ZURABTRAVEL
A two-day tour.
If you are lured by unexplored Georgia, driven by the desire to experience a real natural and ethnographic reserve, to touch centuries-old traditions and Georgian uniqueness, and if you are of sturdy constitution and ready to overcome one of the most challenging roads in the world, we invite you to an extreme tour of Tusheti. Tusheti (or Tusheti in Georgian) is a remote mountainous region in northeastern Georgia, the most inaccessible area. Due to the difficulty of mountain passes, it is only possible to reach these magical places, which capture the heart with stunning mountain landscapes and untouched nature, from the end of May to September, and for the rest of the year, Tusheti is cut off from the outside world.
We start our off-road tour in Kakheti and head towards the lost civilization through the Abano Pass - the highest pass in Georgia and the Caucasus, with an altitude of over 2900 meters. According to the Air Force service, this is one of the most dangerous roads in the world, but the difficulties you face on the way will be more than compensated by what you see. The asphalt of Kakheti will end very quickly and ahead of you will be 70 km of dirt road on a steep serpentine over the precipice, through canyons, with the occasional crossing of cascading waterfalls, springs, turbulent mountain rivers and snowdrifts, despite the height of summer. At the pass, the temperature difference with Kakheti will be at least 20 degrees, and the mountain coolness will refresh your emotions. The road takes about 5-6 hours, depending on the strength of your nerves, time for taking photos, and weather conditions. The ascent to Tusheti is already an exciting adventure with tingling nerves and adrenaline rushing through the roof. During all 70 km of the journey to Omalo, the main village in Tusheti, you will admire amazing landscapes where man has hardly touched the breathtaking creations of nature. Once in Tusheti, you will be conquered by the pristine beauty and grandeur of nature. This is a magical corner of untouched nature, with a fairy-tale combination of mountains, forests, blooming meadows, gorges, and lively and pure mountain rivers. Here, everything is aimed at maximum unity with nature; the beauty that your eyes will capture does not fit into the framework of usual perception and takes your breath away.
The village of Omalo, like all of Tusheti, is located in a picturesque mountain valley. The first line consists of mountains, interwoven with the velvet of saturated green virgin pine forests with splashes of bright rhododendron blossoms, and the second - the four-thousand-meter mountains with appetizingly glittering snow-capped peaks and enchanting names such as Tebulo, Komito, Dano, and Diklo, which cut into the blue sky. In the acoustic amphitheater of the mountains, the sound resonates and it seems like your hearing becomes all-pervading into the surrounding world. Catching the peace around you, you will not only want to contemplate but also listen to nature. And it will tell you something of its own, unknown to anyone, about the silent melting of snow at the glaciers, about the cloud clinging to the top of Tebulo, about the freedom of the eagle's flight and the quarrel of grouse in the thicket of wild rose, about the revival in the air of the aroma of wild mint, about the sound of a bell on the meadow, about the drops of rain playfully tapping on the leaves and the ground.
The main villages of Tusheti are Omalo (Upper and Lower), Shenako, and Dartlo. The beauty of Tusheti was made famous by G. Daniliya in the movie "Mimino," where the protagonist Valiko Mizandari was a Tushetian and flew here from Telavi; the helicopter pad still operates today. Currently, there are about a dozen inhabited villages in Tusheti, they are picturesquely scattered on the slopes of the mountains and resemble eagle's nests; during the winter, only a few residents remain here, while the rest descend to Kakheti.
We will stay for leisure and accommodation in a guesthouse owned by a native of the region in the picturesque corner of Nizhny Omalo with breathtaking views of the mountains. The evening and night will offer a luxurious starry sky of Tusheti, on one side, the stars will be within reach, and on the other, you will be lost in the glittering abyss above your head. The next day we will devote to the historical and architectural heritage of Tusheti, which belongs to the best examples of human labor and embodies the times of human spirit's greatness. Handmade architecture perfectly fits into the pristine natural beauty of the region. To this day, medieval towers have been preserved in Dartlo in their original form, which impress with their engineering design, implementation technology, and centuries-old reliability. These towers are not at all like Svan towers, they overlap in age, but the architecture and impressions they produce are absolutely different. We will climb up to the fortress of Kesalo, built during the Mongol invasion of Georgia in 1230, and today 13 towers have been restored in the citadel, which offers a beautiful view of Omalo and its surroundings. Thanks to the authenticity of the natural and architectural heritage of Tusheti, the region has been nominated for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Tusheti will immerse you in a quiet and deep amazement, give you true tranquility and serenity. It will seem incredible to you that you didn't know before that there is this magical place in the world where time stands still, and infinity closes on you, and the most important and significant thing is this moment here and now.
The beauty of Tusheti reveals itself on the spot when you come to this amazing place and feel all-consuming trembling and admiration.