Impressive Georgia is an extremely mountainous country located almost entirely in the South Caucasus in Western Asia. Its northern border with Russia stretches along the main ridge of the Greater Caucasus, which includes some of the highest mountains in Europe, as the watershed forms the boundary between Asia and Europe. Its western limit is the Black Sea.
Mighty Shkhara, which at 5193 meters above sea level is the tallest mountain in Georgia and the third highest in Europe
A small part of Georgia is geographically part of Europe. Most of the approximately four million inhabitants consider themselves European and call their country the Balcony of Europe. For us, however, it was a stressful country, as we sensed a lot of aggression, possibly caused by the conflicts between East and West. The roads are often terrible, and many drivers are very reckless. Nevertheless, it is a great country with magnificent landscapes, a breathtaking culture, and mostly friendly people.
August 1 and 2, 2025, were our first two days in Georgia. However, we only crossed the central southern part of the country, traveling from Turkey toward Armenia. The border between Turkey and Armenia was closed to tourists.
Marion with a fire engine in Ninotsminda
On August 19, 2025, we returned to Georgia and met a friend at the airport in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. We continued north over the 2,395-meter-high Jvari Pass to the Stepantsminda District. We felt like we were seeing thousands of trucks waiting on the road, as this route was in this time the only way to travel from Georgia to Russia and vice versa. The Zhinvali Reservoir was our first top highlight, as we could spent the night right on its shore and were able to swim a lot in its clear, pleasantly warm water.
Nanauri castle located directly on the Zhinvali Reservoir
Endless queues of trucks at the roadside waiting for border clearance
Our first hike in Georgia took us to the awesome Truso Valley, where there is a lot of volcanic activity such as travertines. We walked more than 20 kilometers from the deserted village of Nogkau to the tiny village of Ketrisi and back in one long day. Near Nogkau, we found a beautiful, pristine campsite, free of charge.
Abano Mineral Lake at 2127 meters sea-level
Impressive red and orange hues on a travertine on the southern gravel road to Ketrisi
Three days later, we planned to drive to Juta, but the final stretch of the road was closed due to landslides. Fortunately, we found a safe parking space five kilometers before Juta and hiked to the excellent Amo-Isuntke Hostel. The next day, we continued east on foot over the 3,338-meter-high Chaukhi Pass and its southeastern peak to the outstanding Sindaura Mountain House near the village of Roskha—a strenuous trek of about 16 kilometers and 1,200 meters of elevation gain. On a cloudy and foggy day, we hiked back to the car over the 3,056-meter-high Sadzele Pass.
Defense tower in Sno, at the beginning of the Juta Valley
The dangerous last part of the road to Juta due to mudslides - our car stayed safely under this section
Steep glacier in the Chaukhi Ranke with peaks more than 3800 meters above sea-level
The Gergeti Trinity Church is one of Georgia's most famous highlights. Unfortunately, it was undergoing renovations when we arrived. It stands at 2,170 meters above sea level, opposite the majestic Kazbeghi volcano, which, at 5,054 meters above sea level, is the highest mountain in the region. Just 400 meters from the Gergeti Trinity Church there is an exceptionally beautiful campsite with a lot of animals.
Horses on the nice campsite below the Gergeti Trinity Church with awesome Kazbegi in the back
Curious visitor
Alfred wanted to climb Kazbegi and organized a mountain guide in Stepantsminda, including transporting his luggage on horseback to the Bethlemi Hut at 3,650 meters sea-level. The hike to the hut was long and included over 1,500 meters of elevation gain, including crossing the Gergeti Glacier. The second day was for acclimatization, during which Alfred and his guide Toko hiked to the little summit of 3,905-meter-high Bethlemi Church Peak. We had planned to climb Kazbegi at night, starting at 1:00 a.m., but Alfred fell ill with severe dysentery - there was no chance of managing the over 1,500 meters of elevation gain to the summit of the 5,054-meter-high Kazbegi.
Kazbegi with Gergeti Glacier
Horses on Gergeti Glacier
3650 meters high Bethlemi Hut
Life at the Bethlemi Hut
Awesone Ortsveri with Gergeti Glacier seen from Bethlemi Hut
Since we had two weeks of changeable weather at the beginning of September 2025, we drove west from Tbilisi to the larger city of Kutaisi, which lies at the foot of the first hill ranges of the Greater Caucasus. Of note is the town of Tskaltubo, which was a very popular health resort during the Soviet era, with approximately 125,000 visitors per year. Unfortunately, most of the former buildings and sanatoriums are now more or less dilapidated and no longer usable. However we found a very nice swimming pool in Tsqaltubo.
