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DISCOVER GEORGIA 0 – 5 047 m საქართველო Where to stay
Georgia · The Caucasus

Not a destination. An ascent.

Georgia is the only country you can cross from subtropical shore to permanent glacier in a single morning. Everything here — the wine, the towers, the food, the silence — is a function of altitude.

5 047 metres
Mount Kazbek. The fifth-highest summit in the Caucasus, and the number this whole page climbs towards.
The idea

Read Georgia vertically and it stops being confusing. Sea level is subtropical and tea-growing. Six hundred metres is wine older than written history. Two thousand is a shepherd’s pass. Five thousand is ice that never leaves.

A country the size of Ireland holds that entire range, which is why a week here feels like four countries and why the single most useful question to ask is not where you are going, but how high.

5 047 m Mount Kazbek The highest point on this page, and the mountain that closes the Georgian Military Road.
8 000 years Of winemaking Qvevri clay-vessel wine is on the UNESCO Intangible Heritage list, and the vessels are still buried today.
26 Peaks above 3,000 m Within a single mountain range that never sits more than a few hours from the capital.
33 letters In the Georgian alphabet One of only fourteen writing systems in use worldwide, and unlike any other.
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0 m Adjara · Black Sea

Batumi, at sea level

Subtropical, humid and improbable: palm-lined boulevards, Soviet-era sanatoria and a skyline of new towers on the Black Sea. This is the only part of Georgia where tea and citrus grow, and the only part where winter means rain rather than snow.

0 m Sea level, on the Black Sea coast Subtropical Humid, with tea and citrus plantations Jun–Sep The season the coast is actually for Beach Botanical garden Casinos Tea country
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400 m Kakheti · Wine country

Kakheti, where wine begins

A broad valley of vineyards under the Greater Caucasus wall. Eight thousand years of winemaking, qvevri buried in the earth of every family cellar, and a table culture where the toast is a formal role. Two hours from Tbilisi and a different climate entirely.

400 m Valley floor, warm and dry 8,000 yrs Of continuous winemaking Sep–Oct Rtveli, the harvest Qvevri wine Harvest Supra feasts Monasteries
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790 m Kakheti · Hill town

Sighnaghi, on the ridge

A walled hill town looking down the whole Alazani valley to the Caucasus beyond. Four kilometres of eighteenth-century wall, twenty-three towers, and the best view in eastern Georgia at the hour the light goes orange.

790 m On a ridge above the valley 4 km Of intact 18th-century wall 23 Surviving watchtowers City walls Wine cellars Bodbe Sunset
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1 500 m Svaneti · Upper Caucasus

Svaneti and its towers

The highest permanently inhabited settlements in Europe sit in this valley, guarded by defensive stone towers built between the ninth and twelfth centuries. Ushguli, at the head of it, is UNESCO-listed and snowbound for months at a time.

1 500 m Mestia, the valley town 2 100 m Ushguli, higher still Jul–Sep When the passes are reliably open Stone towers Trekking UNESCO Kubdari
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2 196 m Mtskheta-Mtianeti

Gudauri, above the treeline

On the Georgian Military Road at the point where the forest gives up. In winter it is the country’s main ski resort with lifts running to well over three thousand metres; in summer the same slopes are alpine meadow and paragliding air.

2 196 m Resort base elevation 3 279 m Top of the lift system Dec–Apr Ski season Ski Paragliding Military Road Ananuri
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5 047 m Khevi · The summit

Kazbek, and the end of the road

A dormant stratovolcano capped with permanent ice, and the mountain Prometheus was chained to in the Georgian telling. Below it, Gergeti Trinity Church stands alone at 2,170 metres — the image most people carry away from Georgia, and the highest point most visitors reach.

5 047 m Summit elevation 2 170 m Gergeti Trinity Church Jun–Sep Climbing season Glacier Gergeti Dariali gorge Alpinism
Interactive

Choose your altitude

Drag from the Black Sea to the summit. The country changes underneath you — the landscape, the food, the season it makes sense to come.

1 600–2 300 m Ushguli · Gudauri Highest inhabited Europe Ushguli at 2,100 m is the highest continuously inhabited settlement in Europe. Gudauri, at 2,196, is where the treeline ends. Open this area
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0 m2 500 m5 047 m
—Ushguli towers and Lamaria church —Gudauri lifts, winter or summer —Gergeti Trinity at 2,170 m
Seasons

Four countries in one year

July to September: the whole country is open

The only window in which every altitude on this page is reachable. Svaneti and Tusheti are in, the Kazbek climbing season is on, and the Black Sea is warm. It is also the busiest and priciest stretch of the year.

