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god's back garden, the birthplace of world red wine, switzerland's substitute...georgia, a small country with a lot of tourist buffs,with the transcaucasianfull visa exemptionthere is a trend of gradually becoming popular!

here areancient and sacredthe orthodox style and the sense of independence from the worldmountaintop churchit has been on the cover of lonely planet; the natural scenery is also stunning, especially the 4-day hike between mestia and ushguli.it is a world-class route in the minds of outdoor enthusiasts.

photo丨ins@amazingtingnongnoy

before the weather conditions become unsuitable in winter, the summer meadow flowers have already transitioned to colorful autumn colors. if you miss the best hiking season, you will have to wait another year!

🇬🇪entry policy:unconditional visa exemption, single entry stay 30 days

✈️how to get there:usually choose china southern airlines to transfer to the capital tbilisi via urumqi; you can also transfer in the middle east

💰currency exchange:atm unionpay card withdrawal or exchange us dollars for local currency (lari)

🚖taking a taxi within the country:Yandex Go / Bolt

popular itineraries include: ushguli hiking, mestia cable car, the secret giant tower canyon, batumi black sea cruise, tbilisi night tour, winery dinner, holy trinity church under the snow-capped mountains, etc.

unsplash@Catherine Zaidova

01

the capital city of tbilisi is both ancient and trendy

photo丨Unsplash@Iman Gozal

🚶day 1: city walk in the old town

🚌transportation in the city:all major subway stations sell stored-value bus cards that can be used by multiple people and allow free transfers within 90 minutes; the card fee and balance can be refunded with the receipt. take bus no. 337 from the airport, which takes 1 lari (less than 3 yuan) to the city center.

📍puppet clock tower

tbilisi old town is the most popular tourist destination.walking can clear allthe puppet bell tower can be used as the starting point for the visit. at every hour, the window will pop open, and the puppet angel will slide out, ring the bell, and perform the life of a human being; at 12:00 and 19:00, there will be additional puppet shows.

photo丨Unsplash@Nick Night

📍mother statue

take the cable car from rike park to the observation deckpanoramic view of the old town, you can see the peculiar peace bridge in the distance. turn right at the cable car station and you can also check in the georgian flag"mother statue", holding a sword in one hand and a wine bowl in the other, standing tall.

photo丨Unsplash@Daniel Newman

photo丨Unsplash@mostafa meraji

turn left and you will see the narikala fortress (currently under renovation), which is a popular spot for internet celebrities. you can climb the steps of the fortress and see the holy trinity church in the background."wine and the kingdom of god", "genesis" has a real feel at this moment.

photo丨ins@ksiushaiam

📍holy trinity church

the largest orthodox church in the caucasus.the 7.5-meter-high dome is covered with pure gold, i strongly recommend you to choose the right time to watch the sunset at dusk.

photo丨Unsplash@Christian Attard

🚶day 2: tour of former soviet union buildings

⛪️brutalism:exaggerated roughness, exposed components without modificationthe architectural style is full of science fiction. don't miss it when you come to countries that were once part of the soviet republic (such as georgia and armenia) or former slavic countries (such as serbia).

the magical buildings in tbilisi city are concentrated on a side road.it is very convenient to see the whole place by public transportation. here are some landmark ones.

📍bank of georgia headquarters

the headquarters building of the bank of georgia appears frequently in the spotlight.they are interlocking like building blocks and are particularly good at producing films.

photo丨ins@bormot

📍former archaeological museum & st. nino monument

ornate square soviet reliefs and huge saints,giant lovers rejoice!the two places are adjacent to each other, so you can check in together.

photo丨Unsplash@Albert

📍bronze chronicles

an epic poem that has yet to be completed.16 bronze columnsfrom top to bottom, local folklore, the history of the founding of the country and biblical stories are depicted in relief. it is no exaggeration to say that walking under it will give you goosebumps! the location is located on a mountain by the sea, and you can overlook the tbilisi sea from the back.

photo丨Unsplash@Maksim

🚶additional notes:tbilisi special experiences

🎨cultural and creative park:fabrika tbilisi, which was converted from a former soviet textile factory, has not only eye-catching graffiti walls, but also a market, youth hostels, trendy shops, and nightlife.strong street culture atmosphere, earning tbilisi the nickname "little berlin"

