Svaneti

Svaneti is the far north-west of Georgia, high in the Greater Caucasus and, for a long time, all but cut off from the rest of the country. Getting there is part of it: a long drive up the Enguri gorge, following the river and its reservoir into the mountains, until the medieval stone towers begin to appear above the villages.

Those towers are what Svaneti is known for. Families built them for defence and refuge, and hundreds still stand — nowhere more so than at Ushguli, a cluster of hamlets under Mount Shkhara, the highest point in Georgia, and one of the highest year-round settlements in Europe. Mestia, a few hours below it, is the region’s main town and the base for most trips: a place to stay, hire a guide, and set out on the ridge walks that open onto the glaciers. Horses go where the paths do — riding between the villages is how Svans have always crossed this country, and a day in the saddle under the towers is easily arranged.

This is old, self-contained country. The Svans keep their own language and their own churches, some with frescoes six or seven hundred years old, and the food and the manners are their own.

Svaneti is a summer place. July to September is the season, when the passes are clear and the walking is good; the shoulder weeks either side can be fine or can turn. From late autumn the roads grow hard and the region draws in on itself, and we would steer you elsewhere until spring.

It suits walkers and unhurried travellers who do not mind a long transfer for somewhere genuinely apart — usually as the far point of a two-week trip, reached slowly and given the days it deserves.