Things to do in Georgia

The bar shows how much of the country is reachable that month: green is most of it, red is the passes shut.

Jan 20 Feb 20 Mar 20 Apr 19 May 19 Jun 20 Jul 21 Aug 21 Sep 22 Oct 21 Nov 18 Dec 20

24 experiences

Trails Walk to the Chalaadi glacier Three hours return from Mestia along the river, and the ice at the end of it. Jun – Oct Svaneti · free Trails Koruldi lakes above Mestia A hard climb to 2,700 m, or a jeep up and a walk down. The Caucasus opens out. Jul – Sep 2,700 m · jeep €20 Trails Climb to Gergeti Trinity Ninety minutes up from Stepantsminda to a 14th-century church at 2,170 m. May – Oct 2,170 m · free Wine Qvevri wine in Kakheti Eight thousand years of clay-vessel winemaking, on the UNESCO intangible list since 2013. All year Kakheti · from €10 Wine Rtveli, the grape harvest Late September into October: the whole valley picks, treads and drinks. Book ahead. Sep – Oct Kakheti · varies Snow Ski Gudauri Above the treeline at 2,200–3,300 m, and the cheapest lift pass in Europe at this standard. Dec – Apr 3,300 m · €25/day Snow Ski Bakuriani Gentler and in the trees: the family mountain, three hours from Tbilisi. Dec – Mar 2,200 m · €20/day Stone Vardzia cave city Six hundred rooms cut into a cliff in the 12th century, thirteen storeys of them. All year Samtskhe · €5 Stone Ananuri fortress A 17th-century citadel on the reservoir, an hour out of Tbilisi on the military road. All year Mtskheta · free The table Sit at a supra The Georgian table has a structure: a tamada, toasts in order, and no rushing. All year Nationwide · €12+ The table Adjaruli khachapuri in Batumi The boat-shaped one with the egg, eaten where it comes from, on the coast. All year Adjara · €4 The table Kubdari in Svaneti Mountain meat pie with svanuri marili. You only get it properly up here. All year Svaneti · €5 Stone Churchkhela What churchkhela actually is, how badagi and tatara are made at harvest, and how to tell a fresh soft string from last year's dusty souvenir. All year The table · Kakheti Stone Gelati monastery A 12th-century academy and royal grave with Georgia's finest mosaic, eleven kilometres from Kutaisi. An hour does it — and scaffolding comes and goes. All year Monastery · Imereti Stone Gergeti to the Bethlemi hut Ten kilometres and 1,900 metres of gain from Gergeti to the Bethlemi hut, with a glacier crossing that wants crampons and a start before six. All year Trail · Kazbegi The table Khinkali, done properly How to order khinkali by the piece, hold it, bite it and drink the broth: kalakuri and mountain styles, the Pasanauri claim, and why topknots stay. All year The table · The mountains Stone The Lomisa monastery ridge Eight kilometres return from Mleta to a working church at 2,300 metres, the Aragvi on one side and Khevi on the other, and no reliable water on top. All year Trail · Mtiuleti Stone Martvili canyon A mossy limestone slot an hour from Kutaisi: the boat leg, the walkway loop, what rain does to the water, and the hours the coaches arrive. All year The canyon · Samegrelo Trails The Mestia to Ushguli trek Four days village to village from Mestia to Ushguli: the stages, the guesthouses, what it costs, and the cold unbridged river on the third morning. All year Trek · Svaneti Stone The monuments of Mtskheta Svetitskhoveli, Jvari and Samtavro: how to see the old capital's three churches in a morning, what to wear, and why the confluence needs early light. All year The old capital · Kartli Stone Mtsvadi over vine wood Pork on skewers over burnt-down grapevine embers, with raw onion, tkemali and a squeeze of pomegranate — and where in Kakheti it is still done right. All year The table · Kakheti Stone Prometheus cave Georgia's showpiece karst cave near Kutaisi: guided groups on the hour, 1.4 km of walkway, a boat out on the underground river when water allows. All year The cave · Imereti Stone Omalo to Shatili across the Atsunta pass Five days from Tusheti into Khevsureti over the 3,431 m Atsunta pass: the border zone, the horsemen, the river crossings and the very short season. All year Trail · Tusheti to Khevsureti Stone Uplistsikhe The oldest of Georgia's cave towns, cut into sandstone above the Mtkvari near Gori: a theatre, wine presses, a basilica on top, and no shade at all. All year Cave town · Shida Kartli