🛀sulfur bath:"tbilisi" means "warmth" in the local language.rich in hot spring resourcesthere is even a "bathing street" with many dome-style luxurious baths. recommended places: chreli abano, gulo's thermal spa (private rooms must be booked)

🛍️flea market:dry bridge market, open daily from 09:30 to 17:30

photo丨ins@fabrika_tbilisi

02

mestia-ushguli, walk to the ceiling

a 4-day, 3-night, 62-kilometer hike between mestia and ushguli.praised by outdoor people as "a must-have for life"alpine meadows, streams and jungles, hidden villages, and flowers all over the mountains in summer...it is a visual feast.

photo丨Unsplash@G Meyer

the stunning mountaintop church at the beginning of this article is located in kazbekistan, and is also a place where you can hike when you come to georgia.but the altitude is too high (one of the highest peaks in the greater caucasus mountains, about 5,000+ meters), and the entire hike is about 2,000 meters above sea level.it is one of the most accessible snow-capped mountain routes in the world.

view from the plane, photo丨ins@andrewthompsonsa

✈️how to get there：the first choice is vanilla air’s 17-seat propeller plane, which flies directly from tbilisi to mestia in just 1 hour.flying low over the caucasus mountains, 200+ rmb for a sightseeing helicopter experience! but the tickets are extremely difficult to buy and cannot be found on third-party platforms.

🎫ticket purchase:the official website releases tickets 1 month in advance 👉https://ticket.vanillasky.ge, the starting point should be natakhtari, a suburb of tbilisi, and the end point should be mestia. fill in the information and pay within 4 minutes. there is a free shuttle bus from the city to the airport. there is no assigned seat. you can walk on the plane by yourself and grab a seat with a good view.

🚆alternatives: when there is a high probability that you cannot buy a plane ticket, or the flight is canceled due to bad weather, the mainstream solution is to buy a train ticket from tbilisi to zugdidi through the official railway app "tre" or official website (https://tre.ge). there will be a shared minibus to mestia when you exit the station, and you will basically be on the road for one day.

the scenic town of mestia is the starting point of the hike. accommodation and restaurants are concentrated on the main street, where you can take a break and buy supplies. it takes about 2.5 hours to drive to ushguli.the hike needs to be completed in 4 days, with one day spent in each village.

photo丨ins@thefella

if you want to selectively walk based on the feedback about the scenery on the internet, or if you feel exhausted halfway,you can travel between villages by car.it’s up to you whether you want to be rich or poor, and it’s friendly to newbies.

*if you just want to visit and don’t want to hike at all, you can also take a direct bus from mestia. the driver will make a few short stops along the way for you to take photos, but you won’t have as much time to explore as you would on a tour group or on foot.

📲navigation software:download offline maps in advance from maps.me or all trails, and the trails are ready

🏡 accommodation along the way:you can book in the village. the price of homestay is basically the same, calculated per person, about 70 lari/person including breakfast and dinner

🎒large luggage: stay at a hostel in mestia and travel light

🏕️hiking equipment:hiking shoes, hiking poles, quick-drying pants, jackets & fleece jackets, chocolate bread, water and other dry food

📍d1: mestia - zhabeshi, about 16km

the difficulty is not great and the journey is easy.there are ancient villages scattered along the way. you can drink tea and coffee in the houses, and look out at the snow-capped mountains and gurgling rivers. the scenery is quite rich.be on the road before 9 o'clock, and we can reach the village at 15:00.

unsplash@Alex Shu

📍d2: zhabeshi - adishi, about 10 km

the shortest, but steepest climb.about 900 meters. the first half is the ridgeline, and the difficulty starts to increase. after passing the top of the mountain, there will be a supply point where you can see the snow trail + cable car. the scenery of this day is mainly walking through the forest, and flowers and plants are everywhere in summer.

unsplash@Vasily Ledovsky

d3: adishi - khalde/iprari, about 16~19 km

the most recognized section with the most beautiful scenery.the scenery of the first two days is all included, so many people take a taxi here directly and only walk this section.

