Guria

Guria lies mainly in the Colchian (Kolkheti) Lowland of western Georgia, between Adjara and Samegrelo, with 22 km of Black Sea shoreline and mountains inland. It is made up of three municipalities: Ozurgeti, Lanchkhuti and Chokhatauri. Ozurgeti, the administrative centre, was founded in the late Middle Ages and soon became the centre of Guria.

On the coast, the resorts of Ureki, Shekvetili and Grigoleti are known for their magnetic sand, volcanic sand carried down to the sea from Bakhmaro Mountain by the Supsa River. Ureki's 1.5 km of coast is covered with it, and Shekvetili has a 60-hectare dendrological park and the Black Sea Arena concert hall. Inland are the mountain resorts of Bakhmaro and Gomismta, which is called the "resort in the clouds". In the Gubazeuli valley, the village of Nabeghlavi gives its name to the mineral water from its springs, and you can drink it straight from the source.

Shemokmedi Monastery, 5 km from Ozurgeti, with a 12th-century church and the 16th-century Zarzma church, is one of the few religious monuments in Guria not destroyed in Soviet times. From Jumati Monastery, in good weather, you can see the Colchis Plain, Lake Paliastomi and the Black Sea, and the walls of the 13th-century church at Achi are covered in frescoes. Folk song is the region's hallmark: krimanchuli, a leading example of Gurian polyphony, is often compared to yodelling, and Georgian polyphony has been UNESCO-recognised since 2001.