Mestia

Mestia is the administrative and cultural centre of Upper Svaneti, a mountain community that stayed effectively independent for most of its history. The stone koshki towers that rise from almost every family compound were built between the ninth and thirteenth centuries as refuges from invaders, avalanches and blood feuds alike.

The Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography holds one of the finest collections of medieval icons and illuminated manuscripts in the Caucasus, much of it kept for centuries in village churches rather than monasteries.

From the village, day walks lead to the Chalaadi Glacier and up to the Koruldi Lakes, where the twin summits of Ushba stand almost directly overhead. In winter the Hatsvali and Tetnuldi ski areas open above the town.