Mtianeti tours off the beaten track

Despite how attractive and interesting these northeastern mountain regions are, this is the part of Georgia that I’m least familiar with. Somehow, some of these valleys remained just around the corner for me, someplace to hike next year…. and the next year invariably brought me back west to Lechkhumi or Samegrelo, rather than north to these endlessly fascinating places. The trouble with this area is that every part of it is uniquely different, with its own particular local culture and perspective on the Caucasus – so every visit leaves me with the realization that I need to go back and see what it looks like a few kilometers away, in the next valley over.

Khevi, Tusheti, Khevsureti, Pshavi, Mtiuleti, Khada, Gudamakari, the Aragvi valley. Places with names straight out of the legends, where life still feels like it’s been copied out of a legend. Vast peaks loom above, distorting the sense of distance and place. Steep valleys flow with rushing rivers, while ancient defensive towers spring from the green ridges, throwing you into the reveries of centuries past. These are places where the landscape itself is poetry, where mountain and valley harmonize into music. But it is not a Nirvana; the grip of winter holds, in some places, for more than half the year; on the highest peaks, the snows never melt. The mountaineers are sober, serious folk, keepers of traditions long forgotten by easy-living lowlanders; Christianity and paganism flow together at their stone shrines and holy places.

When the brief summer overtakes these lands and the pastures bloom white with rhododendrons, travel here is something that sets the heart free. Hiking infrastructure has become more developed in recent years; a few popular routes will see a dozen or two foreigners traverse them every day, sheltering the night with local families at the most conveniently placed villages. More remote routes may require several days in tents, out of the sight of civilization, perhaps only meeting some horsemen or herders grazing on a high slope. Everything is possible, if your legs or jeep will take you there. Everything is glorious.

Feel free to get in touch if you would be interested in fully customized Mtianeti tours with me!

The highland village of Bursachiri in Gudamakari.

A rushing mountain river in Gudamakari.

Defensive tower in the lowland village of Gremiskhevi.

The Green Lake of Abudelauri, one of three famous lakes on the trek over Chaukhi Massif.