Things to do in Georgia

Georgia lies south of the Greater Caucasus, with the Black Sea on its western edge. The Likhi range splits a drier east, where Tbilisi sits, from a wetter west. Most tours in Georgia leave from Tbilisi by road.

The regions, by road from Tbilisi

• Mtskheta. The old capital, 20 kilometres north, listed by UNESCO in 1994. Gori lies 86 kilometres west, with the cave town of Uplistsikhe 10 kilometres short of it.
• Kakheti. Wine country in the east, where the harvest begins in September. Sighnaghi, on its ridge, is about 110 kilometres and two hours away.
• Kazbegi. The Military Highway runs 157 kilometres north to Stepantsminda, below the 5,054-metre cone of Mount Kazbek.
• Imereti. Kutaisi lies more than 220 kilometres west, with the Okatse canyon and the Prometheus cave within reach.
• Svaneti. Medieval stone tower houses in the high north-west, listed by UNESCO in 1996.
• Samtskhe-Javakheti. Borjomi, the rebuilt Rabati fortress and the cave monastery at Vardzia.
• Adjara. Batumi and the subtropical Black Sea coast, five to six hours away.

What people book

Wine is the calling card. The traditional method uses qvevri, clay jars buried in the ground, and UNESCO listed it in 2013. Jars from about 6000 BCE, found south of Tbilisi, carry some of the oldest known traces of winemaking.

The mountains add hiking, jeep tracks into Tusheti and horse rides in Pankisi and Vashlovani. Winter belongs to Gudauri and Bakuriani.

Group seats exist for Kakheti, Mtskheta and Kazbegi and cost about a restaurant dinner. The same day with a private driver-guide runs several times that. Multi-day routes, from three days up, are mostly private.

Practical

• Weather. Tbilisi days average 32C in July and August and 7C in January, with about 500 millimetres of rain a year. On the Black Sea coast January days average 11C and the rain tops 2,000 millimetres. On the Javakheti plateau, 1,700 metres up, January nights average -11C.
• Best months. May, June, September and October give Tbilisi days of 20 to 29C. High hiking and the road into Tusheti are summer matters. Gudauri's lifts run from December to mid-April.
• Getting around. Kutaisi is about four hours from Tbilisi by road, Batumi five to six. Marshrutka minibuses link most towns and leave when full. In winter, avalanche risk can close the Gudauri to Kobi stretch of the Military Highway.
• Money. The lari. Cards work in cities, while villages and monasteries want cash. Many restaurants add a 10 per cent service charge.