Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
Subtropical Samegrelo with its canyons and Upper Svaneti with its towers — one region, two entirely different worlds.
Click a marker for details. Coloured lines are ready-made road trips.
This administrative region joins two quite different countries. Below lies Samegrelo: warm, humid and flat, planted with tea and citrus, centred on Zugdidi and the Dadiani Palace museum, a European-style residence with a botanical garden and a collection connected to the Bonaparte family. Martvili Canyon on the Abasha river is visited by boat between limestone walls, and Nokalakevi, the Archaeopolis of Byzantine sources, preserves late antique walls and a tunnel running down to the river.
Northwards the road begins to climb at the Enguri Dam, an arch dam with the long turquoise Jvari Reservoir behind it, and within three hours it delivers you into a different climate altogether. Upper Svaneti is a high mountain province with its own language, polyphony and architecture. Mestia holds the Svaneti Museum, rich in icons and manuscripts, among stone defensive towers; above it are the Hatsvali and Tetnuldi ski areas, and a forest path leads to the Chalaadi Glacier. Ushguli, a group of four villages at 2,100 metres beneath Mount Shkhara, is UNESCO-listed. The Koruldi Lakes are reached only on foot or by jeep.
Seasonality is double. Samegrelo is accessible all year, while Svaneti is at its best from June to September, with a separate winter season for skiing. Three to four days is the minimum that makes sense, and most travellers give it more.
Best for
- A four-day run: Zugdidi, Mestia and Ushguli
- Svan towers and high mountain scenery in summer
- Martvili Canyon and Nokalakevi in a single day
- Winter skiing at Hatsvali and Tetnuldi
Driving conditions
The first thing to accept is distance: Mestia is around 470 km from Tbilisi and eight to nine hours of driving. Doing it as a return trip in one day is not realistic, so plan a night in Zugdidi, Kutaisi or Mestia itself.
The road from Zugdidi to Mestia is asphalt and technically sound, but 130 km takes roughly three hours: continuous bends, narrow sections in the Enguri gorge, rockfall zones and livestock on the carriageway. After rain or snowmelt, stones on the road are routine rather than exceptional. In winter the road to Mestia normally stays open, but winter tyres are required and chains are worth having.
Above Mestia everything changes. The final stretch to Ushguli is gravel and needs a high-clearance vehicle; the track to the Koruldi Lakes is 4x4 only. Taking a low car onto either is not covered by rental insurance. Fuel is available in Zugdidi and Mestia and effectively nowhere in between, so fill up before the climb.
In this region — 26 places
Town★★★★★5Mestia and the Svan Towers
Upper Svaneti's main town at 1,500 m — medieval stone defence towers, two strong museums and the trailhead for every route in the region.
- Time needed: 4 h
- From Tbilisi: 470 km · 8:30
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Town★★★★★5Ushguli
One of Europe's highest permanently inhabited settlements at 2,100 m, under Mount Shkhara — UNESCO-listed as part of Upper Svaneti.
- Time needed: 4 h
- From Tbilisi: 515 km · 10:30
- Car needed: Off-road 4x4
Mountain★★★★★5Shkhara Glacier and Lamaria
The source of the Enguri above Ushguli, below the ice wall of Shkhara, the highest summit in Georgia.
- Time needed: 6 h
- From Tbilisi: 515 km · 10:30
- Car needed: Off-road 4x4
Mountain★★★★½4.5Becho and Mazeri
The Dolra valley under Ushba, with the Shdugra waterfall and villages far quieter than Mestia.
- Time needed: 6 h
- From Tbilisi: 455 km · 8:20
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Mountain★★★★½4.5Chalaadi Glacier
The most accessible glacier near Mestia — a short drive up the valley and a two-hour walk to the ice tongue.
- Time needed: 4 h
- From Tbilisi: 480 km · 8:50
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Town★★★★½4.5Adishi
One of the highest permanently inhabited villages in Svaneti at 2,040 m, with towers, a glacier and very few residents.
- Time needed: 3 h
- From Tbilisi: 505 km · 10:15
- Car needed: Off-road 4x4
Museum★★★☆☆3Svaneti Museum of History and Ethnography
Mestia’s museum of medieval icons, processional crosses and the Adishi Gospels of 897 — the key to Svaneti.
- Time needed: 1.5 h
- From Tbilisi: 470 km · 8:30
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Lake★★★★½4.5Koruldi Lakes
Small alpine pools at 2,740 m above Mestia, facing Mount Ushba — reachable only by 4x4 or on foot.
