Ushguli
Georgia · Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti · 2100 m
Description
Ushguli (უშგული) is four hamlets at the head of the Enguri valley at two thousand one hundred metres, usually described as the highest continuously inhabited settlement in Europe, with about seventy stone towers standing among the houses and hayfields. Shkhara, the highest mountain in Georgia at five thousand two hundred metres, closes the valley directly behind it and the glacier at its foot is a day's walk up the meadow. The road in from Mestia is rough and takes two to three hours, and it is often shut by snow from November until May.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: June – September
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Stone tower hamlets of Ushguli (UNESCO World Heritage)
- Mount Shkhara at the head of the valley
- Walk to the Shkhara glacier
- Lamaria church above the village
- Ushguli ethnographic museum in a tower
- Rough mountain road in from Mestia (June - October)
- Hay meadows and the summer livestock work
- Guesthouse suppers of Svan cooking