Day 25 17 May Hiking in the mountains around Gudauri

Photo above - church above Gergeti village.

Truckers and tunnels

Today we are going hiking around the village of Gergeti, a few miles north of where we are staying. This village is just 7 miles from the Russian border. This region is called the Kazbegi region, and is full of alpine meadows and towering snow-capped mountains.

Last night and early this morning there was a steady stream of lorries going up and down the mountain road, to and from the Russian border. They obviously use the time when the traffic is lighter.

We started after breakfast at 9am. We drove the few miles to Stepantsminda town (1740m) crossing Jvari pass (2395), to where we start the hike. We also passed several road tunnels running along side the actual road, which were built by second world war prisoners, which allow traffic to continue in the winter when avalanches block the actual road. There was a constant stream of lorries, and the road was quite broken up in places.

There is a tunnel nearing completion which goes right through the mountain, and will be 9km long. This will mean that the lorries will not have to go right over the pass. There are several large lorry parks dotted along the mountain road where drivers can rest and sleep prior to continuing up or down the mountain.

Hiking up to a hilltop church

Once at Gergeti village (1900m) we set off to hike up to the iconic 14th-century Church of the Holy Trinity, located at 2170 metres above sea level, on a hilltop overlooking the snowy peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. The trail went up through the village, then through a wood, then came up just below the church. There is a road that also goes to the church, and there were lots of people coming up from lower down the mountain in taxis. There are great views of the surrounding mountains and of Gergeti village. This part of the Caucasus is a protected area and is home to a variety of flora and fauna, and there are still wolves and bears in the mountains here, although we saw none.

Travertine, massive queues, and a friendship monument

On the way back down to Gudauri there were huge queues of lorries parked up on the side of the road, either waiting to go to the Russian border (the only open border between Georgia and Russia) or waiting to go over the pass. All sorts of nationalities including Russian, Armenian, Moldovan, Turkish, Georgian, Belarusian etc

We stopped to look at a large deposit of orange Travertine (a form of limestone) on the side of the road. A bit further on we crossed back over the pass, then stopped at a Russia Georgia friendship monument. This is a very large circular stone monument decorated inside with stylised artwork depicting historical events over the last 200 years. It is in an amazing location, close to the top of the pass, with 360 degree views, but is ruined somewhat by some youth playing modern dance music at earsplitting volume. Apart from the views, it was interesting to see several hang gliders launching from a nearby hilltop.

Next it was back to the hotel. Tomorrow, we travel back down the mountain to the valley and drive to Gori, the birthplace of Stalin.