Georgia's mountainous tourist attractions

Georgia is developing very fast. There has been a survey and Georgian tourism experts came up to a conclusion on top five most visited places in Georgia. They are: Mestia (Svaneti), Tusheti, Sighnaghi (Kakheti), Kazbegi (Mtskheta-Mtianeti), Vardzia (Samtskhe-Javakheti).

Mestia

Mestia is a highland townlet ("daba" in Georgian) in northwest Georgia, it is on 1,500 metres (4,921 feet) high in the Caucasus Mountains. It has been daba since 1968 and its population is 2,600 according to 2002 year. Mestia is located 456 kilometres far from Tbilisi _ the capital of Georgia, and 128 kilometres far from Zugdidi _ where there is the nearest railway station. On 24-th of December, 2010 there was a Queen Tamar Airport opened in Mestia. There are many well-preserved medieval buildings in Mestia. There is two-stored church built with stones and it dates back from thirteenth-fourteenth centuries, and it has a professionally painting frescos. There is Lamaria Church from the late medieval ages with frescos and writings. You can also see typical Svan fortified dwellings, which consist of tower, an adjacent house _ Machubi  and some other household structures encircled by a defensive wall. There are historical Georgian manuscripts such as Adishi Manuscript dated 897 AD in Mestia Historical-Ethnographic Museum.

Tusheti

Tusheti is a historic region in northeast Georgia. It is located on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, and is bordered by the Russian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan from the north and by Kakheti and Pshav-khevsureti from the south and west. The population is mainly ethnic Georgians, which are called Tushetians. The largest village in Tusheti is Omalo. Traditionally, the Tushetians are sheep herders. Tushetian Gouda (cheese) cheese and high quality wool was famous and was exported to Europe and Russia. I love Gouda cheeseand a good Gouda cheese tastes like heaven, if you ask me. But there are many people, who hate it and doesn't even like its smell from the distance. Another thing, _ pork is tabooed in Tusheti, so my advice for visitors would be not to bring any pork or pigs into the region, because the locals won't be pleased.

To my mind, Mestia is and will still be the biggest tourist attraction in Georgia, because many tourists travel to mountainous areas, where there is a crisp air and they can relax, and many of them love extreme, so that they can ski or snowboard there. Also, Mestia has its picturesque landscapes, which attract tourists. Also, there are unique icons and manuscripts kept in Mestia Historical-Ethnographic Museum. Mestia is known for its towers. It's easy to go to Mestia by car or by airplane, because it has its own airport.

Khevsureti and Racha

Well, we can't forget Khevsureti and its sites, and Racha, of course. These places are just something one should see! I've written about Khevsureti in my blogs and I won't say anything here, but Racha _ that is a place you should visit! This is something splendid: the nature, people, places, etc. And what about Rachuli Lobiani?! That is just heaven!

Kazbegi

Of course, people who have been to Kazbegi are fascinated by its landscapes and it's really an amazing feeling when you reach Gergeti Trinity Church. It's a 14-th century church on 2,170 MSL and it's very beautiful.

As you can see, describing something great is really hard until you've seen it yourself, so I really recommend everyone to visit Georgia's mountainous places as they are very distinguished from the cities in Georgia and those places are justworth seeing!

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