Beshumi

Beshumi is a summer settlement and has never been a year-round resort. It sits west of Goderdzi Pass at about 1,830 metres and comes to life from mid-June to early September; the rest of the year the houses are shuttered and the road is under snow. The logic behind it is old. Summer heat and humidity are hard to bear in the villages of upper Adjara, so families moved up to the pastures with their cattle. What began as temporary shelters grew into a whole settlement of timber houses. They are light buildings — plank walls, a balcony, a tin roof — exactly what you build for three months. What people do here: - Walk the alpine meadows — in June and July the flowers are knee-deep - Attend Shuamtoba, the reconciliation festival at the end of August: the main summer gathering of upper Adjara, with horsemen, wrestling and music - Eat matsoni, cheese and honey straight from the houses, usually offered before you can ask - Walk the line where the fir forest stops dead against open pasture The air is dry, and that is not incidental: since Soviet times Beshumi was recommended to people with respiratory problems. Anyone used to coastal hotels will find it plain — service is minimal, hot water is not guaranteed, and evenings are cold even in July. Goderdzi Pass is about ten kilometres away; the Green Lake is a little further.

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