Georgia is stunning! The Caucasus mountains, the black sea and some amazing orthodox architecture. The people are friendly and relatively modern. The food is amazing. I can’t believe more people don’t come to Georgia. I loved it and can’t wait to go back. My recommendations for Georgia
Head to the Kazbeg and climb up to Tsminda Sameba
It is a thrilling, albeit rough, ride up the Georgian Military Highway, almost to the border with Russia to reach the Kazbeg, a sleepy mountain village in the shadow of Mt Kazbeg. On the way, you pass the gorgeous Ananuri fortress, which is worth a visit.
Once in Kazbeg, you can climb up to the spectacular orthodox church – Tsminda Sameba at 2200m. These Georgians take their religion pretty seriously, and none of the 80 year old villagers think anything of walking up 1000 metres to go to a service. The Russians actually built a cable car up here in the 80s, and the locals promptly destroyed it – you can’t see any evidence that it was ever there. Don’t expect any respite when you sweatily arrive at the church either. Like most orthodox churches in this part of the world, there are no seats. Only lazy people need to sit down to hear a sermon for two hours, good orthodox christians are happy to stand up.
The church is spectacular, but the setting more so. If you have time, I would recommend staying a few days and getting some hiking in, and perhaps climb Mt Kazbeg (5047m)
Visit davit gareja
Davit Gareja is a collection of old cave monasteries right on the border with Azerbaijan. So close to the border in fact, that I decided to go for a walk in Azerbaijan, as I hadn’t technically visited at this point. Getting there is easy from Tbilisi, though we did run into a very NZ like traffic jam on the way there
6000 monks were killed here when the monastery was sacked by Shah Abbas in 1615. The monasteries never fully recovered but there are still monks living there today.
Its easy hiking around the many caves, and worthwhile going the hiking to check out the frescos (although be on the look out for snakes)
wander around tblisi and eat a lot
Georgian food is good! So good in fact, that whenever I travel to a former Soviet Republic I check to see if they have a Georgian restaurant and make a point of going to eat there. My favourites are Khinkali (meat dumplings), Kachapuri (cheese bread) and Mastnis Supi (yogurt soup). They sound heavy to eat, and they are, but Georgians are masters at spices and herbs, so the food is delicious!!!!
To counter the calorie intake from all the good food, I would suggest taking in the sites of Tbilisi to get your step count up. I really enjoyed the new Tsminda Sameba in Tbilisi (yup same name as above, it means Holy Trinity), wandering round the old town to visit the little old orthodox churches, and enjoying the huge stalinist monstrosities in the new town.
Additional tips
- I only had 5 days in Georgia and getting public transport was going to be slow! So, I used a local agent to provide transport and an english speaking guide (a groovy young feminist called Tamuna). It was about $150 per day just for me, and both the guide and the driver were fab. They also entertained me with lots of local music. I booked this through http://www.georgicatravel.ge. If you were time pressured, you could do everything above in a long weekend. If you had more time you could go to Svaneti and the black sea
- I stayed at the Radisson on points. It was fine. Being cheap, I made sure I made a packed lunch and snacks to take with me from the very good breakfast buffet
- Ladies don’t forget a headscarf or a hoody if you want to see the inside of the churches
Visited May 2011