Getting to Mestia and Ushguli

The road from Tbilisi

Mestia is about 450 km from Tbilisi. The road runs west through Kutaisi to Zugdidi, then turns north up the Enguri gorge. Without long stops the drive takes 7 to 8 hours, so many people split it with a night in Kutaisi or Zugdidi.

Kutaisi is about 3 hours from Tbilisi on the new Rikoti highway, Zugdidi 4 to 4.5 hours. Mestia is then another 4.5 to 5.5 hours from Kutaisi or about 3 hours from Zugdidi. For an evening in Kutaisi, see our guide to Kutaisi sights.

The usual stop on the way is the Enguri Dam near Jvari, 40 to 50 minutes past Zugdidi. Its concrete arch is 271 m high, one of the tallest arch dams in the world. Tours inside the dam cost extra and must be booked ahead. Fill the tank in Zugdidi before the road climbs into the mountains.

Transfer

Tbilisi → Mestia

≈ 8 h 30 min460 kmfrom $430from €385from ₾1,120

From Kutaisi and Batumi

Kutaisi is about 220 km from Mestia, 4.5 to 5.5 hours by car. The airport lies west of the city, on the way to Zugdidi, so you can drive up on the day you land and, with an early start, stop at Martvili Canyon on the way. From Batumi it is about 275 km along the coast to Zugdidi and up the same gorge, 5.5 to 6.5 hours.

We drive to Mestia from Tbilisi, Kutaisi Airport and Batumi. The driver picks you up at your hotel or the airport, stops where you ask, at the dam or for lunch in Zugdidi, and waits. The price is agreed in advance and does not change. You pay the driver at the end, and child seats are free. Send us your dates and we will tell you the price.

Train and minibus

The night train to Zugdidi that older guides still list stopped in 2020 and has not come back. Now one train a day leaves Tbilisi Central Station, around 8:15, and takes 5.5 to 6 hours. A seat costs 16 GEL in second class, 28 GEL in first and 43 GEL in business. Tickets go on sale about two weeks ahead.

In summer, minibuses to Mestia meet the train outside Zugdidi station. The ride takes about 4 hours with a lunch stop near Khaishi and costs 35 to 40 GEL. A direct minibus from Tbilisi leaves around 7:00 from the Central Station square and from Samgori, costs 40 to 60 GEL and takes 9 to 10 hours. From Kutaisi a minibus leaves the central bus station around 9:00 or 10:00 for about 40 GEL. From Batumi it is easier to change in Zugdidi.

The flight from Natakhtari

Vanilla Sky flies small planes to Mestia from Natakhtari airfield, 23 km north of Tbilisi. The flight takes under an hour. The airline's site lists 90 GEL one way for an adult. A free minibus to the airfield leaves central Tbilisi 2 hours before the flight. In 2026 tickets are sold at vanillasky.ge.

The planes only fly in good visibility, so flights are often cancelled at short notice. Seats sell out fast in summer, and baggage is limited to 15 kg including hand luggage. Keep a spare day before your flight home, or be ready to go back by road.

Mestia, the towers and the museum

Svan towers are stone tower houses of three to five floors, built mostly in the 9th to 12th centuries. A family took shelter in them in times of danger. Mestia has dozens of them, and Upper Svaneti has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1996. Almost all towers are private, but at the Margiani house museum you can climb inside one.

The Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography keeps icons, manuscripts and gospels from Svan churches, along with Bronze Age finds. Allow about two hours. It is closed on Mondays.

From the edge of town a cable car goes up to the Hatsvali ski area and on to the Zuruldi ridge, with views of Ushba and Tetnuldi. A summer return ride costs 20 to 25 GEL, but the lift does not always open on time. In 2026 it only started in August, so ask at your hotel.

Chalaadi glacier and the Koruldi lakes

The easiest glacier walk from Mestia is to Chalaadi. Drive about 20 minutes past the airport to a footbridge, then walk 1 to 1.5 hours through the forest, with the last part over large boulders. Do not walk onto the ice.

The Koruldi lakes lie at about 2,700 m, some 1,200 m above Mestia. It is about 2 hours up to the cross above town and about 2 more to the lakes, so with the way down plan on 7 hours or more. Jeeps use the same track, so you can walk just one way if you prefer.

Ushguli, Lamaria and Shkhara

Ushguli is about 45 km from Mestia. The road is now almost all concrete, with a few short gravel stretches, and in summer the drive takes 1 to 1.5 hours. Ushguli is five villages at about 2,100 m, home to around 200 people, and one of the highest permanently inhabited places in Europe.

The towers stand thickest in Chazhashi, the part of Ushguli protected as a museum reserve. On a hill above the villages is the small medieval church of Lamaria, and behind it rises Shkhara, at about 5,200 m the highest mountain in Georgia. You can walk to the Shkhara glacier along the Enguri with little climbing, about 16 km there and back in 5 to 7 hours.

When to go and the roads in winter and spring

The main season runs from June to September, and August is the busiest month. From mid-September to early October the weather is usually still good and there are fewer people. By late October snow can fall in the mountains. In winter Mestia is a ski town, with Hatsvali and Tetnuldi close by.

The road from Zugdidi is ploughed in winter, but after heavy snow or rain it can close for a while because of avalanches and landslides. The road to Ushguli closes now and then too, and in April 2025 the road above Ushguli was shut because of avalanche risk. Drive in daylight, check the road before you set off, and from November to May keep a spare day. There is more in our guide to the best time to visit Georgia.

Three days in Svaneti

Plan at least three full days in Svaneti, plus the drive there and back. If you want to go with a driver, write to us and we will tell you the price.

• Day 1. Drive up after a night in Kutaisi or Zugdidi, stopping at the Enguri Dam. In the evening, walk among the towers.
• Day 2. Ushguli. Chazhashi, Lamaria and, if you are fit, the Shkhara glacier. Back in Mestia for dinner.
• Day 3. Chalaadi glacier in the morning, then the museum and the Margiani tower. Or a full day on the Koruldi lakes trail.
• Day 4. The drive back to Kutaisi, Batumi or Tbilisi.