Adjara tours off the beaten track
Despite the fact that it rarely stops raining there, the Adjarian seacoast is by far the most touristic area of Georgia. The seacoast is indeed lovely – brilliant green mountains plunge into a placid, almost lakelike sea, and in good weather or bad it possesses enough dramatic beauty to tug at the imprisoned romantic in anyone’s heart. Sensing that call, however, is often tricky because of the crowds and commotion. During the summer season, one would be forgiven for thinking the native language of the beach towns is Russian, as middle-class Muscovites descend in droves, desperate to forget how depressing their homeland is, while flocks of Turkish men rumble in from the other direction, attracted by cheap alcohol and legal gambling. The result is a somewhat cynical seaside culture, thoroughly unimpressed by anything foreign, where profit takes precedence over aesthetics: entire sections of the historical Batumi have been demolished in recent years to be replaced with cookie-cutter glass and concrete skyscrapers, while the once charming seafront boulevard of Kobuleti now mostly hosts overpriced restaurants lit in neon colors pumping trashy Russian hits at max volume. Fortunately, Adjara is much more than its beaches; one of the most unique regional cultures of Georgia, set in one of its most spectacular natural settings, is just a few steps away. (And there still remain a few secret beaches that the tourists have not discovered yet, but I am not so foolish as to write about that on the internet.)
In fact, Adjarian culture is much more defined by its mountains than its coast. Adjara is less rugged than steep, and its status as the rainiest part of Georgia means that its hillsides abound with thick jungle, with villages and ancient fortresses perched precipitously on the slopes. Swiftly flowing rivers carve up the landscape and cascade down mighty waterfalls, and the historical difficulty of traversing from one side of a valley to the other is borne witness to by both medieval stone bridges and Soviet-era cable cars. As the visitor penetrates deeper into the highlands, the coastal cynicism becomes a distant, dreamlike memory – highland Adjarians are the kindest, most openhearted, most generous and most considerate hosts of all Georgia, and that’s a stiff competition to beat. Many a time, wandering solitary through the Adjarian hills, I was invited for a coffee and ended up staying the night.
Highland Adjarians are mostly Muslims, worshiping in exquisitely painted wooden mosques wherever they have survived, although being Georgians they do not eschew the enjoyment of wine. Many of them are involved in cheesemaking, taking vast herds of cattle up to the alpine zones every summer, where they live for several months of the year in the handsome wooden cottages of their summer village, creating their famously high-fat kaymagh creams, yagh butter, tenili string cheese and other dairy products hardly known even in the fanciest restaurants of Tbilisi. While they are noted for their knowledge of traditional herbs and for their strong brews of blueberry leaf tea, any visit to an Adjarian house will surely begin and be frequently interspersed with tiny cups of the best-brewed coffee in Georgia. Adjarians are also accomplished beekeepers, and their mountain floral honey has a taste beyond this world. In short, Adjarians are gourmets who know and appreciate the good things of life, hard workers capable of attaining those good things, and generous spirits who enjoy sharing them.
Despite the crowds that maunder about its most popular spots, Adjara is a richly rewarding region for anyone who wants to get away from the typical tourist stuff. Those who wish to drop deeply into nature can hike through the intensely green forests of the Mtirala or Kintrishi reserves, or join the herding families in the rolling green mountains of summer. The more settled highland villages hide surprising histories within their stunning views and are very interesting places to pass through or even to visit and relax for a number of days. Up these steep valleys, one really feels somewhere close to the end of the world.
Feel free to get in touch if you would be interested in fully customized Adjara tours with me!
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Summer cottages for herding families on the high hills of Shuakhevi municipality.
A summer village on the way from Khulo to Bakhmaro.
The historical stone bridge of Pirveli Maisi village in Keda municipality.
A view over the spectacular Machakhela Valley from Mtavarangelozi (Archangel) mountain.
Tea bushes and a mosque in Tsikhisdziri, a lowland village.
Interior dome of the historical mosque in Zeda Chkhutuneti village.
Khikhani fortress, high in the mountains close to the border with Turkey.
A typical highland village in Khulo municipality.
Dandalo medieval stone bridge on the Acharistskali river.
A massive and ancient beech tree in Mtirala, one of the largest areas of old-growth forest in Georgia.