Greater Caucasus

The minibus from Mestia to Ushguli takes about three hours on a road that alternates between gravel and wishful thinking. When you arrive, the first thing that hits you is not the elevation — though at 2,200 meters you feel it — but the towers. Medieval Svan towers, forty or fifty of them, rising from the slate rooftops of a village that has been continuously inhabited since the Bronze Age. The UNESCO listing changes nothing here. Chickens pick through the mud between the towers. Old women sell churchkhela from a table by the road. The mountains at the back — Shkhara at 5,068 meters — are plastered with glaciers that look like they might calve at any moment.

Svaneti: towers and glaciers

I spent four days in Ushguli and walked in a different direction each morning. Up toward the Shkhara glacier, where the ice makes sounds that remind you it is constantly moving. East toward the uninhabited towers at Murkmeli, where no one is trying to sell you anything because no one else is there. The food is simple and serious: kubdari, a bread stuffed with spiced pork and onion and pressed flat on a cast-iron pan, eaten hot at a table where someone’s grandmother is watching to see if you finish it. The wine is amber, skin-contact by default, poured from a clay jug, and it tastes like nothing you can buy at home.

Svaneti is a region of stone houses and square defensive towers, each family once keeping one against feuds and avalanches. Mestia is the bigger base, with guesthouses, small museums and trailheads, while Ushguli sits at the top of the valley under the high peaks. The walk between them is a classic multi-day route through meadows and high villages, and it is best taken slowly, with a night in family guesthouses along the way.

Kazbegi and the Georgian Military Road

The old Georgian Military Road runs north from Tbilisi toward Russia, and along it sit some of the range’s most photographed places. Gudauri is Georgia’s main ski area, quiet in summer and surrounded by high pasture and, in autumn, by bright colour on the slopes. Beyond it, the road threads through the Dariali Gorge to Stepantsminda, the town below Mount Kazbek, where the Gergeti Trinity Church stands on a hill above the valley. It is a popular walk up, and on clear mornings the peak behind it is a fine sight.

From Stepantsminda you can reach the Juta Valley and the jagged Chaukhi Massif, a day-hike or overnight with meadows, a stream and rocky spires above the tree line. The Sno Valley and the village of Shatili, with its fortress-like stone houses in Khevsureti, offer an even more remote taste of highland Georgia. Omalo and Tusheti are reached by a famously precarious mountain road open only in summer, and they reward the effort with shepherds’ villages and high ridges.

The Russian side and Azerbaijan

On the north slope, Mount Elbrus is the highest peak in Europe by most definitions, a snow-covered volcanic dome that dominates the skyline. Resorts at Arkhyz, Dombay and Teberda serve skiers and hikers, with national-park scenery of lakes and alpine valleys. Check current travel advice before planning any trip to this part of the range, as access conditions and official guidance can change.

On the Azerbaijani side of the range, the Lahic valley in the Ismailli district offers the same drama without the Svan towers but with different textures — copper workshops, stone lanes, the smell of metalwork mixing with the cold air coming off the Girdimanchai river. It is quieter and harder to reach and therefore almost entirely yours. Higher up, Khinalig is one of the highest continuously inhabited villages in the country, with its own language and stone houses stacked up a steep slope. Laghami sits in a forested valley with waterfalls and walking trails.

Food, hospitality and getting around

Mountain hospitality in the Caucasus is not a performance. Guesthouse dinners are long, plentiful and structured around toasts led by a tamada, or toastmaster. Expect khachapuri, cheese-filled breads that differ from valley to valley, khinkali dumplings eaten by hand, fresh cheese, walnut sauces, pickles and a lot of homemade wine and chacha. Vegetarians do well, since many dishes are built on beans, greens and cheese. Azerbaijani highland food leans on lamb, rice, herbs and sweet tea in small glasses.

Transport is by marshrutka minibuses, shared taxis and four-wheel-drive vehicles. Villages are small and beds are limited in the busiest weeks, so book guesthouses ahead where you can and carry a little cash for places without card machines. Plan buffer days: weather closes passes, and rivers swell in the afternoon heat. Good boots, a rain layer and a warm hat matter even in summer, and mobile signal is patchy above the villages. Hire local guides for glacier walks or any route that crosses unmarked ground. Respect village customs: dress modestly in churches, ask before photographing people, and accept the second glass of wine with good grace, because refusing it is rarely taken lightly.

When to go: June through September for mountain access — the road to Ushguli is often impassable from November through April. Late June brings wildflowers at elevation; September means clear skies and empty trails after the small summer rush thins out. Avoid July and August if you want the villages to yourself.

What most guides get wrong: They treat Georgia as a wine-and-Tbilisi trip and mention the Caucasus as a possible side excursion. The mountains are not a side excursion. They are the destination. Tbilisi is where you recover.

Photography: Pexels contributors.