We drive through the beautiful and lush mountain landscape of Mingrelia towards Upper Svaneti. We stop at the wonderful Aghvi campsite, which is run by the amazing and unique Mzia. We like the campsite so much that we decide to come back in about a week!
Here, we hike a little through the hilly landscape of the region (see here) and then drive along the long and adventurous pass road from Zageri via Chvenieri to Ushguli. We are lucky because the road was closed for some time and has just been reopened, so it is not yet marked on Google Maps. Via Ushguli, we continue for about two hours to Mestia, the tourist center of Upper Svaneti. However, this only means that there are accommodations, a few restaurants, and well-marked hiking trails. We soon discover that this is significantly more than in many other parts of Georgia…
Sarcasm aside, the mountains around Mestia are truly impressive and beautiful. From here, it is not far to the Russian border, and some of the most imposing and highest mountain peaks of the Caucasus, such as Ushba (4,737 m), can already be seen. A highlight here is our day hike to the Koruldi Lakes above Mestia (see below). It’s really impressive how behind every ridge you climb and every peak you approach, there’s always another higher peak in the distance, reaching up to the clouds!
The next day, we stroll through Mestia for a while and then drive back towards Kutaisi. We drive past the Enguri Reservoir, the largest reservoir of its kind in the world (!), leave Sugdidi on our left and continue on to Martwilli in pouring rain. Here we visit the, frankly, somewhat underwhelming canyon and drive a little further to the Okatse Canyon, which is truly impressive in contrast. Hundreds of meters above the canyon, a skywalk runs 700 meters along the canyon. With a slightly queasy feeling in our stomachs, the view down into the canyon and the Mingrelian landscape behind it is even more impressive!
On the way back to Martvili, we go out for a nice meal together. A fitting end to 10 wonderful days with Lukas! The next day, he has to go back to the airport and return to Germany. Have a good flight and see you soon (in 5 months…)!