Western Georgia in 6 Days — Canyons, Svaneti & Batumi, Private

Tbilisi to Kutaisi 220–230 km (about 3 h) on the Rikoti highway.

1. 08:30

   Pickup at your Tbilisi hotel

2. 12:00

   Lunch near Kutaisi (not included)

   • KutaisiNight 1 in Kutaisi, Georgia's third city; Bagrati Cathedral on its hill at dusk, with views over the Rioni.

     Night 1 in Kutaisi, Georgia's third city; Bagrati Cathedral on its hill at dusk, with views over the Rioni.

     Kutaisi, Georgia's third-largest city, sits on the Rioni river in Imereti, about 230 km west of Tbilisi. It is the natural base for western Georgia: UNESCO-listed Gelati Monastery and the hilltop Bagrati Cathedral are on its edge, and Prometheus Cave, Sataplia, and the Martvili and Okatse canyons are within an hour. In town, walk the Green Bazaar, the White Bridge and the old Jewish quarter, then eat Imeretian khachapuri with a glass of local Tsitska or Tsolikouri white wine.

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3. 13:30

   Prometheus cave and boat (about 1.5 h)

   • Prometheus CaveDay 1: about 1 hour on the lit walkway through Prometheus cave near Tskaltubo, plus the underground boat ride when the water level allows (both included).

     Day 1: about 1 hour on the lit walkway through Prometheus cave near Tskaltubo, plus the underground boat ride when the water level allows (both included).

     Prometheus Cave is a large show cave at the village of Kumistavi, about 20 km (30–40 min) north-west of Kutaisi. A guided route of about 1.4 km leads through six lit halls of stalactites, stalagmites, curtains and underground lakes, and ends with a short optional boat ride on the underground Kumi river. The temperature stays around 14 °C all year, so it works in any season and makes a cool break on a hot Imereti day.

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4. 16:00

   Check in at Kutaisi

5. Bagrati Cathedral at dusk

6. Overnight: Kutaisi (hotel, breakfast)

⚠ Long day: about 5.5 hours of driving.

1. 09:00

   Drive to Martvili (about 1 h)

   • Martvili CanyonDay 2: the path along the Martvili canyon and a short boat ride through the gorge at 10:00 opening (entry and boat included; boats stop after heavy rain).

     Day 2: the path along the Martvili canyon and a short boat ride through the gorge at 10:00 opening (entry and boat included; boats stop after heavy rain).

     Martvili Canyon is a narrow limestone gorge of the Abasha river near the village of Inchkhuri in Samegrelo, about 45 km (1 h) north-west of Kutaisi. A paved loop of about 700 m leads over two bridges to viewpoints above turquoise pools and small waterfalls, and a short rowing-boat trip of about 300 m takes you up the gorge between the cliffs. It is a protected natural monument and one of the easiest nature stops in western Georgia, often paired with Okatse Canyon or Prometheus Cave.

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2. 10:00

   Martvili canyon walk and boat

3. 12:45

   Dadiani Palace, Zugdidi

   • ZugdidiDay 2: a 45-minute stop at the Dadiani Palace in Zugdidi, the residence of the princes of Mingrelia, before the drive up to Svaneti.

     Day 2: a 45-minute stop at the Dadiani Palace in Zugdidi, the residence of the princes of Mingrelia, before the drive up to Svaneti.

     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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4. 13:30

   Lunch (not included)

5. 14:30

   Enguri dam and the road to Mestia (about 3 h)

   • MestiaNights 2 and 3 in Mestia: the Svaneti Museum, with its icons and manuscripts, and Margiani House, where you climb inside a Svan tower (both included).

     Nights 2 and 3 in Mestia: the Svaneti Museum, with its icons and manuscripts, and Margiani House, where you climb inside a Svan tower (both included).

     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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6. 18:30

   Arrive in Mestia

7. Overnight: Mestia (hotel, breakfast)

47 km each way, 1.5–2 hours; a local 4x4 when the road is wet.

