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Tusheti

Tucked away in Georgia’s far northeast corner bordering Chechnya and Dagestan in neighbouring Russia, Tusheti is one of Georgia's most picturesque and pristine high-mountain regions. The single unpaved (and often terrifying) road to get here from Kakheti passes over the nerve-jangling 2900m Abano Pass and can only be done in a 4WD from around late May to mid-October.

Centuries-old koshkebi (stone defence and refuge towers) still stand in many villages, and evidence of Tusheti’s old animist religion is plentiful in the form of stone shrines called khatebi (singular: khati) decked with the horns of sacrificed goats or sheep.

Today most Tusheti folk only go up to Tusheti in summer, to graze their flocks, participate in festivals, cater for tourists and generally reconnect with their roots. Many have winter homes around the villages of Akhmeta and Alvani in Kakheti. Welcome to one of Georgia's least explored and most mysterious regions.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Tusheti.

  • Fortress

    Keselo

    Constructed during the Mongol invasions during the 1230s, these five towers form a protective fortress on the hilltop above Zemo Omalo where locals would flee during raids from outsiders. Lovingly restored in the 21st century after centuries of neglect, today one of the towers hosts an interesting ethnographic museum (5 GEL) – ask at Hotel Tusheti Tower if you want to visit, while in another tower the Shalva Alkhanaidze Photography Museum is planned, displaying a collection of local photographs from the 1950s to 1970s.

  • Old Town

    Dartlo

    Dartlo, 12km northwest of Omalo in the Pirikiti Alazani valley, is an extraordinarily picturesque village crowned by an impressive tower grouping, overlooked by the single tall tower of Kvavlo 350m above the village itself. In summer Dartlo can be almost overgrown with wildflowers, which all but close off its narrow pebble streets, and make for a spectacular sight. There has been much investment in restoring the village's ancient slate and wood houses in recent years.

  • Fortress

    Dzveli Diklo

    About 2km past Diklo, which is 4km northeast of Shenaqo, the Dzveli Diklo fortress perches on a spectacular rock promontory looking east to Dagestan (Russia). It's a 40-minute hike one-way from Diklo, and the jeep track does not extend beyond Diklo village.

  • Old Town

    Shenaqo

    Shenaqo, a few kilometres east of Omalo, is one of the prettiest villages in Tusheti, with houses of stone, slate and rickety wooden balconies grouped below one of Tusheti’s very few churches. The village is also famous as one of the main locations in the Soviet film Mimino, a charming 1977 comedy about a Georgian bush pilot serving these remote communities.