photo丨ins@martabeyonde

walk along the gentle pasture horse trail and arrive at the river crossing point (recommended horse riding 20 lari/person, some people wade directly across the river, but it is not recommended, the river becomes more turbulent as the night goes on). after climbing to the top, the pass is very close to the snow-capped mountains.eating a meal on the road while appreciating the panoramic view of the snow-capped mountains and the colorful forests available only in autumn is an experience you will only experience once in a lifetime!

crossing point, photo丨[email protected]

walk downhill to khalde village, and there are roads behind you. the scenery is average. you can share a car at the coffee shop and go directly to ushguli, or walk another 3 kilometers and stay in iprari, finishing the fourth day.

d4: iprari-ushguli, about 17 km

those who insist on finishing the walk can continue on the fourth day.most of it is road.

the final destination, ushguli, is one of the three united nations world cultural heritage sites in georgia and one of the highest permanent human settlements in europe.it retains the appearance of an original medieval village.even the name is as beautiful as a poem.

photo丨unsplash@tomáš malík

in ushguli, you canstroll through 4 ancient villages under the snow-capped mountains, check in at the bunker-like "swan tower", or experience a short hike on the shkhara glacier.the lazy version is to take a car directly to the foot of the mountain. you only need to walk 2km+ to listen to the heartbeat of the glacier up close.

03

batumi, a seaside resort city lying flat

after being exhausted from hiking, it is perfect to come to batumi, a resort city on the black sea, and lie down for a few days.the coastline stretches for more than ten kilometers, and the sea water is blue and clear. it is also one of the most "westernized" cities in georgia, with concentrated attractions, making it suitable for a leisurely walk.

🚌how to get there:take a minibus from mestia

📍ali&nino sculpture

in the hit drama "the story of rose" starring liu yifei,this is the dynamic sculpture that huang yimei stopped to admire when she broke up with her first love zhuang guodong!

screenshot of "the story of rose"

the hero and heroine slowly move towards each other, meeting, hugging, blending, and separating, over and over again.it seems that the true meaning of love was explained in 10 minutes.it also reminds people of the legendary story of performance artists marina & ulay who agreed to walk towards each other from two ends of the great wall of china.

Unsplash@Maksim

📍 batumi ferris wheel

a fully open ferris wheel without a glass cover.overlooking the sculptures and the batumi bay below,enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of this city known as the "pearl of the black sea".

photo丨ins@snordh

📍alphabet tower

the tower is named after the georgian letters surrounding its exterior. it is a local landmark sightseeing tower.looking out the windowthere are many restaurants with nice views.

photo丨ins@_sea_fox、@marcorapetti

📍aircraft take-off and landing at the seaside

batumi airport is very close to the sea. this observation point on the seawall is full of "flying friends". it is not common to see planes flying low over the sea and passing overhead, and it gives a very oppressive feeling!

📷watching location:🔍plane spotting point

check the flight schedule in advance on variflight or airtravel. the landing is more spectacular than the takeoff.

photo丨ins@ganushkevychka

📍batumi cathedral of our lady

turn into the city,with european square as the center, it is full of exquisite and classical european-style buildings.at the same time, it is also inclusive, with multicultural landscapes such as the armenian church and st. nicholas orthodox church. the cathedral of our lady of batumi, a typical neo-gothic church, can be visited as a highlight.

photo丨Unsplash@Kseniia Poroshkova

the georgia part of the trip ended in the resort town of batumi, and i would also like to add:armenia and azerbaijan, the remaining three countries in the transcaucasus, have also all been granted visa-free entry!students who are thinking about traveling to multiple countries need to plan carefully.

photo丨ins@snordh

🇦🇲 batumi-yerevan:there is an overnight train from batumi to yerevan, the capital of armenia, which departs on even-numbered days in september. it may be limited to the peak season, and may not be available in later months. please refer to the official website 👉https://www.railway.am/eng/forpassaj, or you can go back to tbilisi and take a minibus to yerevan

🇦🇿caucasus: because azerbaijan and armenia have a feud and their borders are blocked, the order of the three countries can be arranged as: azerbaijan ➡️ georgia ➡️ armenia

🇹🇷batumi - türkiye: batumi is only 100 kilometers away from the turkish border. you can go through the sarpi port by land to trabzon, which is also on the black sea coast, and then visit other places in turkey. the turkish electronic visa is issued in seconds, which is also very convenient.

secret places in the snowy mountains and abandoned villages... this is the call of the caucasus.