Tucked away in Georgia’s picturesque Upper Svaneti, Mestia is an incredibly cute mountain town. Its medieval stone towers, backed by white-capped mountains, make you think you’ve stepped inside a fairytale. While most only stop briefly before tackling the Mestia to Ushguli hike, we recommend spending at least a day, so you can fully explore the hidden gems in Mestia.
About Upper Svaneti
Cradled between the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus and the northern slopes of the Svaneti Ranges, the Inguri River Basin provides a protected location for Upper Svaneti. For many generations, this remote region remained cut off from the rest of the country. As a result of this secluded life, residents, referred to as Svan, have a distinct culture and even language from the rest of Georgia.
It wasn’t until Soviet times that there was even a road into Upper Svaneti. It connected Zugdidi and Mestia. The road was rough, though, so even with it, there still weren’t many who ventured into these pristine lands. Once the road was upgraded in the 2000s, the wonders of Upper Svaneti opened up to the world of tourism.
Their language is also called Svan and is one of four that originated from the ancient Kartvelian language family. The others include Georgian (Kartulian), Megruli (Abkhazia and Zugdidi) and Laz (Adjara). The Svan language was the first to break away from this parent language in the 2nd century BCE. Because of this, it has preserved more archaic features of the parent language than any of the others.
All four use the Georgian script, which was very difficult for us to learn. It was first created in the 4th century to translate the Bible into Georgian. It had many iterations as it evolved. Don’t worry, most signage in Georgia now uses both Roman and Georgian alphabets.
Upper Svaneti is rich in minerals. Since the Bronze Age, it has supplied other parts of Georgia with them, including copper and gold. Their unique method of collecting gold involved placing sheep skins in mountain rivers. As the gold-rich water flowed through the skins, a lot of the metal was trapped. When pulled out of the river, the skins glittered in the sun from all the gold they accumulated. Svaneti is one of the first regions to use this technique and is, therefore, connected to the Greek legend of Jason and the Golden Fleece. You can read more about the legend in our posts from Kutaisi and Batumi.
Although remote, the ample supply of minerals, as well as its location near strategic mountain passes, meant that Svaneti was the target of many invaders and marauders in medieval times including, the Turks, Persians and Mongols. Svans were known as skilled fighters who fiercely defended their land. Part of this defence was building hundreds of fortress-style towers. Vestiges of this past can still be seen in the tall stone towers that poke up above the rustic villages.
You can find Mestia in the upper left corner of the map below, near the Russian border. It is an interactive map,so you can zoom-in, or click on a marker to find a link to our post from that region.
Since the undulating terrain didn’t allow expansive fortresses, each family built their own tower (koshki). They also did this for another reason. Not only did they have to defend themselves from foreign invaders, but also from neighbouring clans. Svaneti is known for its bitter battles between families. Many of these feuds carried on for generations, and only stopped recently with this current adult generation. Something one family’s great, great, great-grandfather did to another’s great, great, great-uncle was at the core of many clan feuds. This resulted in many towers in almost every village and hamlet. Today, as many as 200 towers are still standing in Upper Svaneti.
Learning this fascinating history made us excited to explore it further, beginning with its largest town.
Mestia
We knew the hamlets of Ushguli have the largest concentration of towers, so we were surprised to see so many in Mestia. It turns out that Mestia has a treasure trove of vernacular architecture, and as soon as we saw our first Svan Tower, we couldn’t wait to see the rest of these old relics close up. Even the rain and thick clouds couldn’t damper our love for Mestia.
Some are in rough shape because they are no longer used, but others have been well maintained. No matter their state, we loved them all.
Most Svan Towers we see today were built between the 9th and 12th centuries. The buildings acted as both watchtowers and temporary shelters. Watchmen could keep an eye on invaders through the windows on the top level, but they were too small for invaders’ weapons to penetrate. Further protection came from the crown-shaped tops that guarded the sides of the windows.
Families would escape to the towers when under invasion, sometimes living in them for months at a time. It was cramped living, though. Most towers are 4 or 5 stories tall, where each floor is only one small room. Farm animals lived on the ground floor, while families occupied the next few. On some, you can see that the entrance is a several metres above ground and could only be accessed a removable ladder. Similar rickety ladders were used inside to climb between levels.
During times of peace, families lived in stone one or two-storey homes. Most were connected to their towers, but not all. Similar to the tower, the ground floor was used for farm animals and storage, while the family lived on the upper floor.
Two of the towers in Mestia operate as museums where you can climb to their tops. We went inside one and even slept in another in Ushguli, so didn’t visit these in Mestia.
We saw similar towers in Tusheti, but there are many more in Svaneti, partly because each family built their own. You can read about Tusheti in our post Walking Between The Remote Villages Of Tusheti.
Laghami
A kilometer and a half away from the centre, is one of the oldest communities in Mestia. Laghami and its 12th century church are worth a visit. On the walk to Laghami from Mestia, you will be in awe at your first sight of the congregation of towers set under the white peaks of Mt. Banguriani. Don’t forget to look back to see a similar scene of Mestia in front of the long Svaneti Range.
Most churches in Upper Svaneti are not open to visitors. In the small Transfiguration Church in Laghami, we could only enter its narthex, or foyer, but even that gave us an idea of what Svan churches must look inside.
Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography
With a unique and complicated history, the Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography is a great way to better understand the people and their culture. It displays exhibits from the Middle Ages, including items from churches, warfare and even hand-carved furniture.
Many of the churches in Svaneti are small, family-owned chapels. Since conservation of their artifacts is difficult, some have been loaned to the museum for safe keeping.
In addition to typical religious items, you’ll see a few that are a little unusual. Svans converted to Christianity in the 10th century, but retained many of their previous pagan customs. The ritual cauldron shown below was stored in the church and used during festivals.
After visiting the charming town of Mestia, we were excited for our trek to Ushguli where we would see many more Svan Towers under the majestic Caucasus Mountains. You can read about the hike here, and a special one we wrote about, Ushguli, in our post Ushguli: Georgia’s Prettiest Village.
Other Activities in Mestia
Mestia is the main town to base yourself for the Mestia to Ushguli hike, but there is a wide selection of other mountain activities if you don’t have time for the four day hike. Popular day hikes are Chalaadi glacier or Koruldi Lakes. There is also an opportunity to go biking, hang gliding, horseback riding and whitewater rafting. If you don’t want to hike, you can still get to higher ground by taking the Hatvali Cable Car to the top of Zuruldi Ridge. (Note the cable car was not running when we were there summer 2025)
There are two ski resorts near Mestia, Hatsvali ski resort is said to have beginner and intermediate runs. Tetnuldi Ski Resort has quite a few advanced and off-piste skiing. Neither resort is very large but with an annual average snowfall of 6 metres, it may be a good place to ski. It’s now on our list to visit again, in winter.
When to visit
Svaneti is known for its substantial rain and snowfall, with annual precipitation reaching 1,299 mm (51in). The hiking season is best from mid June to mid October. Skiing is best from late December to early March.
Where to stay in Mestia
Mestia’s downtown seems to be taken over by the tourism industry with guide shops, mountain equipment rental stores and tourist restaurants, but this mountain community is as laid back as it is charming. If you don’t have a car you should stay in Mestia. It is not very large and there are many accommodations to chose from. Most guesthouses and hotels are within walking distance of centre. If you have a car, you could stay in one of the smaller communities on its outskirts.
Where to eat in Mestia
There are quite a few restaurants on the main street around the Seti Park. We didn’t have a bad meal in our entire time in Georgia, so there seems no need to recommend a particular restaurant. Coffee however, is another story. We found the coffee to be very weak and bitter throughout the country. In Mestia though, we had great coffee at Kor. You can find it across from Seti Square. They have a nice roof top terrace too.
How to Get to Mestia
There are a few tours to Svaneti from Tbilisi, Kutaisi or Batumi. It is very easy to visit on your own, though and a tour is not necessary. From Tbilisi, you have your choice between a bus (3 times a week) or marshrutka (daily), they both leave from the Navtlugi Bus Station at 7am (8-10 hours). If you’re in Kutaisi, marshrutkas leave from the Central Bus Station at 8am (6-7 hours). They leave less frequently from Batumi, only every 2nd day. It would be easier to travel through Zugdidi, where you can catch one to Mestia. In Batumi, marshrutkas to Mestia and Zugdidi leave from the Bus Station near the train station. (listed on Google Maps as Minibus to Mestia). From Zugdidi, there is one marshrutka a day, leaving around 10am. The stop is called Bus Stop Mestia on Google Maps.
You can also take the train from Tbilisi to Zugdidi. There is one train a day, leaving at 8:10am (3 1/2 hours). You may read online about a night train, but is has been cancelled. Train tickets need to be booked in advance.
If you drive to Mestia, be aware that the road has quite a few potholes and is a narrow, winding mountain road. A common site on all Georgian highways is cattle. Many saunter across the road without concern for cars, several just lay in the middle of the busy highways. They apparently like to lay on bridges to take advantage of the cooling breeze. It does make the drive even slower and more hazardous though.
If you’re short on time you can also fly from Natakhtari Airport in Mtskheta or from Kutaisi. But neither have daily flights.
Departure – When you’re ready to leave, marshrutkas leave from Mestia Bus Station, which is more like a bus stop, on main street in the town centre. There are several listed on Google Maps, the correct location one is listed as ‘Tickets Bus’. It’s advised to buy your ticket a day in advance. There is a small office at the bus stop.
Zugdidi
On the way to Mestia, we stopped overnight in Zugdidi. It’s not a destination city, but you may find yourself spending a day on your way to Svaneti. Admittedly, there are not a lot of sites, but its a pleasant city and we found a few spots.
Dadiani Palace
The main tourist site in Zugdidi is the 19th-century Dadiani Palace. It was built for Queen Ekatarina, who also sponsored a large botanical garden in its spacious yard. It must have been a grand building in its day, but today, it’s quite run-down and looks a little sad. The Queen’s Botanical Garden beside is mostly a large, treed park.
Zugdidi Boulevard
One of our favourite places in town is the long park located in the middle of Zugdidi Boulevard. Despite its location, its tall sycamore and fir trees make it very peaceful. At the end of the park are a few Soviet buildings and a large, distinctively Soviet mural.
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Coming Next – Hiking From Mestia To Ushguli
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