Georgia: Svaneti Highlands

Highlights

• Mestia's medieval tower houses
• Ushguli — among Europe's highest villages
• Chalaadi glacier hike
• Koruldi Lakes viewpoint
• Svan family homestay

Is it right for you?

Seniors

Not advised for seniors: The main hike climbs about a thousand metres above Mestia, and the Ushguli road is a rough two-hour four-wheel-drive track each way

Getting around

A lot of walking

Children

The Koruldi Lakes hike is a full, steep day, though a jeep can cover the lower section for anyone who can't walk it all

From our own trip notes. Tell your captain about anyone's mobility, age or food needs and we confirm the details for your dates.

The story

Your journey outline

Each stage can cover one or more days. Tell us what you would change; your final itinerary is agreed before booking.

1. Stage 01 Tbilisi

   Land in Tbilisi and go into the old town, which is sulphur-smelling brick bathhouses, wooden balconies and a fortress on the hill above it. A supra, the Georgian feast, with a toastmaster who will make speeches through the whole meal. It is a soft night before a hard drive.

2. Stage 02 To Svaneti

   The long drive into Svaneti, which is most of the day and is the price of admission: west across the country, then up into the Greater Caucasus on a road that climbs alongside a reservoir the colour of antifreeze. Mestia at the end of it, at about 1,500 metres, with towers standing among the houses.

3. Stage 03 Mestia

   Mestia on foot. The koshki are Svan tower houses, used both as homes and as defence posts against invaders; Chazhashi, one of the Ushguli villages, still has more than two hundred standing. The museum holds icons and manuscripts that survived up here precisely because nobody could get at them. In the afternoon, the walk up to the Chalaadi glacier through birch forest to the ice face.

4. Stage 04 Ushguli

   The rough track to Ushguli, about two hours each way in a four-wheel drive, to a cluster of four villages at around 2,100 metres that is among the highest permanently inhabited settlements in Europe. Shkhara, Georgia's highest mountain at 5,203 metres, stands at the head of the valley behind it.

5. Stage 05 Hike Day

   The Koruldi Lakes, which is the walk everyone comes for: a climb of around 1,000 metres above Mestia to small alpine tarns at roughly 2,700 metres, with the Ushba twin peaks directly across the valley. It is a full day and a genuinely steep one, and a jeep can take the lower section.

6. Stage 06 Return Drive

   The drive back down out of the mountains, which is long again and is broken with stops in the lowlands. There is usually time for a hot spring or a monastery on the way, and the evening ends back within reach of the airport rather than eight hours from it.

7. Stage 07 The Return

   Fly home from Tbilisi. Seven days in a corner of the Caucasus that had no proper road until recently, where the towers are a thousand years old and the hospitality is close to aggressive.

Know before you go

• Georgia e-visa/visa-free varies by nationality — we confirm on booking
• Indian residents: 5% GST and 2% TCS on overseas packages
• Mountain roads in the Caucasus can close in heavy snow; we keep a plan B
• It's cash-friendly and cheap — carry some lari for villages

Policies

Why book with Travelers Clan

• Your own itinerary. This is a starting point — we agree your route and pace before booking.
• Paperwork guidance. Visa requirements and applicable taxes confirmed in your quote.
• Clear payment terms. Deposit and cancellation conditions set out before payment.
• Know your support. Your final plan confirms local contacts and any guide or trip-captain services.