Georgia

Georgia, a country on the edge of Europe

Georgia has only recently entered the imagination of most travellers, yet few countries in Europe offer more. Wedged between Russia and the Greater Caucasus to the north, and Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan to the south, it has spent centuries pulled between Persian, Russian and Turkish rule, and only recently settled into peaceful relations with its neighbours. What visitors find is a land of towering mountains to rival the Alps, lakes as clear as anything in Scandinavia, and alpine meadows that turn brilliant colours each spring, alongside cities old enough to have rivalled Rome and Constantinople in their day.

Wine, myth and the Golden Fleece

Georgia was once a crucial staging post on the Silk Road, and yet some of its mountain valleys, in Svaneti especially, remain so isolated that they have kept their own unwritten language and centuries-old customs largely untouched by the modern world. It was here, in ancient Colchis, that the Greeks believed Jason and the Argonauts came in search of the Golden Fleece, itself said to be a sheepskin used to sieve gold dust from the region’s rivers. Georgia’s claim to being the birthplace of wine is more than legend too: archaeological evidence near Tbilisi suggests the practice began here, and the deep-coloured Saperavi grape has only recently found the international recognition it deserves.

Tbilisi, an ancient city reborn

Tbilisi itself is a compelling and vibrant capital, an aspirational modern European city with a building by Renzo Piano sitting easily alongside its medieval old town, Ottoman-era bathhouses and Soviet-era neighbourhoods. The old town’s terracotta rooftops shelter early Christian churches, historic sulphur baths, exceptional metalwork, and wine shops built above underground cellars, including the famous Vino Underground, where you can taste Georgian wine drawn straight from the qvevri. Narikala Fortress looks down over it all from the hillside above. It is a marvellous city to explore slowly, on foot, with no particular destination in mind.

The Caucasus mountains and ancient monasteries

It is beyond the capital, though, that Georgia makes its deepest impression. In Mtskheta, one of the country’s most ancient cities, the sixth-century Jvari Monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral stand much as they always have. Further into the mountains, the Gergeti Trinity Church perches at over 2,000 metres beneath Mount Kazbek, while the cave city of Vardzia, carved into a dramatic cliff face in the twelfth century, remains one of the most extraordinary sights in the Caucasus. In Svaneti, the polyphonic singing of the Svan people, among the most archaic choral traditions in the world, still echoes through mountain villages guarded by medieval defensive towers, much as it must have done a thousand years ago.

The best small group tours of Georgia

Travelling alone, you can only scratch the surface. Travelling with us, on one of our expert-led small group tours, gives you the chance to properly get under the skin of a country still largely undiscovered by other operators, from its ancient monasteries to its mountain villages, guided by the thoughtful knowledge and anecdotes only local experts can offer. Small enough to feel personal, expert enough to go far beyond the obvious: that is how we like our guests to experience an unforgettable Georgia.