Georgian Military
Highway

Georgia's Irresistible Capital

Tbilisi is a city that shouldn't work but does. Wooden balconies lean out over cobblestone streets at angles that suggest the buildings are having a conversation. Sulfur baths steam in the old quarter beneath a hilltop fortress. A futuristic glass bridge connects two neighbourhoods that couldn't look more different. The whole thing sits in a valley along the Mtkvari River and manages to feel simultaneously ancient and alive.

Start at the Narikala Fortress, either by cable car or on foot up the ridge. The view from the top covers the entire old town, the river, and the cathedral. Walk down through the sulfur bath district (Abanotubani) and try Chreli Abano or the No.5 bathhouse for the full experience: hot sulfur water, a scrub from an attendant who has no interest in being gentle, and a feeling of cleanliness that lasts three days. In the evening, find a restaurant in the old town and eat khinkali (twisted dumplings filled with spiced meat and broth, eaten by hand, twisted top discarded), khachapuri Adjarian (boat-shaped cheese bread with an egg and butter melting in the centre), and pkhali (walnut and vegetable patties). Pick up your rental car on day two afternoon.

• Narikala Fortress - Cable car or walk up. Panoramic views over the old town and river valley.
• Sulfur Baths (Abanotubani) - Historic bathhouses. Chreli Abano for the tiled domes. Budget ₾30-80 for a private room.
• Rustaveli Avenue - Main boulevard, National Museum (gold artefacts from 3000 BCE), opera house, street life.
• Fabrika - Former Soviet sewing factory turned creative space. Bars, cafes, courtyard. Where young Tbilisi hangs out.

The Legendary Highway and Mount Kazbek

Day three is the drive that gives this roadtrip its name. Head north from Tbilisi and stop first at Mtskheta, Georgia's ancient capital and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, built in the 11th century, is where Georgians believe the robe of Christ is buried. Whether or not you find that credible, the cathedral is beautiful and the town around it is compact enough to see in an hour.

Continue north past the Aragvi Reservoir to Ananuri Fortress, a 17th-century complex with two churches and defensive towers overlooking turquoise water. This is the photograph that appears on every Georgia tourism poster. The road then begins to climb seriously: through gorges, past the Gudauri ski resort, and over the Cross Pass (Jvari Pass) at 2,395m, where a Soviet-era Friendship Monument offers 360-degree mountain views from a tiled panoramic platform.

Arrive in Kazbegi (officially Stepantsminda), a village at 1,740m beneath Mount Kazbek's 5,047-metre peak. Day four is for Gergeti Trinity Church: a 14th-century stone church perched at 2,170m on a hilltop with Kazbek as its backdrop. Hike up (steep, 3-4 hours round trip, worth every step) or take a 4x4 taxi. Go early morning or late afternoon for the light. If you're fit and ambitious, continue past the church toward the glacier for another three to four hours of increasingly dramatic scenery.

• Mtskheta - UNESCO ancient capital. Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. Jvari Monastery on the hilltop above.
• Ananuri Fortress - Photogenic fortress on turquoise reservoir. Churches, towers, water. Allow 30-45 min.
• Cross Pass (2,395m) - Soviet Friendship Monument. Panoramic mountain views. Cold and windy. Bring a layer.
• Gergeti Trinity Church - Georgia's most iconic sight. Hike or 4x4 taxi. Early morning or late afternoon for the best light.

Western Georgia

Drive back south and then west through the heart of Georgia. Stop in Gori if you have an interest in Soviet history: the Stalin Museum (he was born here in 1878) is a fascinating exercise in how a country memorialises a complicated figure. The museum is more hagiographic than critical, which is itself informative. Continue west through the Rikoti Pass into the Imereti region.

Kutaisi is Georgia's second city and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe. The UNESCO-listed Gelati Monastery, built in 1106 by King David the Builder, has frescoes that glow in the dim light of the interior and a sense of calm that the medieval monks probably intended. The Bagrati Cathedral sits on a hill above the city with views across the river valley. The Green Bazaar in the centre is where locals buy churchkhela (strings of walnuts dipped in thickened grape juice, dried and hung like candles), seasonal fruit, and the spice mixes that make Georgian food taste the way it does. Prometheus Cave, thirty minutes outside the city, is a kilometre-long limestone cavern with stalactites, an underground river, and lighting that makes the geological formations look deliberate.

