Getting to know Georgia

Having watched enough melodramas about Georgia, I madly dreamed of visiting there and immersing myself in all this cinematic atmosphere. I can’t say that I’m an experienced traveler, but I love mountains with all my heart and, of course, I wanted to start getting to know Georgia with them. There were a lot of illusions about this, and I was surprised that they all came true and even more:)

So, in order. In July 2018, I went on a hike in Upper Svaneti with guide Denis Pavlovsky. Miracles accompanied us from the beginning to the end of the trip. First, my flight was rescheduled so I was late for the meeting and the group and guide were patiently waiting for me. While we were driving from Kutaisi to Mestia, our tire broke, for some reason the spare tire did not fit, and we stood and waited on the side of the road for a miracle. Would you say that this is naive? Yes, but not in Georgia. Everyone stopped in a row, their wheels also didn’t fit for some reason, they offered to take us to some intermediate point, bring us the right wheel, but in the end, after half an hour, we still found what we were looking for, complete strangers JUST GAVE us a wheel, exchanged contacts and left.

On the first day we traveled a lot, visited the Inguri Reservoir, the guide gave us delicious and filling khachapuri, and with anticipation we arrived in Mestia - the starting point of the route. The diagram can also be seen in the description, but I’d rather talk about my impressions.

I want to say right away that the hiking program is structured very smoothly: the first day you go, set up camp in a campsite, you can also go to the Khergiani Museum (for 3 GEL, it seems definitely worth it), the second day is radial, and then the load varies (either camping, then wild), which helps you gradually get into the right rhythm. Another very cool thing is that you can leave things you don’t need for the trip with the driver, and then he will bring them back and you can continue driving around Georgia. I traveled with my own equipment, not counting the tent, but you can also rent it, as some of the guys in the group did; the equipment is convenient and at a reasonable price. Everything was ok with the tent, warm, dry, not heavy.

Regarding personal items, you need to strictly follow the equipment list (waterproof socks are sooooo important!!) and there won’t be any problems either. Mountainous Georgia is not an easy place, during the day it is quite hot and sunscreen is a must-have, otherwise you can go crazy, and at night or during rain/wind, thermal underwear, a Goretex windbreaker, fleece, a hat, gloves are very important things. And yes, shoes, if you are going to the mountains, then in special shoes, you can buy them relatively inexpensively second-hand and this will be the best solution. And trekking poles will be very useful! Thanks to the guide, he taught us how to walk with them correctly, for those who didn’t have them, he cut down strong and thin sticks, I don’t know what we would have done without them. Previously, I was very mediocre about the choice of equipment and wondered why it was so difficult for me on a hike. As soon as you approached the issue responsibly, half of the difficulties were lifted from your shoulders.

About camping. Unprecedented amenities in the mountains for me, I even felt like I was being pampered: hot water, toilet, electricity, once we even watched football with the owners at their house and they treated us to coffee, others had a wonderful yard with a swing and cheerful children. But camping is 3 or 4 days out of 9, so a portable charger won’t be superfluous and you’ll also have time to be a savage:) Everyone is very kind, friendly, and mostly speaks Russian. And it costs only 5-10 GEL per day.

More about the track itself. This was my 4th hike and I was fully equipped so I was basically running ahead of everyone else. But the trek is quite difficult and if you want to have fun, you need to go prepared and have some hiking experience behind you.

On the first day we went to the radial track, reached the snow and rode on the assholes there. It's an incredible feeling to ride in the snow in the middle of summer:)

For me the hardest was fording the river. The water is icy, our legs are cramping, it’s scary to the point of horror, it’s good that we’re walking holding hands, and the guide is belaying us from behind (he separately carried the equipment across the river so that we wouldn’t drown it). This was the moment where I was ready to howl, but the group was very cool, everyone supported me, in the end, they managed and walked around, proud that they had overcome this too.

By the way, the trek can be completed a little earlier, but we were ready to fight to the end and climb to the highest point of the trek 3100 m and did not regret it, but if you get tired, you can get off in Ushguli. I injured my leg on the last day, but the guys helped, unloaded me, the guide gave me pain relief, a compression bandage, in general, they took care of everything, everyone was very attentive and willing to meet me. The taxi driver drove a little further so that I had less time to walk. In addition, in response to our request to take us to a cafe, he brought us to his home and fed us for the day ahead:)

In general, Georgia is paradise!:)

What I would like to say separately: this is incredible, indescribable beauty! Waterfalls, a glacier, mountain rivers, lakes, ancient temples, snow-capped peaks visible in the distance, beautiful flowers, magical sunsets, mountain villages, stone towers and cows, cows, cows - they are everywhere, and thanks to them there is somewhere to set your foot). I couldn’t let go of the camera; I wanted to take pictures of every step. In general, it is difficult to explain these sensations, as if you are in a fairy tale. Look at the photo - everything is clear)

At times there is no place for people to pass on the track, and in some places there is complete isolation. Along the way there are shops where you can pamper yourself with ice cream and Georgian cuisine, but of course it’s more expensive there compared to the capital or Batumi.

General impression: very cool, varied, eventful hike, super affordable for the price (you eat to your heart's content and it's very tasty, the guide does everything himself, no matter how much she tried to help, she refused:)), not the easiest, so you need to prepare responsibly, insanely beautiful, the weather is terribly changeable, but that only makes it more interesting:)

Thanks to Outdoor Ukraine, it was cool!