DESTINATIONS ESCORTED TOURS |GEORGIA
HIGHLIGHTS OF GEORGIA
E Tbilisi: The capital’s compact Old Town is easily walkable. Book a session in a bathhouse and soak in the natural hot-spring water, ride the cable car for the best views of the city – for just 70p – and make the most of the thriving nightlife.
E Kakheti: Enjoy the panorama from the hilltop town of Sighnaghi, taste the local wine, visit the tranquil Alaverdi Monastery and stop at Tsinandali – an idyllic ducal country estate.
E Cave cities: Clamber around inside Vardzia and Uplistsikhe, ancient hidden cities hewn into the mountainside.
E Gori: Learn about the life of Josef Stalin in the town of his birth, which has a museum dedicated to him.
E Akhaltsikhe: Here the Rabati Castle complex houses an ancient mosque, a towering fortress and an interesting museum.
E Stepantsminda: In the High Caucasus mountains, the Gergeti Trinity Church sits above this village. Stop off at the Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument, which has sweeping views over the Devil’s Valley.
BOOK IT
Explore’s nine-day Discover Georgia trip starts at £1,399 including flights, bed-and- breakfast accommodation, some other meals and the services of a guide.
explore.co.uk
42 8 AUGUST 2019
GEORGIA ON MY MIND Tourism to this destination, set at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, is growing exponentially – visitor numbers are predicted to rise from seven million last year to 11 million by the end of 2019. The capital, Tbilisi, is a thriving, modern metropolis,
where tourists are attracted by techno clubs as much as traditional culture. And the bustle isn’t just reserved for the cities. In contrast to the peace of the Alaverdi Monastery, when we visit Jvari Church, one of Georgia’s holiest Orthodox sites, we’re surrounded by coachloads of people. Though the views from outside this domed church, set high on a cliff above the town of Mtskheta, are still breathtaking, inside, the peace is shattered. While it is still far from mainstream, Georgia is on the brink of becoming very popular, in adventure tourism terms. It’s little wonder. With distinctive culture, colourful history, immense natural beauty, write-home- about cuisine and genuinely warm hospitality on offer, its success was inevitable. But to show your clients the destination at its very best, it’s important to choose the right trip. Look for a small-group tour, and one that mixes well-known highlights with off-the-beaten track gems, so that they see Georgia without the crowds.
LOSE THE CROWDS Travelling with adventure tour specialist Explore, this is exactly what the agents and I enjoy. With an average
33Georgia has distinctive culture, colourful history, immense natural beauty and write-home-about cuisine
group size of 12, the operator uses small, comfortable minibuses, capable of squeezing down narrow country lanes and up winding mountain passes. In Tbilisi, we stay in small boutique hotels, and outside the city, in comfortable guesthouses, enjoying the hospitality of the local population – and their exquisite home cooking. Most significantly, we’re able to enjoy experiences that would be impractical for larger groups. In the Kakheti region, we’re welcomed into a family smallholding for one of the best alfresco lunches of our lives, and taught by sisters Nona and Manana how to make bread and churchkhela, a local snack. We visit Zaza, an artisan who keeps the tradition of making wine in gigantic clay pots alive, not only harvesting his own grapes, but also building and firing the qvevri vessels themselves in a kiln in his back garden. In the small town of Telavi, we easily negotiate the
narrow corridors of the covered market, sniffing spices and trying samples of the myriad varieties of local cheese.
²
travelweekly.co.uk
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Explore’s agent group; freshly made churchkhela; khachapuri; Tbilisi PICTURES: Explore; Shutterstock; Joanna Booth
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