Mestia: a guide
Svaneti: when to go to Mestia and what to expect.
Mestia is the centre of Upper Svaneti: stone towers, glaciers, and one of the best walks in Georgia over to Ushguli. It is a long way, and worth it.
When to go
- ·June to September is the walking season. July and August are the busiest.
- ·December to March is skiing at Hatsvali and Tetnuldi, with very few people about.
- ·April to May and October to November much of it is shut.
Getting there
- ·By plane from Natakhtari to Mestia, fifty minutes, cheap and often cancelled for weather.
- ·By marshrutka from Zugdidi, four hours up the mountain road.
- ·By taxi from Zugdidi, 150 to 200 GEL for the car.
What it costs
A night in a guesthouse60 to 130 GEL
Dinner at the guesthouse25 to 40 GEL
A 4x4 to Ushguli250 to 350 GEL
Rough figures. They move with the season and the place.
Worth doing
- ·The four day walk from Mestia to Ushguli, the best known route in the country.
- ·The Chalaadi glacier, a day walk.
- ·The Svan towers and the ethnographic museum.
One thing worth knowing
There is a cash machine in Mestia, but nowhere in the villages takes a card. Bring cash.