Rain In the Caucasus (14 Images). Mestia

Svaneti is a must-visit area for those who are heading to Georgia, a country on the shores of the Black Sea, on the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains.

google maps Georgia.jpg

^{Georgia on google/maps}

In Svaneti, like nowhere else, you understand that mountain valleys are, in essence, islands separated from each other and the outside world by waves of stone and snow. Not everyday, even a helicopter can cross this space.

^{The "island" of Mestia on openstreetmap.org}

The main place of Svaneti is Mestia. It is a town with the central street, the square (a cute one), a tiny market, a bakery, a bank department, and two ATMs. It is accessible by the road including public transportation all year round (while some other parts of Svaneti get isolated by snow for several months in winter).

For centuries, Svaneti was a harsh land hidden among snow-capped ridges. Until the 2000s, when it turned into a travel destination, popular among backpackers and travelers ready for rather spartan conditions in local homestays. I was one of them in 2011 and 2016.

Let me share some images from the second trip. (The best time for memories here, cold and dark December is beyond my window in St. Petersburg, Russia).

It was June, a month that is not as hospitable as July and August. Nights were cold, rains were often. But mountains are always mountains and no weather spoils their beauty, only gives them a special charm.