Tusheti

Tusheti is cut off from the rest of Georgia by the Abano Pass at around 2,850 metres, and the road to it is a single-track gravel shelf with no barrier, long drops and a reputation that regularly puts it on lists of the world's most dangerous roads. It is open only from roughly June to October; for the rest of the year the region is under snow and largely empty, with most families wintering in the lowlands. What survives up there is old: defensive stone towers standing over villages, shepherd traditions, sheep driven over the passes on foot, and a set of local customs and shrines that predate and sit alongside Christianity. Omalo and Dartlo are the main villages, and the walking between them is some of the best in the Caucasus.

History

The region has long been home to the Tush, a group of Georgians divided into the Georgian-speaking Chaghma-Tush and the Nakh-speaking Tsova-Tush, or Bats; by tradition pagan Georgians from Pkhovi took refuge in these empty mountains when King Mirian III brought Christianity to Iberia in the 330s. From the 5th century Tusheti belonged to the Kingdom of Iberia, it was Christianised in the 8th century, and in the 15th century it came under the kings of Kakheti. In 1659 the Tush played a great part in the battle of Bakhtrioni, remembered in the legend of their leader Zezva Gafrindauli, and in return the kings of Kakheti granted them the pastures of the Alvani valley, where many Tush families settled in the first half of the 19th century as their winter grounds (Wikipedia, Tusheti).

The landscape

• Dartlo - a village of restored stone houses and defensive towers above the river.
• Keselo towers - the fortress towers above Omalo, the region's emblem.
• Village-to-village trekking - multi-day walks over passes between Tusheti's valleys.
• The Abano Pass - the crossing itself, an experience rather than merely transport.

When to go

Mid-June to early October is the entire season, and the edges of it are weather-dependent; snow can close the pass early. July and August are the reliable months, and also when guesthouses fill.

What to expect

The road is genuinely dangerous and should only be driven by experienced local drivers in a proper four-wheel drive; hiring a driver is the sensible option and the usual one. Weather can close the pass with little warning and strand visitors for days, so build in slack and do not schedule a flight tightly afterwards. Facilities are simple guesthouses, and mobile signal is patchy at best.

Nearby

Kakheti's wine country lies below the pass; Khevsureti is the neighbouring high region.

Key facts