Mestia
We took a shared taxi from Tbilisi to Mestia and checked into Manoni's Guesthouse for $10 right outside of town with views of the mountains. the guesthouse was run by a mother and her daughter. If you order in advance they can cook you breakfast and dinner. It was amazing!
Since we didn't have too much time and it was already too late in the season to do the 5 day hike from Mestia to Ushguli, we chose to do three, one day hikes. The first day we got there we hiked to the Chalaadi Glacier. You can either walk the roughly 7km from town or take a taxi to the base. From the base it’s an easy 4 km round trip hike through the forest following a stream up to the base of the glacier.
CHAADI GLACIER
SVANETI USHGULI
The next day we took a shared taxi to Svaneti Ushguli with Na Yeoung from South Korea, Stephanie from Main, and a couple from Lithuania. It had snowed so the ride was muddy, bumpy and long but really beautiful! We walked around the town and then walked out toward the Shakara Glacier. We made it maybe halfway to where the valley rounded a corner and you could see the whole massive mountain range.
Ushguli is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the stone towers in town date back to roughly the 10th century. They were the villagers’ homes and storage space, with ladders inside connecting each level.
THE CROSS AND KORULDI LAKES
Our final day we had breakfast at the hostel again then started hiking with Na Yeoung right from town up to the cross ontop of the mountain ridgeline. It was a hard hike and super steep but the views were absolutely worth it! 360 degree views of snow capped mountains. There's a nice platform at the top where you can rest with a snack - we had cookies and candied nuts. We hiked a bit farther toward Koruldi lakes but didn't have enough time to make it all the way there. We took the trail criss-crossing the road to the left going down to change things up. Had lunch at a little cafe in town with s back porch overlooking the mountains.
