Where to Travel in GEORGIA

The Republic of Georgia is approximately the same size as Ireland and is thus relatively easy to navigate by car without the necessity of too many long drives. Visitors tend to focus on the mountains and cultural attractions of eastern Georgia which are accessed from the capital Tbilisi; but it is worth remembering that the western part of the country is also extremely rewarding and sees many fewer visitors. Corinthian Travel specialises in tailor-made holidays in Georgia. Our Georgia destination guides and suggested itineraries have been designed to provide inspiration which we can then help you forge into a very special private holiday in Georgia.

Kazbegi & Svaneti: The High Caucacus Mountains

An almost impenetrable wall of snow and rock stretching across northern Georgia, the High Caucasus Mountains rise up to over 5,000m and offer some of the most breathtaking scenery in Europe. Most visitors gain their first view of the Caucasus when travelling along the Georgian Military Highway, a spectacular twisting road that was pushed through the mountains in the 19th century, connecting Tbilisi with Vladikavkaz in Russia via the Jvari Pass (2379m). Gudauri is the eastern Caucasus’ premier ski centre, but those in quest of spectacular nature usually continue north to the Kazbegi region and the little settlement of Stepantsminda which sits in the shadow of an extinct volcano: Mt Kazbek (5047). One of our favourite parts of the Caucasus, Kazbegi is the location of the stunningly located Gergeti Trinity Church and offers some superb hiking as well as good hotels. To the west, rustic and remote Svaneti is one of the most culturally fascinating and Georgian regions of the country. Svaneti’s virtually pristine mountainscape is characterised by bucolic flower filled meadows, clear rushing steams, rustic villages bristling with medieval towers (koshki), and a horizon topped by massive monoliths of stone that include Mt Ushba (4710m) – a stunning craggy peak often referred to as the Matterhorn of the Caucasus. Hiking in Svaneti is an exceptional experience as is taking the extremely scenic, yet bone-jarring, road from Mestia to Ushguli – one of Europe’s highest mountain settlements. Return visitors to Georgia are often drawn by the thought of exploring two of the country’s least changed and most remote mountain provinces (with accommodation to match!). Khevsureti is an unspoiled highland that is noted for its unique textiles, pagan traditions, and the unworldly village of Shatili: a bastion comprising more than 50 linked defensive towers that date from the 6th to the 12th centuries; while lovely Tusheti is a cut-off Shangri-La of mountains, medieval tower villages, and deep ravines that can only be accessed via a treacherous snowbound road (open June to September).