Ushguli: a guide
Ushguli: how to get there from Mestia, when to go, and why to stay the night.
Ushguli is a community of four villages at the far end of Upper Svaneti, at the head of the Enguri valley, around 2,100 metres up under Shkhara. It is one of the highest permanently inhabited places in Europe and part of the Upper Svaneti World Heritage site. Most people come for the day from Mestia, but a night gives you far more: the cars leave in the afternoon and the village goes quiet.
When to go
- ·Late June to September is the best of it. The guesthouses are open and the walk to the Shkhara glacier is possible. In July and August the 4x4s arrive one after another all day.
- ·May, early June and October are cold, some guesthouses are shut, and there may still be snow on the paths.
- ·November to April there is deep snow. The road from Mestia is usually kept clear but can close for avalanches or ice, and only a few houses take guests.
Getting there
- ·From Mestia, about 45 km and an hour and a half to two hours by car. The road is now paved nearly the whole way.
- ·In summer shared minibuses and 4x4s usually leave Mestia every morning and come back in the afternoon.
- ·On foot from Mestia, the four day walk by way of Zhabeshi, Adishi and Iprari.
- ·From Lentekhi over the Zagari pass, only in summer and only by 4x4.
What it costs
A night in a guesthouse, with dinner70 to 120 GEL a person
A 4x4 from Mestia and back250 to 350 GEL
A meal in a cafe25 to 45 GEL
Rough figures. They move with the season and the place.
Worth doing
- ·The Shkhara glacier: about 15 km there and back along the valley floor, without much climbing. Horses can be hired.
- ·Lamaria church above the village, with Shkhara behind it.
- ·Queen Tamar's tower on the hill, and the towers of Chazhashi.
One thing worth knowing
Stay the night rather than coming for the day from Mestia: with two hours on the road each way you get two or three hours in the village, and those are the crowded ones. Bring cash; do not count on a cash machine.