Everything All passes reliably open Rtveli Harvest begins late September Best for Trekking, Svaneti, Kazbek
Wine

Where wine was invented

The oldest evidence of grape winemaking in the world was excavated south of Tbilisi and dates to roughly 6000 BC. It is not a marketing line — it is the archaeological record. Georgians still ferment in qvevri, egg-shaped clay vessels buried to the neck in earth, and UNESCO inscribed the method in 2013.

8 000 yrs Of continuous winemaking 525 Indigenous grape varieties 2 013 Qvevri method UNESCO-listed
Kakheti, the eastern wine country, at roughly 400 metres.
Stays

Sleep at the right altitude

Four places chosen for where they sit on the climb, not for their star rating. Each one is the right answer at its own height.

0 m A tower room on the Batumi front Batumi · Adjara High floors on the boulevard look straight down the Black Sea. Worth it for the sunset and the swim before breakfast; skip it entirely in winter. Jun–Sep → 400 m A working winery guesthouse Kakheti · Wine country Rooms above a family cellar with qvevri still buried in the floor. During Rtveli you will be handed a bucket and expected to help. Sep–Oct → 1 500 m A Svan guesthouse in Mestia Svaneti Wood, a stove and a tower in the garden. Half board is the norm and the kubdari is the point. Book ahead — the valley has few beds. Jul–Sep → 2 196 m Ski-in lodge at Gudauri Mtskheta-Mtianeti Above the treeline on the Military Road, with lifts to 3,279 metres from the door. In summer the same room costs a third as much. Dec–Apr →
Carbon neutral

The climb, without the cost

Georgia is small enough to travel slowly and mountainous enough that slow is also the better experience. Three principles behind everything on this page.

01 Slow is also better here Georgia is roughly the size of Ireland. Nothing on this page needs a domestic flight, and the road from Tbilisi to Kazbek is the single most spectacular drive in the country. —Marshrutka and shared transfers between regions —One road, four altitudes, no flights
02 Guesthouses over resorts The default accommodation in the mountains is a family guesthouse with half board. The money stays in the valley and the food is better than any hotel restaurant will manage. —Family-run guesthouses at every altitude —Half board keeps the kitchen local
03 Every trip offset IMPT offsets the carbon of the journeys booked through it, and reports what was offset per trip. No badge, no upsell — it is priced in. —Offsetting included, not sold separately —Per-trip reporting for the traveller
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The table

Every altitude has its own dish

A supra is not dinner, it is an office: a tamada leads the toasts, the table is laid in layers rather than courses, and nothing is cleared until the end. What arrives on it depends entirely on how high you are sitting.

0 m Adjaruli khachapuri The boat-shaped one, with butter and a raw egg stirred in at the table. Coastal, and unapologetically heavy. 400 m Mtsvadi and qvevri wine Vine-cutting embers, pork on a skewer, and amber wine poured from a clay vessel buried in the floor. 790 m Churchkhela Walnuts strung on thread and dipped in grape must until they set. The harvest in a candle shape. 1 500 m Kubdari Svan bread stuffed with hand-chopped meat and blue fenugreek. Mountain food, made for cold. 2 196 m Khinkali Twisted dumplings eaten by hand, broth first. Counted by the knot, and never with a fork.
By the numbers

Georgia, in six figures

Every one of them checkable, and four of them the reason to come.

0 highest peak, Kazbek 0 of winemaking 0 native grape varieties 0 UNESCO listings 0 national parks 0 alphabet, unique to Georgian
The whole country

Twelve pieces of a
vertical country.

What it costs

Three budgets, per person per day

In lari, 2025, outside Rtveli and New Year. Georgia is cheap and honest about it.

Backpacker 25 GEL / day 20 – 35 A guesthouse bed at 25–40 GEL, bakery and market food, marshrutkas everywhere. Georgia is genuinely cheap if you eat where locals eat.
Comfortable 60 GEL / day 50 – 80 A private room in a family guesthouse with breakfast and dinner, a driver one day in three, and wine at every meal. The sweet spot.
No counting 150 GEL / day 120 – 250 Boutique hotels in Tbilisi, a car with a driver throughout, tasting menus and estate tastings. Still cheaper than most of Europe.

