When we were planning our world trip one of the guides we used was a book written for couples traveling the world together. In it they have a whole section on “road trips” and Georgia featured prominently so we figured “why not check it out” since a lot of the beauty of this trip has been in the fun random things we’ve randomly stumbled on. Our road trip in Georgia was through its rugged countryside. We broke this section of our Georgian trip into two parts- one part by driving to the cave city of Vardzia and resort town of Borjomi. The second part Tim went by himself to the most remote village in Europe- the tower town of Ushguli.
When we told people in we were going to rent a car and travel around Georgia we got some extremely mixed messages with some people legitimately fearing for our lives because of reasons ranging from the roads to the Georgian drivers. As a result when we got our little underpowered rental car, I was prepared myself to do battle- “Mad Max” road warrior style. What we experienced was….mainly just the annoyances of driving in a big city with drivers wanting to get to wherever they were going as fast as they could. This really wasn’t that big a difference between driving in Tbilisi and SF (only Tblisi does have a ton more traffic circles and you do need to know what exit you’re getting off at).
Once we were outside the city, the rolling hills of southern Georgia beckoned and the driving became gorgeous. The drivers- when we ran into them- were friendly and the roads were – all in all- in good condition (which I can’t say the same for in San Francisco). The countryside was jaw droopingly gorgeous, first starting with rolling hills clad in oak trees and ancient ruins from bygone eras. We drove through tiny hamlets and navigated traffic jams of sheep, goats and cows- which i’d choose over 101 traffic any day. As we traveled further south the landscape got more mountainous and much snowier. We stopped for a break next to a frozen lake and a chapel that looked to be on the edge of the earth. It felt like we were exploring something totally foreign and totally new to us. As we traveled towards our destination- the cave city of Vardzia- the mountains grew steeper and we navigated valleys with roaring rivers cutting their way through the landscape. Taking a left a large castle keep, we found our lodge for the night and spent the night eating new types of khachapuri- cheesy bread.
We woke up the next day to find the world blanketed in dense snow which made the cave city across the valley from us look that much more magical. Vardzia was built by the ancient Georgians and was a fully functioning city that they literally chiseled into the soft rock hillsides. With store rooms, cathedrals, stables and even wineries built into the steep clif face, the residents of Vardzia aimed to avoid the marauding hoards of the Turks. Unfortunately, Vardzia did fall and was sacked by the Turks.
Fortunately for us, there’s still a lot of stuff to see. We took a tour that had us climbing ladders, descending through caves and marveling at the complexity of what the ancient residents had created. It was surreal to be able to walk through the passageways and imagine what life would have been like there several hundred years ago. Orthodox monks have again returned to Vardzia to call it their home and ensure the old traditions continue.
Saying goodbye to Vardzia we made our way to our next stop- Borjomi. Borjomi is an old Georgian resort town nestled in gorgeous forested hills. It even includes natural hot springs and the incredible Boromi national park right next door.
The town is easily walkable and has all sorts of amazing restaurants, food stands and people. For a town as small as it is, its somewhat comical to see how big the central/amusment park is. With all sorts of a rides, a big ferris wheel and what can only be described as an “American Ninja Warrior Course”- but for kids- Borjomi has a lot of interesting things to check out.
We ended up staying in the Crowne Plaza Hotel which was pretty highly rated. Unlike many of the Crowne Plazas I’ve stayed at for work, this one was really nice with an incredibly huge underground pool, full spa and even a candlelit happy hour in their wine bar (so romantic!) Tiff definitely loved it. I loved checking out all the interesting stuff in the Borjomi area.
The Mtsvane (Green) Monastery is one of the interesting finds just up the road and was built in the 9th century. Visiting it is pretty spectacular as you drive up a winding one lane gravel road that’s covered in beautiful wildflowers. When you make it to the Monastery, the chapel is lit only by candlelight and the aura of incense is thick in the air- its quite an experience. Just up the road from that is the Borjomi National Park that has incredible trails through wooded canyons. It feels a bit like a fantasy movie because there are crumbling keeps, castles and ruins throughout the park- a testament to the history in this part of the world.
After enjoying Borjomi we headed back again to Tblisi where Tiff decided to relax while I got ready for my next adventure- getting to the most remote village in Europe- Ushguli Georgia!
Now Ushguli isn’t called “the most remote village in Europe” for no reason. First its located high up in the mountains and has snow covering it for roughly 6 months of the year. In order to get there I took an overnight train from Tbilisi to Zugdidi, then got in a marshrutka for 8 hours of the craziest driving of my life.
Marshrutkas are these vans that drive around the countryside and pick random people up and drop them off between towns. Think of them as freelance busses but most of them look pretty worse for wear (Tiff called them human trafficking vehicles). That being said, when you’re going to places like Ushguli, there the best way to get there. Bleary eyed after a rather sleepless night on the train I found myself getting stuffed into a Marshrutkas with a Georgian grandpa and three Malaysian girls who had never seen snow before.
Now we’ve talked about how Georgians LOVE their wine and this Georgian grandpa was no different. Even though he didn’t know a lick of English, he was able to communicate to me it was absolutely essential for a safe trip to start drinking his huge jug of wine at 7am. Far be it from me to say no and over the next few hours he got the whole van singing Georgian folks songs and drinking wine. It was an awesome moment that bridged cultures and generations (i’m sure the wine really helped with this).
The ride up from Zugdidi started innocently enough with the sun rising over the valley but quickly escalated- both in terms of road dangers and actual elevation. Our crazy 4×4/van marshrutka zipped around gravel roads that barely clung to sheer cliffside as we climbed further- going past immense forests, farms and huge dams that felt like they were something out of an action movie. As we started entering the snow line, things became more treacherous with the roads turning to muddy slush. We even had to stop and help a bunch of locals get another marshrutka out of a ditch.
When we finally made it to Ushguli 8 hours later and were met with an incredible site. The village sprawled out before us covered completely in snow. What makes Ushguli special is its towers. Each home has its own towers and they were used mostly for defensive purposes. Since Georgia sits squarely between Europe and Asia, marauders from both sides swept across these plains over the millennia. When this happened, the Svans (the people of Ushguli) would retreat into their towers where they could stay for months on end (each tower is pretty huge and has multiple store room floors). The invaders found it was far easier to just keep on moving then try to dislodge the Svans from their towery perches.
I was amazed by the serene sight of the town with all its towers jutting out of the snow- its truly one of the most memorable sites of the trip to me. After checking out the town, we went down the hill a ways to Ushguli’s slightly larger sister tower town- Mestia. I spent the night drinking wine with the local Svan’s and some expats from the US and Ireland who now call Mestia their home. It gave me all sorts of interesting perspective of life on the edge here. That and one heck of a rough morning after all the wine that we had.
After a snowy morning, I packed my things and made the long trip back to Tblisi and Tiffany. Another adventure for our adventure cookbooks was complete. Looking back now its clear that because of the people and the amazing time we had, Georgia truly is one of our favorite countries we’ve visted…and one in which we can’t wait to return to again.