Five days: four of them walking, one of them at the table. The walking is the Chalaadi glacier, the day in Ushguli, the Koruldi Lakes and the Becho valley with Shdugra waterfall. The fifth day goes inside the culture that built the towers you have been photographing — frescoed churches, a traditional Machubi house, the museums, and a meal at a Svan family table.
We put the cultural day last on purpose. After four days among the mountains, the towers stop being scenery and start being somebody's family history, and the questions you ask at the table are better ones. You are based in Mestia throughout, breakfast and dinner included, in a group of six with one guide and one car — the arithmetic the per-person price stands on.
Classic or Signature
For walkers who want the landscape and the culture behind it given equal weight.
Day by day
Pine forest, the suspension bridge over the Mestiachala, the glacier tongue. Easy acclimatisation day; afternoon in Mestia - Svan towers and the museum.
4x4 up the Enguri gorge to Europe's highest inhabited village. Lamaria church, towers, Svan lunch, Shkhara viewpoint.
Alpine lakes at 2,700 m with the full Ushba panorama. The hardest day-hike near Mestia.
Shdugra waterfall, Georgia's most powerful, and the Ushba glacier viewpoint.
Towers, frescoed churches, a traditional Machubi house, museums, a Svan family table.
What is included
- A local Svan guide with the group every day
- All travel inside Svaneti in our own vehicles
- A room in Mestia with breakfast and dinner
Not included
- Airport transfer — we arrange it as a separate line, just ask
- Flights and travel insurance
- Lunch on the mountain
- A room to yourself (single supplement on request)
Your guides
Shako MargianiAthlete · IFMGA & GMGA certified
Lasha PirtskhelianiIFMGA & GMGA mountain guide
Galo JapharidzeAlpine ski racer & guide · GMGA certified
Dato GuledaniMountain guide · GMGA certifiedCertified local Svan guides. We guide in English, Georgian and Svan.
Dates are flexible — tell us yours and we build the departure around them. Solo travellers can join a group that is already forming.
Questions we hear before this trip
How big is the group?
Six people, one guide, one car — that is the arithmetic the per-person price is built on. A party larger than six is split by activity, each sub-group priced by its own rule.
Can a solo traveller join?
Yes. Dates are flexible, and a single traveller can join a departure that is already forming.
What does the price cover?
A local Svan guide with you each day, all travel inside the region in our own vehicles, and a room in Mestia with breakfast and dinner.
What happens on the cultural day?
Towers, frescoed churches, a traditional Machubi house, the museums, and a meal at a Svan family table. It is a walking-and-talking day rather than a hiking day, and it comes last, when the landscape already means something.
What is not covered?
Flights, insurance, lunch on the mountain, and a room to yourself.