1. 08:30

   Drive to Ushguli

   • UshguliDay 3: Ushguli (about 2,100 m), with the Chazhashi towers, the core of the Upper Svaneti UNESCO World Heritage site, and Lamaria church under Mt Shkhara (5,193 m).

     Day 3: Ushguli (about 2,100 m), with the Chazhashi towers, the core of the Upper Svaneti UNESCO World Heritage site, and Lamaria church under Mt Shkhara (5,193 m).

     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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2. 10:30

   Chazhashi towers and Lamaria church

3. 13:00

   Lunch in Ushguli (not included)

4. 16:30

   Mestia: Svaneti Museum and Margiani House

5. Svan dinner (included)

6. Overnight: Mestia (hotel, breakfast and dinner)

⚠ Long day: about 265 km and 5–6 hours of driving.

1. 09:00

   Drive down to Zugdidi and along the coast

2. 13:00

   Lunch on the way (not included)

3. 16:00

   Check in at Batumi; evening on the boulevard

   • BatumiNights 4 and 5 in Batumi: an evening walk on the seafront boulevard and a free afternoon for the beach or the old town.

     Nights 4 and 5 in Batumi: an evening walk on the seafront boulevard and a free afternoon for the beach or the old town.

     Batumi is Georgia's main Black Sea city and the capital of Adjara, about 370 km (5.5–6 h by road, about 5–5.5 h by train) from Tbilisi and 150 km from Kutaisi. Its seafront Boulevard runs for about 7 km past palms, pebble beaches and modern towers, and the compact old town around Europe Square has 19th-century houses, cafés and the Piazza. Travellers come for the sea from June to September, the Botanical Garden on Green Cape, Adjarian food and day trips into the green hills of mountainous Adjara.

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4. Overnight: Batumi (hotel, breakfast)

Short drives. Optional: a Mountain Adjara day trip instead (quoted separately).

1. 09:30

   Gonio fortress

   • Gonio FortressDay 5: about 1 hour at Gonio fortress, a Roman and later Byzantine fort about 20 minutes' drive south of Batumi, with excavated baths inside its walls.

     Day 5: about 1 hour at Gonio fortress, a Roman and later Byzantine fort about 20 minutes' drive south of Batumi, with excavated baths inside its walls.

     Gonio (Apsaros) Fortress stands near the mouth of the Chorokhi river, about 12 km south of Batumi and a few minutes from the Black Sea beach. Its rectangular Roman walls with 18 towers are well preserved, and inside you find excavated Roman baths and barracks, a small museum of finds and a grave that local tradition links to the Apostle Matthias. You can walk part of the wall top for views to the sea and the Adjaran mountains. It is a 1–1.5 hour visit, easy to combine with a beach afternoon in Gonio.

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2. 12:00

   Batumi Botanical Garden

   • Batumi Botanical GardenDay 5: 2–2.5 hours in the Batumi Botanical Garden at Green Cape, with subtropical plants from several continents on terraces above the sea.

     Day 5: 2–2.5 hours in the Batumi Botanical Garden at Green Cape, with subtropical plants from several continents on terraces above the sea.

     Batumi Botanical Garden covers 111 hectares of coastal hills at Mtsvane Kontskhi (Green Cape), about 9 km north of Batumi. Founded in 1912, it is laid out in sections for nine regions of the world, from the Caucasian humid subtropics and East Asia to the Himalayas, New Zealand and the Mediterranean, with bamboo groves, palms, magnolias and views over the Black Sea. Allow 2–3 hours to walk the main route, or use the electric car for the longer stretches.

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3. Afternoon free

4. Dinner (included)

5. Overnight: Batumi (hotel, breakfast and dinner)

Afternoon train (about 4 h; we book the current timetable); our driver meets you in Tbilisi. Or fly home from Batumi.

1. Free morning in Batumi

2. Afternoon train to Tbilisi

3. Evening: transfer from Tbilisi station to your hotel