Ushguli towers
Medieval villages.
İhsan Deniz Kılıçoğlu — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Andrzej Wójtowicz from Poznań, Poland — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jaba1977 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · გრიგოლ — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Paata Vardanashvili from Tbilisi, Georgia — CC BY 2.0 · Alen Ištoković — CC BY 3.0 · Jaba1977 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jaba1977 — CC BY-SA 4.0
A community of five medieval villages at the head of the Enguri gorge in Upper Svaneti, at about 2,100 metres, beneath Shkhara, Georgia's highest mountain at roughly 5,200 metres. It is one of the highest continuously inhabited settlements in Europe, home to about seventy families. Its isolation has preserved its old character, with stone houses and defensive Svan towers built mostly between the ninth and twelfth centuries. Snow covers it for about six months a year, sometimes cutting the road to Mestia. It is part of the Upper Svaneti UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 1996, and its village of Chazhashi is preserved as a museum-reserve. On a hill above the village of Zhibiani stands Lamaria, the Church of the Mother of God, from the ninth or tenth century, guarded by a Svan tower and a stone wall, with medieval frescoes inside and the snowy summit of Shkhara behind it, one of the most beautiful scenes in the Caucasus. Wandering is free. The road from Mestia is rough in parts and takes about two hours by four-wheel-drive, and many arrive on foot along the Mestia-Ushguli trek. Services are simple, with guesthouses for overnight stays, and June to September is the best time.
Medieval villages.
With Shkhara behind.
Georgia's highest peak.
Head of the Enguri gorge, Upper Svaneti, about forty-five kilometres south-east of Mestia
Yes, about two hours each way by 4x4, but staying overnight in a guesthouse lets you see the villages in morning and evening light.