Mestia
mountains
Sobre Mestia
Enclavada en lo alto del Cáucaso, Mestia es el corazón de Svaneti, donde las torres defensivas de piedra construidas entre los siglos IX y XII aún se elevan por encima de los tejados. El aislamiento que antaño protegió a los independientes svanos también preservó una cultura viva que aún puedes escuchar en su canto polifónico y saborear en un generoso banquete. Pasa los días explorando los museos Etnográfico y de la Casa Margiani, realizando una excursión al Glaciar Chalaadi o esquiando en Hatsvali, con la antigua aldea de Ushguli a corto alcance.
Cultura
Los svanos mantienen su lengua, música y costumbres, y las casas-torre simbolizan el orgullo familiar. Los festivales incluyen canto polifónico y generosos banquetes.
Consejos de viaje
Moneda: GEL; solo efectivo (cajeros limitados). Idioma: Svanio, georgiano; poco inglés. Seguridad: Seguro; terreno abrupto. Transporte: 4x4 o vuelo desde Tbilisi, 6 horas por carretera.
Tours que incluyen Mestia
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Georgia in 14 Days — Grand Discovery
The definitive two-week journey across Georgia, east to west and mountains to sea. From Tbilisi you explore the wine villages of Kakheti, climb the Military Road to Gergeti Trinity beneath Mount Kazbek, and visit Stalin's Gori, the cave town of Uplistsikhe and Queen Tamar's cliff city at Vardzia. Then west into ancient Colchis — Kutaisi's UNESCO monasteries — and up the Enguri gorge to the medieval Svan towers of Mestia and Ushguli, before finishing on the Black Sea at Batumi. Fourteen unhurried days, every region, expertly guided.
Caucasus Jeep Expedition — 8 Days
An eight-day 4x4 expedition the length and breadth of Georgia, off the tarmac and onto the mountain tracks. From Tbilisi you cross to Bakuriani via Manglisi and the volcanic Lake Tabatskuri, climb to the Vardzia cave city and Rabati Castle at Akhaltsikhe, then push west through Kutaisi and up the Enguri gorge to the Svan towers of Mestia and Ushguli. The return runs over the high passes to Gergeti Trinity beneath Mount Kazbek. Seven nights, hearty meals, and country you simply can't reach by paved road.
Svaneti Highland Expedition
Svaneti sits at the far edge of Georgia, and over five days you reach the places most travelers never see. You base in Mestia among medieval Svan defensive towers built to outlast invasion, then push on to Ushguli, the highest permanently inhabited village in Europe, under the white wall of Mt Shkhara. You hike to glaciers, eat at Svan tables, and meet a fiercely independent people who kept their own language and customs through every century. The mountains here are huge and largely untouched, and the going is real. This is the wild, proud heart of the Georgian highlands.
Western Georgia & Black Sea — 6 Days
Trade the well-worn eastern route for Georgia's green, dramatic west. Over six days you cross from Tbilisi into Imereti and Samegrelo, where limestone canyons cut through forest and rivers run a startling emerald. You climb into Upper Svaneti, a high mountain world of stone tower-houses that have guarded these valleys for nearly a thousand years, and stand beneath Mt Shkhara at Ushguli. Then you drop to the subtropical Black Sea coast, finishing in Batumi among palm-lined promenades and sea air. Expect waterfalls, ancient monasteries, alpine roads and coastline, all guided, all included, at a price that respects your budget.