Svaneti: Stone Towers of the Greater Caucasus

Field notes

Tucked between 4,000-metre peaks and the Black Sea coast, Svaneti is the kind of place that resets your sense of scale. Medieval stone defensive towers still stand in dozens of villages, used today for storing grain and sheltering livestock. Most travellers pass through Mestia, the regional capital with a small museum and a newish cable car, but the heart of the region is the 50-kilometre mountain trek from Mestia to Ushguli, a UNESCO-protected hamlet that claims to be Europe's highest continuously inhabited settlement.

Why go now: the Georgian government has invested in regional airports, making Mestia reachable by a one-hour prop flight from Tbilisi. Trails are being re-marked, and family-run guesthouses (a 'Pan's House') along the route cost roughly 50-70 GEL including three home-cooked meals. Expect khachapuri, lobiani (bean-stuffed bread), and locally brewed beer.

How to get there: Tbilisi to Mestia by 9-hour marshrutka, or 1-hour flight on Georgian Airways twice weekly. From Kutaisi, the overland option is scenic but slow.

Practical notes: Svan is its own unwritten language, distinct from Georgian; learn a few words and use translation apps for menus. ATM availability is limited — bring enough GEL cash from Tbilisi. Weather can shift from summer sun to snow flurries even in August above 3,000 m.