti and have all the necessary contacts. You can also talk to them about transportation around Tusheti itself - if a particular driver is busy, he will find someone who will take on this matter. So far in Tusheti, supply in the tourism sector clearly exceeds demand.

Smoke break on the road to Abano Pass

The standard cost of a car is 200 lari, so it’s better to go to Tusheti in a group to split the costs between three or four. There are travel companies that recruit passengers, so if travel companions have not formed themselves, as in my case, they will find them for you.

592-820-356 – Dato
555-20-72-92 – Vazha

I do not know these people personally and have not used their services. Try it.

In addition, in Tbilisi you can find tours to Tusheti at realistic prices (see prices at the end of the post). Ask at your guesthouse or hotel.

Abano Pass. Road in the clouds

Clouds underfoot

What else is known about travel to Tusheti? Internet sources claim that several years ago in Tusheti people were transported in the backs of KAMAZ trucks. However, none of the local and Telavi people confirmed this information; I didn’t see any KAMAZ vehicles with passengers in the back on the road from and to Tusheti.

More. At the Abano Pass an old Lada was also seen, arriving from Tusheti. I don’t know how the journey ended for this car. We only know that SUVs regularly get stuck on the roads. So if you hire a driver, remember that you may be stuck for many hours on a mountain road - it is better to have food and water with you.

Descent from Abano Pass

Once again the descent, but larger. Beauty!

Tusheti Map

A resident of Verkhovan assured me that it is possible to walk from Verkhovan to Chesho - but it’s better with a guide - there is no road there, only a path through the ridge - that’s what I was told. I don’t know how obvious or not the necessary path is - I haven’t seen it myself. Tamaz, mentioned in the post, leads along this path. But he said “it’s better with a guide” not to simply impose his services - he’s not like that at all. A deeply decent man, a good person. We need to contact Vazha Kardlidze. It’s just that in Verkhovhan, where Tamaz lives, there is no mobile connection.

Or just go and see what happens. In Tusheti or specifically in Verkhovhan, you will talk with the locals about the trail, what is there with it - is it marked, clear or confusing, do you need a guide with your specific experience or not...

Says Vovan (guest) on Sun, 13/07/2014 - 23:07.

Hello, we are going to take a small group on a trip around Georgia in early August. I was interested in Tusheti. Please, tell me, is it possible to ride Zhinvali-Tianeti-Akhmeta on bicycles and further to Tusheti? Is this realistic and where can I get a ride along this route?

David, hello!
Very good and useful story! We are just planning to go to Georgia in July and now I am reading the information and trying to plan a route.
And I would like to know if in Tbilisi we are planning to rent a car for a trip to Tusheti, enjoy the nature there and see the villages. Do you think it’s better to go for 3 days in total or 4?
And I’m also very interested, because I couldn’t really understand, in a Nissan Qashqai in July, if there is no rain, you can get to the villages of Shimani and Mutso without any problems?
Thank you in advance)

Says Alexey2323 (guest) on Sun, 07/28/2013 - 23:52.

Hello!
Thank you for everything!)
you wrote
“There is no road from Khevsureti (Shatili there) to Tusheti - you can go on foot with a guide, they said it would take three days to walk somewhere.”

Question - do you have contacts for conductors?
And what could be dangerous if you go without guides? (wild animals for example?)

Good afternoon, David.
I read your report on Tusheti and several questions appeared. We are planning a cycling trip around Georgia for September, the route passes through Alvani, so we simply have no right not to visit Tusheti. I think it will be difficult to physically get to Omalo, we are considering a transfer option. Therefore, it will be interesting whether it will be possible to leave the “iron horses” in Alvani and how a group of 7 people can teleport to Omalo, using two cars, or whether there are options for more spacious transport.
Thank you very much!

There is no road from Khevsureti (Shatili there) to Tusheti - you can go on foot with a guide, they said it would take three days to walk somewhere. So, from Khevsureti you need to go down to the plain, go through Tbilisi to Kakheti and up there.

Your route is unrealistic, let's say.)

There is one more question - I don’t know whether all these roads will be passable in May. At least I know that the road to Tusheti can be covered with snow even in May - it was in the news somewhere.

Today, the only road connecting with Tusheti runs along the Story River gorge through the Abano Pass. However, due to snow, the road is closed from late October to mid-May. The local population has the opportunity to get to the nearest regional center only by border guard helicopter. However, he flies once a month.

Clearing of the road connecting Tusheti has begun. As Koba Maisuradze, gamgebeli of the Akhmeta municipality, told the Kakheti Information Center, by the end of the month the road will supposedly be cleared to the pass, and by May 15 - already to Omalo -

But even if there is no more snow there, the condition of the road can be very bad - melting snow and all that - it’s not easy there anyway. And in Tusheti itself, roads may be in impassable condition this season.

If I were you, I would take an interest in the question closer to May. For example, I would call the guesthouse mentioned in the post and ask if it was possible to get to them. If they say yes, then I would go to Tusheti. Half a day there, three days there, half a day there - that’s already five days. The rest can be spent in Kakheti, for example - it is just on the plain near Tusheti. You can go to the Vashlovani National Park - an interesting place (I haven’t been, but there are a lot of photos on the Internet, I’ll go this year). Just in May it will be green there, all these fantastic landscapes...

If there is suddenly no road in Tusheti, then you can go to Svaneti - it will definitely be possible to get there, even in winter or in summer. If the road in the highlands is in order, it will be possible to travel from Mestia to Ushguli - the very top of Georgia...

Again, you can easily spend five days on Svaneti, and a week too.

If you really want to go further, and suddenly such an opportunity arises, then you can go down from Ushguli to Lentekhi, and then to Kutaisi - a very difficult route, judging by Internet sources, they still travel on the Ushguli - Lentekhi section - for example:

Lentekhi - Ushguli This is by far the hardest part in Svaneti. There are several mountain passes on this approach. These include Zagaro Pass and Ughviri Pass (2700 meters). Both can be snowed in late into the season so check conditions or be prepared to walk. There are for sure no routes between Lentekhi and Ushguli. The road is a seasonal road for summer driving only, means that there is absolutely no "real traffic" but a few foreighners do this road as a special challenge with their jeeps. User:see waited in Ushguli towards Lentekhi in August 2011 one complete day without seeing a car. The next day he walked more than 10 kilometers, until a Polish jeep picked him up. Bear in mind that the road leads approx. 45 km through absolute wilderness and some villages along this length marked on various maps are already abandoned.

No one can say what will happen in May in this area - it depends on the year and the weather. It is quite possible that you won’t be able to get through. Even if you pass, God only knows what will happen to your car. If you break down in the mountains, you will have to wait, for example, a day or two for repairmen. I don’t want to intimidate, but it’s worth carefully considering the question of where you are going and what awaits you there in May.

In good weather, it is compensated by the majestic views of the Giants of the Caucasus. Unforgettable view of Ailama. As a tax, it can be compared with the views of Ushba from the road to Mestia from the turn to Becho, but here Ailama is much closer. Good luck!!!

Thank you! I wish you that everything goes as smoothly as possible with your trip to Georgia!)

Says Revaz (guest) on Thu, 09/13/2012 - 22:53.

Hi David!

Thank you for a very detailed story, better than any Lonely Planet.
I myself am going to Georgia with my St. Petersburg friends. We haven’t decided where we’ll go yet, but we’ll rely on your blog.
By the way, if you’re in Tbilisi at the beginning of October, we can meet you.