Ends of the world – Colchis

From the Black Sea to the towers of Svaneti

Before Georgia became a kingdom of mountain churches, royal capitals and eastern frontiers, its western world was known to the ancient imagination as Colchis. A land of rivers, wetlands, sea routes, gold, forests and mountains — Colchis stood at the edge of the Black Sea and at the beginning of one of the most enduring myths of the ancient world: the quest for the Golden Fleece.

This journey follows the western edge of Georgia from the humid landscapes of the Kolkheti wetlands to the stone towers of Svaneti. It moves through port towns, aristocratic Samegrelo, the borderlands near Abkhazia, the monumental Enguri valley, high Caucasus villages and the industrial scars of Chiatura.

This is not the postcard version of western Georgia. It is a route through water, stone, memory and vertical landscapes — from ancient Colchis to the mountain world where Georgia hid its treasures, defended its families and preserved some of its strongest cultural codes.

DAY 1

Kutaisi, Colchis and the Black Sea edge

kutaisi, colchis and the black sea edge Arrival in Kutaisi, one of the oldest cities in Georgia and a natural gateway to the western part of the country. This is where the journey enters the world of ancient Colchis: rivers, wetlands, forests and the long corridor between the Caucasus and the Black Sea. The Rioni River — known in antiquity as the Phasis — once connected the interior of western Georgia with the sea, trade routes and the wider imagination of the ancient world.

From Kutaisi, we travel west towards the lowlands of Colchis. The landscape changes quickly. Mountains give way to humid plains, water channels, reed beds and the quiet, almost primeval atmosphere of the Kolkheti wetlands. In Kolkheti National Park, we explore one of the most distinctive natural landscapes in Georgia. A boat ride through narrow waterways and marshland reveals a different Caucasus: not high peaks and stone towers, but water, birds, silence and the ancient geography of the Black Sea basin.

Depending on timing, we continue to Poti, Georgia’s historic port city at the mouth of the Rioni. For more than a century, Poti has served as one of the country’s most important maritime openings to the world — a place where the inland routes of Georgia meet the Black Sea. We may also continue towards Anaklia, a place where geography and politicsbecome visible. Set close to the dividing line with Abkhazia, Anaklia carries the remains of an ambitious deep-sea port project that was meant to transform Georgia’s role between Europe and Asia. Today, its wide shoreline and unfinished infrastructure tell a different story: of borders, interrupted futures and the strategic weight of the Black Sea. Dinner on the Black Sea coast, with food inspired by western Georgia: fresh fish, herbs, local cheeses and light wines from the region.

Overnight on the Black Sea coast / Anaklia area.

DAY 2

Samegrelo — Dadiani, the abkhazia border and the road to
Svaneti

After breakfast, we travel into Samegrelo, the western Georgian region that once formed the heart of the Principality of Mingrelia. The first major stop is Zugdidi, the former seat of the Dadiani family — one of the most important aristocratic houses of the Caucasus. At the Dadiani Palace, the story of western Georgia opens through dynastic ambition, European connections and the political world of a region that was never simply provincial. The collections include objects connected with the wider European imagination, including the famous Napoleonic connection of the Dadiani family — a reminder that Samegrelo was linked not only to Georgian history, but also to the aristocratic networks of the 19th-century world.

From Zugdidi, we continue towards Rukhi Fortress, standing close to the dividing line with Abkhazia. The fortress belonged to the defensive world of western Georgia, but today its location gives it another meaning: it stands near one of the most sensitive political borders of the contemporary Caucasus. The journey then moves to the Enguri Dam, one of the most striking pieces of infrastructure in Georgia. Rising above the Enguri River, the dam is not only an engineering monument, but also a powerful image of modern Georgia: energy, water, mountains and politics brought together in one landscape. From here, the road begins to climb into the Enguri Valley.
The humid lowlands of Samegrelo gradually give way to the first mountain villages, narrow river gorges and the dramatic approach to Svaneti. As the road rises, the cultural geography changes: western aristocratic Samegrelo slowly yields to one of the most distinct mountain worlds of the Caucasus.