Figures gathered in 2025. A guesthouse bed runs 25–40 GEL, a private room with two meals 60–90, and a driver for the day around 200–250 GEL for the car. Rtveli and New Year push accommodation up by half; the rest of the year these hold.

One road

The Georgian Military Road, in profile

Two hundred and eight kilometres from Tbilisi to the Russian border, climbing to the Jvari Pass at 2,379 metres. Tap a stop to see it — the bar heights are the real elevations.

Tbilisi Ananuri Pasanauri Gudauri Jvari Pass Stepantsminda Gergeti
2 196 m km 120 Gudauri, above the trees The treeline gives out. Ski lifts to 3,279 metres in winter; paragliding air and alpine meadow in summer. Open this area
Before you go

Six things worth knowing

Practical answers about a country where the altitude decides the season, the road and the menu.

July to September is the only window in which every altitude on this page is open — Svaneti, Tusheti and the Kazbek climbing season all need it. May and October are beautiful in the valleys but the high passes are shut. December to April is for Gudauri and Tbilisi.

For the Military Road, a car or a driver is worth it — the stops are the point. Elsewhere marshrutkas reach almost everything cheaply, and for Svaneti most people take a shared transfer from Zugdidi rather than drive the road themselves.

Gergeti at 2,170 m and Gudauri at 2,196 m are fine on arrival for most people. Above about 3,000 m — the Gudauri lift top, the Kazbek approach — give yourself two or three nights at altitude first, and take Kazbek itself only with a guide.

No. At 2,379 metres it closes for avalanche control several times each winter, sometimes for a day or two. If your plan depends on reaching Stepantsminda in January, keep the day either side free.

The toastmaster at a supra, and a real role rather than a joke. They set the order and the subject of the toasts, and everyone drinks on their cue. If you are handed the job, keep it short and raise the first toast to peace.

Very little to get by, and a surprising amount of goodwill from a few words. Gamarjoba for hello, gmadlobt for thank you, gaumarjos for the toast. The alphabet is unrelated to any other, so signage takes some getting used to.

On foot

Five treks, by how high they take you

Georgia is walked, not driven, above about fifteen hundred metres. These are the routes worth planning a trip around.

4 d Mestia to Ushguli Svaneti The classic. Four days of tower villages, glacier valleys and guesthouse half-board, ending at the highest permanently inhabited settlement in Europe. 2 700 m Jul–Sep Moderate
1 d Chalaadi glacier Svaneti · from Mestia Three hours return from the road head, through birch forest to the snout of a glacier. The best first day in Svaneti while you acclimatise. 1 900 m Jun–Oct Easy
2 d Gergeti to the Bethlemi hut Khevi · under Kazbek Up past the church to a hut on the glacier edge — the standard acclimatisation stage before any Kazbek attempt, and a serious day on its own. 3 653 m Jul–Sep Hard
3 d Tusheti, Omalo to Shatili Tusheti · Khevsureti Over the Atsunta pass between two of the most remote inhabited valleys in the Caucasus. Guide and horse support strongly advised. 3 431 m Aug–Sep Hard
1 d Lomisa monastery ridge Mtskheta-Mtianeti A short, steep climb off the Military Road to a ninth-century monastery on a bare ridge, with the whole Gudauri bowl underneath. 2 200 m May–Oct Moderate
Getting in

Four ways into the country

Tbilisi is the obvious door, but not always the right one — Kutaisi is closer to Svaneti and Batumi is closer to nothing at all except the sea.

Air · main Tbilisi International The widest route network and the natural start if your trip runs east — Kakheti, Sighnaghi, the Military Road. Twenty minutes from the old town. —Best for Kakheti and the Military Road —Bus and metro into the centre
Air · west Kutaisi The low-cost gateway, and considerably closer to Svaneti than Tbilisi is. If Mestia is the point of the trip, fly here instead. —Closest airport to Svaneti —Onward transfers via Zugdidi
Air · coast Batumi Only worth it if the Black Sea is the reason you are coming. In winter the flights thin out and the coast is grey. —Summer only, realistically —Right on the sea front
Overland By land and rail Trains and buses run from Yerevan and Baku, and the overnight Tbilisi–Zugdidi sleeper puts you at the Svaneti transfer at dawn. —Tbilisi–Zugdidi night train for Svaneti —Marshrutkas to every region
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The whole country, in one week and one road

From Batumi to the Kazbek glacier is a single day of driving. Take four instead and you will have seen more of Georgia than most people see of anywhere.