- Time needed: 3 h
- From Tbilisi: 480 km · 9:30
- Car needed: Off-road 4x4
Lake★★★★½4.5Tobavarchkhili Lakes
The Silver Lakes of the Egrisi range at 2,650 m — the hardest and most memorable trek in Samegrelo.
- Time needed: 6 h
- From Tbilisi: 345 km · 6:30
- Car needed: Off-road 4x4
Beach★★★★☆4Anaklia
A wide black-sand beach at the mouth of the Enguri — quiet, half-abandoned and the strangest seaside place in Georgia.
- Time needed: 3 h
- From Tbilisi: 365 km · 5:25
- Car needed: Economy class
Monastery★★★½☆3.5Latali and the Matskhvarishi Church
The community with the most medieval churches in Svaneti, west of Mestia, holding Tevdore’s frescoes of 1140.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 458 km · 8:15
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Ski area★★★★☆4Hatsvali and Tetnuldi Ski Areas
Mestia's two ski zones — Hatsvali with sheltered forest runs, and Tetnuldi, where the lifts pass 3,000 metres.
- Time needed: 6 h
- From Tbilisi: 478 km · 8:50
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Monastery★★★½☆3.5Tsalenjikha Cathedral
The finest Byzantine wall painting in Georgia, made by a master from Constantinople, in a small Mingrelian town.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 345 km · 5:05
- Car needed: Economy class
Nature★★★★★5Kolkheti National Park and Lake Paliastomi
Georgia’s great coastal wetland south of Poti — peat bogs, flooded alder forest and a brackish lagoon full of birds.
- Time needed: 3 h
- From Tbilisi: 325 km · 4:55
- Car needed: Economy class
Canyon★★★★☆4Balda Canyon
A narrow limestone gorge north-east of Martvili with small waterfalls, travertine steps and no infrastructure at all.
- Time needed: 2 h
- From Tbilisi: 313 km · 4:50
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Canyon★★★★☆4Martvili Canyon
A turquoise river between limestone walls, with boardwalks and a short boat ride — Samegrelo's most visited natural site.
- Time needed: 2 h
- From Tbilisi: 310 km · 4:30
- Car needed: Economy class
Waterfall★★★★☆4Oniore Waterfall
A karst waterfall north-east of Martvili, falling into a wooded limestone amphitheatre next to the Toba cave.
- Time needed: 2 h
- From Tbilisi: 318 km · 5:10
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Town★★★★☆4Poti
Georgia’s main sea port at the mouth of the Rioni, with an unusual circular street plan and a cathedral modelled on Hagia Sophia.
- Time needed: 2 h
- From Tbilisi: 320 km · 4:45
- Car needed: Economy class
Lake★★★½☆3.5Enguri Dam and Jvari Reservoir
A 271-metre arch dam on the road to Mestia, with a long turquoise reservoir stretching behind it.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 350 km · 5:10
- Car needed: Economy class
Museum★★★☆☆3Salkhino Dadiani Residence
The Dadiani summer estate north of Martvili, with Ojaleshi vines trained up trees and a monastery in the grounds.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 312 km · 4:40
- Car needed: Economy class
Monastery★★★½☆3.5Khobi Monastery
A 13th-century domeless church with carved facades, an open gallery and the burial vault of the Dadiani princes.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 308 km · 4:35
- Car needed: Economy class
Museum★★★½☆3.5Dadiani Palace, Zugdidi
The residence of the princes of Mingrelia set in a botanical garden — Napoleon's death mask and the family collection.
- Time needed: 2 h
- From Tbilisi: 320 km · 4:40
- Car needed: Economy class
Fortress★★★☆☆3Rukhi Fortress
Levan II Dadiani’s 17th-century fortress above the Enguri, with round towers and a wide view over the floodplain.
- Time needed: 0.5 h
- From Tbilisi: 330 km · 4:55
- Car needed: Economy class
Monastery★★★☆☆3Tsaishi Cathedral
A medieval bishop’s seat south-west of Zugdidi, with a fine bell tower and a church rebuilt almost out of recognition.
- Time needed: 0.5 h
- From Tbilisi: 320 km · 4:45
- Car needed: Economy class
Nature★★★★☆4Zugdidi Botanical Garden
A garden laid out in the 1840s behind the Dadiani palace, full of subtropical trees and almost always empty.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 320 km · 4:40
- Car needed: Economy class
Archaeology★★★★☆4Nokalakevi (Archaeopolis)
A fortified city from the Lazic Wars above the Tekhuri river — walls, a secret tunnel and an active excavation.
- Time needed: 2 h
- From Tbilisi: 300 km · 4:30
- Car needed: Economy class