By evening, we arrive in Mestia, the historical centre of Upper Svaneti. Dinner introduces the food of the region: kubdari, Svan salt, mountain cheeses and the direct, generous flavours of highland Georgia.

Overnight in Mestia.

DAY 3

Mestia — towers, families and sacred treasures

The morning begins in Mestia, the historical heart of Upper Svaneti. For centuries, Svaneti remained one of the most distinct and protected regions of Georgia. High mountains, difficult roads and long winters shaped a society built around families, towers, local law and a strong sense of independence.We begin with the stone towers of Mestia — the most recognisable architecture of the region. Built mainly between the 9th and 13th centuries, these towers were not decorative symbols. They belonged to families and functioned as private fortresses in a world where kinship, honour, conflict and defence structured daily life.

If access is possible, we visit one of the towers or traditional family houses, where the story becomes more immediate: stone walls, narrow wooden interiors, household memory and the continuity of families living in the mountains for generations. We then visit the Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography, one of the most important museums in Georgia. Its collection of icons, manuscripts, crosses and liturgical objects reveals another role of Svaneti: a mountain refuge where sacred treasures from Georgian churches were preserved during periods of invasion and instability.

In the afternoon, we take in the landscape from above. Depending on weather and road conditions, this may be a ride to the Hatsvali viewpoint or a more demanding 4x4 route towards the Koruldi Lakes. In both cases, the purpose is the same: to see Mestia not only as a village of towers, but as part of a vast mountain system dominated by Ushba, Tetnuldi and the high ridges of the Greater Caucasus.

Optional evening: a private screening of Dede by Mariam Khatchvani, one of the strongest contemporary films about Svaneti and the tension between mountain tradition and modern life.

Dinner in Mestia, with food rooted in the highland traditions of Svaneti.
Overnight in Mestia.

DAY 4

Ushguli — high villages and the law of the mountains

After breakfast, we set out by 4x4 vehicles towards Ushguli, one of the highest continuously inhabited settlements in Europe.
The road from Mestia to Ushguli is part of the experience. It follows narrow valleys, river bends, steep slopes and traditional Svan villages where stone towers still rise above the landscape. Depending on road conditions, we may pass through settlements such as Latali, Mulakhi or Kala — each carrying traces of the old defensive and family structure of the region.

For centuries, Svaneti remained one of the most autonomous mountain worlds of Georgia. Its geography shaped a society governed by clan memory, local law, kinship obligations and a strong sense of independence. Ushguli brings this world into its most dramatic form. Set at around 2,100 metres above sea level and surrounded by medieval towers, stone houses and high pastures, the village stands beneath Mount Shkhara, the highest peak in Georgia. The scale of the landscape gives the architecture its meaning: these towers were built not for display, but forsurvival, status and defence.

We walk through the village and visit Lamaria Church, set above Ushguli with a wide view over the valley. The church is linked in local tradition with Queen Tamar, whose memory still moves through the high Caucasus as both history and legend. If access and timing allow, we may also see the Tower of Love, one of the most recognisable towers in the region, connected with a local story of loyalty and isolation.

Lunch is served in a family guesthouse, with food rooted in the mountain traditions of Svaneti. In the afternoon, we return to Mestia through the same highland road, with the ridges of the Greater Caucasus closing the Svan chapter of the journey.
Dinner and overnight in Mestia.

DAY 5

From Svaneti to Imereti — the descent from the mountains

After breakfast, we leave Mestia and begin the long descent from the high valleys of Svaneti towards western Georgia. The road follows the Enguri Valley, moving through a landscape that gradually changes from narrow mountain gorges and stone villages to lower, greener valleys. After the intensity of Ushguli and the high Caucasus, this day allows the route to breathe.

As we leave Svaneti behind, the journey changes scale once again. The defensive world of towers, clans and mountain law gives way to the softer landscapes of western Georgia — rivers, forests, villages and the first signs of Imereti. Depending on timing and road conditions, we may include a carefully chosen stop along the way: a viewpoint over the Enguri Valley, a short walk in one of the villages, or another place that helps mark the transition from the mountain world back into the western lowlands.