• Gori Stalin Museum - His birthplace, personal train carriage, and a museum that tells one version of the story. Optional but interesting.
• Gelati Monastery - UNESCO site. 12th-century frescoes in extraordinary condition. Twenty minutes from Kutaisi centre.
• Kutaisi Green Bazaar - Churchkhela, spices, seasonal fruit, local cheese. Where Kutaisi shops.
• Prometheus Cave - Kilometre-long limestone cave. Underground river. Boat ride available. ₾23 entry.

Remote Svaneti and the Towers

The drive to Svaneti is where this roadtrip shifts from scenic to genuinely adventurous. The road from Zugdidi into the mountains has been improved (it used to be notorious) but still winds through gorges and along cliff edges that will remind you why you opted for the insurance upgrade. The reward is one of the most unusual places in Europe.

Svaneti was isolated by geography for centuries. The result is a highland culture with its own language, its own cuisine, and its own architectural signature: stone defensive towers built between the 9th and 13th centuries by individual families, used for shelter during blood feuds and invasions. Mestia, the main town of Upper Svaneti, is surrounded by peaks and dotted with these towers. The Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography is better than you'd expect for a mountain town of 2,000 people. Hike to Chalaadi Glacier (three hours return, straightforward) for a close encounter with Caucasus ice.

The highlight of Svaneti is the day trip to Ushguli, a cluster of villages at 2,200m that claims to be the highest continuously inhabited settlement in Europe. The road from Mestia is 40 km and takes about two hours each way on rough track (4x4 essential or hire a local driver). What you find at the end is a UNESCO World Heritage hamlet of stone towers against the backdrop of Mount Shkhara (5,193m, Georgia's highest peak). The isolation, the architecture, and the scale of the mountains behind make Ushguli feel like a place that time forgot because it wasn't interested in keeping up.

• Mestia - Svan towers, excellent museum, glacier hikes, mountain guesthouses with home cooking.
• Ushguli - Europe's highest village. UNESCO towers. Mount Shkhara backdrop. 4x4 day trip from Mestia.
• Chalaadi Glacier - Three-hour return hike from Mestia. River crossings, forest, then ice.
• Svan cuisine - Kubdari (meat-filled bread), tashmjabi (mashed potato with cheese), and chacha strong enough to sterilise things.

Black Sea Finale

The descent from Svaneti to the coast is one of the most dramatic altitude changes on any roadtrip anywhere. You leave medieval tower villages at 1,500m and arrive at a subtropical Black Sea resort town with palm trees, casinos, and a seven-kilometre waterfront promenade lined with dancing fountains. The shift in climate, architecture, and energy is so complete that it feels like you've crossed a border.

Batumi is Georgia's summer capital and beach city. The Boulevard (seven kilometres of seafront, palms, sculptures, and cafes) is the evening passeggiata. The moving Ali and Nino statue (two metal figures that pass through each other every ten minutes) is better than it sounds. The Old Town has cobblestone streets, a piazza, and a mosque next to a synagogue next to a church, which tells you something about Georgia's approach to coexistence. The pebble beach is for swimming (the water is warm from June to September). The food shifts to Adjarian specialities: the boat-shaped khachapuri Adjarian (cheese bread with an egg cracked into the centre and a knob of butter melting into it) is the regional masterpiece. End your trip with fresh Black Sea fish, a bottle of Georgian wine, and the satisfaction of having driven one of the great mountain roads on earth from one end of a country to the other.

• Batumi Boulevard - 7 km waterfront promenade. Evening walks, fountains, cafes, beach access.
• Ali and Nino Statue - Moving metal sculpture. Two figures pass through each other every ten minutes. Go at sunset.
• Batumi Old Town - Piazza square, religious coexistence, cobblestones, excellent restaurants.
• Batumi Botanical Garden - Huge subtropical garden on sea cliffs. Worth a half-day if you have time.