In brief: You could happily wander the extensive Caucasus Range in Georgia for a long time, but the wondrous Kazbegi landscapes and monuments we saw satisfied us.
The undiscovered country…so often people express astonishment at how much of their country we have seen: “more than most locals!”, they say. But then they start listing favorite places we missed. A backpacker hitching a ride with us in the Kazbegi Caucasus praised mountainous Racha to the west; a man admiring old frescoes with us glorified remote Tusheti to the east.
However, exhilarated by the splendor of the landscape of Kazbegi during our second trip to Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains (or Svaneti before that), we couldn’t feel much FOMO.
Kazbegi and its main town Stepantsminda are just a few hours drive north of Tbilisi. The magnificent scenery starts somewhat south of the town at the Jvari Pass.
Peaks, meadows, and beauty along the Aragvi River
On the precipice of an impossibly deep gorge near Stepantsminda.
That gorge near Jvari Pass, without us filling the frame
Waterfall and mountainscape near the Jvari Pass, Kazbegi.
To the northern side of the Jvari Pass, we suddenly found this colorful sulfurous flow, though oddly without the smell.
Then, around Stepantsminda, many drives and hikes take one into equally scenic territory.
Juta Valley in the Kazbegi region. On a dirt road just forgiving enough for a regular sedan, we climbed to this point a few kilometers from the village of Juta…where we were stopped by work to keep the road from collapsing down the mountainside. The amiable foreman was enamored of America and Americans so he promised to open up the passage for a while to let us through, but warned that we faced hours and hours of waiting on the return trip. With a beautiful passage like this in the photo, we felt we wouldn’t be missing too much by skipping the village.
The peaks of the Dariali Gorge loom over a complex of newly built Georgian monasteries. The Gorge is the border with Russia, just a half hour ride north from Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) along the Georgia Military Highway. That connection between the countries was once a means of military cooperation. These days, it seems more of a threat. And the monasteries perhaps a retort to the country that once forbade religious practice.
Yet current reality is oddly different: the road through the gorge is a startlingly commercial highway with easily a thousand trucks per day transporting goods out of Russia to landlocked Armenia south of Georgia. To ensure rapid passage even during the winter, Chinese engineers and investment are making a seven kilometer tunnel bypassing the ski area of Gudauri and the Jvari Pass.
During a walk above Stepantsminda: trees, peaks, meadows, valleys – the Caucasus offers various mixes of these wherever you go.
The aptly named Small White (or Cabbage) Butterfly enjoys a thistle-stop.
On our walk above Stepantsminda, this fellow with the richly colored reddish-brown coat boldly greeted us.
Kazbegi is not just a pretty face. History and religion, as well as those commercial interests and trade, dot the landscape as well.
Our route north passed between two notable structures dating from about 800 years ago. Ananuri was a fortress in the foothills for the Dukes of Aragvi, whose forces were brutally devastated by another duke’s. Gergeti stands more aloof at some 2200 meters (7200 feet) high, a refuge in times of trouble and a symbol of the country along with the nearby peak of Mt. Kazbeg.
Ananuri
Ananuri Fortress in the foothills of the Caucasus. The tower to the left dates from the Middle Ages and survived a fiery massacre of the Aragvi tribe by the Shanshe in the 18th century. Spires mark the 17th century churches. The Aragvi River below the fortress has now become a reservoir.
Prayers continue during the day at Ananuri to celebrate a kind of autumnal holiday marking the change of colors in nature, or at least the anticipation of that. The 17th century frescoes were quite vivid still, especially the large red one which represented a subject we had not seen here before, an unusual Last Judgment filled with devils and damned souls.
Intricate decoration remains on a face of the Ananuri church, including the central patterned cross. Grim angels glare out below two grapevine crosses, which are commonly depicted at Georgian Orthodox churches. Watchful lions are not playing with what look like balls of twine; rather they are chained to the balls to represent the restraining of worry, fears, or dangers.
One priest at Ananuri church finds an attentive listener, while a third seeks enlightenment elsewhere.
Risk-taking inside Ananuri Fortress. We climbed the three stone-stepped levels of its medieval tower (out of the frame). That was the easy part. To reach it, on the left, we needed to squeeze past people shuffling in both directions on a very narrow ledge: people heading in one direction hugged the wall while people heading in the other direction hugged those people. Then, we did the same thing at the top right along the slight walkway on which that lone figure teetered. And there wasn’t even any view at the top of the tower!
“I love Georgia…” Our sentiments exactly. There were touristy lookout points all along the edge of the Zhinvali reservoir (Aragvi River) near the Ananuri Fortress, mostly cheap stands for goods plunked down along parking areas. We were charmed, however, by this little site, skipped by everyone that day. To us, it was crafted with care and lovingly maintained with flowering vines. You could take a selfie in the heart, ride the burro, or enter that simple door in the back to Paradise. Sadly, the owners weren’t there to praise, but we left our stopping fee for them anyway.
Gergeti Trinity Church
Pilgrims can truly say they’ve been to the mountaintop after visiting Gergeti Trinity church above Stepantsminda.
The Gergeti Trinity church at 2200 meters (7200 feet) in the foreground, with Mt. Kazbeg in the background at 5040 meters high (about 15,500 feet), a symbol of Georgia.
This glorious setting of Mt. Kazbeg rolls beneath you when you stand at Gergeti Trinity church, enfolding the site’s spirituality in natural wonder.
Two young boys lit by the usual Orthodox orange tapers set in sand to accompany prayers.
Flanked by its own notable peaks, the town of Stepantsminda sprawls about 500 meters (1700 feet) below Gergeti church.
(To enlarge any picture above, click on it. Also, for more pictures from Georgia, CLICK HERE to view the slideshow at the end of the itinerary page.)
