Shenako and Diklo

Shenako and Diklo are the eastern edge of Tusheti — where the road, and Georgia, run out. Both sit in the Gometsari valley east of Omalo: Shenako about 12 km along, Diklo a further eight.

Shenako stands at 2,100 m and announces itself from a distance with a red tin roof — the 19th-century church of St George. That is unusual here. Historically the Tush kept Christianity alongside older mountain shrines, the khati, and built churches rarely and small; Shenako's is the exception, and it was raised at a time when the Russian empire was actively encouraging them. The village itself is well preserved: stone houses, wooden balconies, lanes barely wide enough for a horse.

Diklo lies further east and lower. Above the village, an hour of steep climbing, stands Diklo fortress, a border stronghold built along a rock crest with the Dagestani valleys falling away beyond it. It was besieged and destroyed in 1830 during the fighting in the north Caucasus, and the ruins have been left as they were.

This is a border zone and it feels like one: a guard post, an ID check, and very little noise. Compared with Dartlo, hardly anyone comes over here, which is a large part of the appeal.

North of Shenako rise the highest summits of Tusheti — Tebulosmta at 4,493 m and Diklosmta. In clear weather they are visible from the middle of the village, carrying snow all year.

Between the two villages the road runs along an open hillside with the valley dropping away and nothing to interrupt the view; for a good many visitors this short stretch, rather than either settlement, is the best half hour in Tusheti. Diklo itself was burned during the 19th-century wars in the north Caucasus and rebuilt lower down the slope, which is why the fortress now stands so far above the houses.