Racha: Nikortsminda, Shaori Lake & Khvanchkara Wine — 3-Day Private Tour
Private · 3 days
$355/person · 4 travellers
Svaneti by Train: Mestia & Ushguli — 3-Day Private Tour
Zugdidi · Mestia · Ushguli
Overview
A private 3-day trip to Upper Svaneti with the train doing the long part: the morning train from Tbilisi to Zugdidi, the mountain road up to Mestia, a full day in Ushguli under Mt Shkhara (5,193 m), and the Svaneti Museum before the evening train back. It saves you two 460 km road days. A Mestia-based driver-guide meets the train in Zugdidi (about 5.5 h from Tbilisi) and drives you about 130 km (3–3.5 h) up the Enguri valley to Mestia. Day two is Ushguli, a group of villages at about 2,100 m whose medieval defensive towers are part of the Upper Svaneti UNESCO World Heritage site. The 47 km road is now mostly sealed, but roadworks continue near Ushguli, so allow 1.5–2.5 hours each way. On day three you see the icons and manuscripts of the Svaneti Museum, drive down to Zugdidi for the Dadiani Palace and take the evening train, reaching Tbilisi late at night. Train tickets, station transfers and two nights in Mestia are included.
Itinerary
3 stops: Zugdidi, Mestia, Ushguli
1Day 1Train to Zugdidi, road to Mestia
Morning train (about 5.5 h; we book the current timetable), then about 130 km (3–3.5 h) by road.
Morning: transfer to Tbilisi station and the train to Zugdidi
- ZugdidiTrain Tbilisi–Zugdidi on day 1. On day 3, the Dadiani Palace, former residence of the princes of Samegrelo, before the evening train back.
Train Tbilisi–Zugdidi on day 1. On day 3, the Dadiani Palace, former residence of the princes of Samegrelo, before the evening train back.
Zugdidi is the main town of Samegrelo in western Georgia, about 330 km (5 h) from Tbilisi and the gateway to Svaneti: the mountain road to Mestia starts here, and the Tbilisi train ends here. Its main sight is the Dadiani Palaces museum, the former residence of the princes of Mingrelia, with European paintings, family treasures and one of the death masks of Napoleon Bonaparte, set in a botanical garden. Most travellers stop for 1–2 hours and a Megrelian lunch on the way to or from Mestia.
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Early afternoon: your Mestia-based driver-guide meets the train
Enguri dam viewpoint on the way up
About 17:30 arrive in Mestia
Overnight: Mestia (hotel, breakfast)
2Day 2Ushguli
47 km each way; 4x4 when the road is wet or snowy.
Drive to Ushguli with stops (1.5–2.5 h)
- UshguliDay 2: Ushguli (about 2,100 m): the Chazhashi towers, Lamaria church and the view of Shkhara (5,193 m). 47 km each way, 1.5–2.5 hours with roadworks.
Day 2: Ushguli (about 2,100 m): the Chazhashi towers, Lamaria church and the view of Shkhara (5,193 m). 47 km each way, 1.5–2.5 hours with roadworks.
Ushguli is a community of four small Svan villages at about 2,060–2,200 m at the head of the Enguri valley in Upper Svaneti, 47 km beyond Mestia. It is one of Europe's highest permanently inhabited settlements, and its medieval stone defence towers, with the snowfields of Mount Shkhara (5,193 m) behind them, are part of the Upper Svaneti UNESCO World Heritage site. You walk between the towers of Chazhashi, climb to the Lamaria church, and, with a full day, hike up the valley toward the Shkhara glacier.
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Chazhashi towers, Lamaria church, the village museum
Lunch in Ushguli (not included)
Walk towards the Shkhara viewpoint
Back in Mestia
Overnight: Mestia (hotel, breakfast)
3Day 3Svaneti Museum, Zugdidi and the evening train
Mestia to Zugdidi 3–3.5 hours, then the evening train (about 5.5 h).
- MestiaTwo nights in Mestia. Day 3: the Svaneti Museum (entry included), with medieval icons, manuscripts and church treasures.
Two nights in Mestia. Day 3: the Svaneti Museum (entry included), with medieval icons, manuscripts and church treasures.
Mestia is the main town of Upper Svaneti, at about 1,500 m in the Greater Caucasus, some 130 km (about 3 h) above Zugdidi. Medieval Svan defence towers rise between the houses, and Ushba and Tetnuldi fill the skyline. It is the base for everything in Svaneti: the icon collection of the Svaneti Museum, a tower house you can climb, the walks to the Chalaadi Glacier and the Koruldi Lakes, the drive to Ushguli, and skiing at Hatsvali and Tetnuldi in winter.
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Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography (opens 10:00)
Drive down to Zugdidi
Dadiani Palace
Evening train to Tbilisi; late-night arrival and transfer to your hotel (included)
Make this tour your own:Build your own tour
What's Included
Included
- Train tickets Tbilisi–Zugdidi–Tbilisi
- Station transfers in Tbilisi
- Mestia-based vehicle and English-speaking driver-guide from Zugdidi and back (4x4 to Ushguli when conditions require)
- 2 nights in a Mestia hotel, twin/double rooms, breakfast included
- Entry fee: Svaneti Museum
- Bottled water
Not included
- Lunches and dinners (about 25–40 GEL per person for lunch)
- Entry fees: Dadiani Palace (a few GEL)
- Drinks
- Single room supplement
- Tips (optional)
- Travel insurance (mandatory for visitors to Georgia from 1 January 2026)
Map
Good to know
- Best Time to Visit
- May–October; November–April on request (Ushguli not guaranteed in snow)
- Physical Requirements
- Suitable for most fitness levels. Involves some walking on mostly flat terrain with minimal elevation changes.
- Cancellation Policy
- Nothing to pay now. Your quote includes the cancellation terms before you pay anything.
- Trains
- the timetable changes during the year; we book the current morning and evening trains and confirm the times in your quote.
- Pace
- day three is long (museum, 3–3.5 h drive, palace, then about 5.5 h on the train) and ends late at night.
- Museums
- opening hours vary; we plan day three around them.
- What to bring
- a warm layer for Ushguli, which is cool even in summer, and cash for lunch; there is no ATM in Ushguli.
- Heads-up
- roadworks near Ushguli can mean short waits; in wet or snowy weather we switch to a 4x4.
Categories:
Short trip (2–5 days)
Mountains
History & culture