Modern (socialist ?) art in the center of Kutaisi
Abandoned Sanatorium Gelati completed in 1964
Entrance Hall in the Metalurgist Sanatorium
We spent some rainy, windy, and occasionally sunny days in the hills north of Kutaisi, where we did some short hikes. Highlights included the Okatze Gorge and River, the Gabzarul Lake Natural Monument, and the Motsameta Monastery.
Wasp hive on the way to the Okatse Canyon
Marion in the Okatse River
Little farm in Zeda Gordi
Gabzarul Lake Natural Monument
The weather forecast for the higher mountains promised excellent weather, so we ventured to Ushguli over the 2,623-meter-high Zagaro Pass. Fortunately, the road had been paved several months ago, but there were still some bumpy sections due to landslides. This part of the Greater Caucasus is the wildest and most alpine, with many peaks over 5,000 meters. We stayed one night on the pass and took a short hike to the 3,105-meter-high summit of Chubedishi, which offers breathtaking views of the magnificent Shkhara, which, at 5,193 meters above sea level, is the highest point in Georgia.
Cloudy Shkhara seen from the summit of 3105 meters high Chubedishi
Detail of the icy summit of Shkhara, which is also the third highest peak in Europe
In Ushguli, we found a fantastic campsite in the northeastern valley. We climbed the 3,142-meter-high Lagem Peak and saw Europe's highest mountain, the twin volcano Elbrus, which, at 5,642 meters, lies entirely in Russia.
On top of Lagem Peak with Jangi -Tau Peaks and West Shkhara
Rocky Uschba (main peak on the left) with snowy Elbrus
Jangi -Tau Peaks, West Shkhara and main summit of Shkhara at sunset from our campsite in Ushguli
Defense towers in the Chazhashi quarter of Ushguli, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996
Our next tour was the little Zuruldi peak from the village of Tsvirmi, which reminded us of Swiss villages. We encountered no one on this wonderful hike.
4858 meters high Tetnuldi seen from our campsite in Tsvirmi
Summit bell of 2332 meters high Zuruldi
Flowers on top of Zuruldi
On the way to Zuruldi there were many delicious mushrooms
Happy pig in Tsvirmi
The weather forecast for the next few days promised heavy rain and storms, so we rushed to Zugdidi in Georgia's western plain, with only a brief stop in Mestia. We feared that the road would be closed for a few days due to landslides. In Zugdidi, we explored the Dadiani Palace on a rainy day before continuing on to the Black Sea coast.
Two defense towers in Mestia with someone on top
Dadiani Palace in Zugdidi in the rain
Portrait of Queen Tamar the Great, who ruled Georgia from 1184 to 1213, in the Dadiani Palace
Napoleon Bonaparte was also in the Dadiani Palace
Stormy weather on the Black Sea close to Grigoleti
The rain was so heavy that one of our skylights leaked. Luckily, we were able to have it repaired in Bulgaria a few days later. When we arrived in Batumi, Georgia's second-largest city and most important port, the sun reappeared, allowing us to stroll through this exciting city on our bikes. Touching are the two moving, 8-meter-high steel sculptures which commemorate the tragic love story of the Muslim boy Ali and the Christian Georgian princess Nino - Find out more here. We also had the opportunity to swim in the still pleasantly warm waters of the Black Sea in Tsminda Andria, near the Turkish border.
People with Georgian flags and the moving tragic love sculpture Ali and Nino
Fancy buiding with Nuri Lake in Batumi
Alphabetic Tower in Batumi
Marion in the Black Sea at sunset
In the late afternoon of September 23, 2025, we took the ferry "Druzhba" - friendship from Batumi directly to Burgas, Bulgaria. We spent two nights on this amazing ship with many trucks and their drivers, mostly Georgians. They were happy not to have to drive and celebrated the two evenings with lots of Georgian songs, good food, and much alcohol. Of course, we had to try everything. There were only two women on board – Marion and another traveler with her husband and camper.
Pirate boat in front of Batumi
Skyline of Batumi with snowy mountains at sunset
We enjoyed sunny and calm weather during our voyage across the Black Sea. After more than three months in Asia, we returned to Europe in the late afternoon of September 25, 2025 – more on that in the next article.
For more pictures, please click here
For a map of our itineraries, click here
To download our GPS coordinates file of Georgia, click here