The day is deliberately lighter, with fewer visits and more space for the road itself. In a journey through Colchis, movement matters: the descent from Svaneti shows how quickly Georgia changes its geography, architecture and rhythm.

By evening, we arrive in Kutaisi or the surrounding Imereti region.
Dinner and overnight in Kutaisi / Imereti.

DAY 6

Katskhi and Chiatura — hermitage, manganese and soviet verticality

After breakfast, we travel into one of the most unusual landscapes of western Georgia — a region where religious solitude, industrial ambition and dramatic topography exist almost side by side. The first stop is Katskhi Pillar, a narrow limestone column rising more than 40 metres above the valley. A small monastic structure stands at the top, making the site one of the most striking images of Georgian ascetic tradition.Katskhi is not important because it is picturesque. It shows another way in which the Georgian landscape was used spiritually: height, isolation and stone became part of a discipline of withdrawal from the world.

From there, we continue to Chiatura, a city shaped by manganese. In the Soviet period, Chiatura became one of the most important manganese mining centres in the world. Its steep valley demanded an unusual system of movement, and the city became famous for its network of cable cars suspended above streets, cliffs and industrial zones. Here, verticality becomes political and practical at the same time. The cable cars were not designed as a tourist attraction, but as infrastructure for workers, connecting mines, neighbourhoods and the valley floor. Today, they reveal one of Georgia’s most powerful industrial landscapes: rust, concrete, cables, cliffs and the memory of a system built around extraction.

Depending on access and local conditions, we may see selected parts of the cable car network, industrial viewpoints, remnants of Soviet-era architecture or the former Palace of Pioneers — a striking symbol of a city once organised around labour, ideology and production. This day gives the journey its sharpest contrast: after the medieval towers of Svaneti and the sacred isolation of Katskhi, Chiatura shows another vertical Georgia — engineered, industrial and deeply marked by the 20th century. Dinner and overnight in Kutaisi / Imereti, or transfer to Tbilisi depending on the final route arrangement.

DAY 7

Tbilisi — the city after the road

After several days on the western edge of Georgia — through wetlands, ports, aristocratic Samegrelo, the Enguri Valley, Svan towers and the industrial landscape of Chiatura — we arrive in Tbilisi. This day is not designed as a standard city tour. Instead, we read the capital as an urban epilogue to the journey: a city where the routes of western Georgia, imperial memory, trade, Soviet traces and contemporary life all meet.

We begin with a walk through selected parts of the historic centre and Sololaki, a district of merchant houses, carved balconies, hidden courtyards and staircases that still carry the atmosphere of Tbilisi as a cosmopolitan city between empires. Depending on timing, we may continue to the Dry Bridge Flea Market, one of the most unusual places in the capital. Old photographs, Soviet medals, porcelain, books, maps, icons, records and fragments of domestic life create a different kind of archive — informal, scattered and alive. After the great landscapes of Colchis and Svaneti, Dry Bridge brings the journey down to objects: things carried, sold, forgotten, rescued and passed from hand to hand.

The afternoon remains deliberately flexible. There may be time for a final coffee, a selected wine bar, a bookshop, an artisan store or a quiet walk through the older layers of the city.In the evening, we close the journey with dinner in Tbilisi — not as a folkloric show, but as a final table after the road: western flavours, mountain memories, urban energy and the stories gathered across the journey.

Overnight in Tbilisi.

DAY 8

Tbilisi — departure

After breakfast, the journey comes to a close in Tbilisi. Depending on the flight schedule, there may be time for a final coffee, a short walk through the older parts of the city or a carefully chosen last stop — a bookshop, wine shop, artisan store or another quiet place connected with the themes of the journey.

This is not another day of sightseeing. The route has already taken us from the Black Sea edge of ancient Colchis to the wetlands of Kolkheti, aristocratic Samegrelo, the Abkhazia borderlands, the Enguri Valley, the towers of Svaneti, the high villages of Ushguli and the industrial verticality of Chiatura.

Transfer to Tbilisi International Airport. Departure.