You are at - Jotaro's Blog /AhPek Biker-Footsteps /Cycling Europe/Georgia & Armenia 2024/ D12: Mestia To Ushguli | Go to D1/D2/D3/D4/D5/D6/D7/D8/D9/D10/D11/D13/D14
AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures
Georgia-Armenia 2024 Day 12: Mestia To Ushguli
Georgia-Armenia 2024 Day 12: 28th September (Saturday)
Group (Non-cycling) Tour of Georgia & Armenia:
Day 12 - Mestia to Ushguli:
Mestia (Margiansha House)>Majvdieri Viewpoint>Svan Old House>Tower of Love>Ushguli>Lamaria Church>Church of Kala>Ushguli Flying Swing>Mestia.
Day 12 - Mestia to Ushguli:
Mestia (Margiansha House)>Majvdieri Viewpoint>Svan Old House>Tower of Love>Ushguli>Lamaria Church>Church of Kala>Ushguli Flying Swing>Mestia.
This is page 12 of a 14-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
< D11: Mestia | Go to Other Days | D13: Koruldi Lakes >
Route recommendations, here're some tips on travelling from Mestia to Ushguli:
1. Traffic Directions!
Driving in Georgia is left-hand drive, with a speed limit of 60 km/h in cities and towns, and 80 km/h in other areas unless indicated otherwise. Armenia is also left-hand drive, so in both Georgia and Armenia drive/cycle on the right.
2. Immigration & Customs Requirements
For Georgia, citizens of Malaysia do not need a visa to enter for travel purposes and can stay in the country for 365 days without a visa. The travel passport must be valid throughout the whole period of stay in Georgia. A blank page is necessary for an entry stamp. Click here for a list of countries that need visa entry. Click here for the Georgia E-visa application portal and click here for guidelines on the E-visa application which costs USD20 (30 days validity).
For both countries, after clearing immigration, one will have to go through customs. We had to carry our luggage personally through. They are green lanes for those with nothing to declare; for duty-free good exemption, click here for Georgia's regulations, and here for Armenia's. Our vans had to go through the vehicles' lanes.
For those bringing in personal medication (up to 31 days usage) into Georgia, do get a prescription from your doctor; click here for guidelines.
3. Getting to and around Georgia & Armenia.
Major airlines serve both Georgia & Armenia. We flew from KLIA Terminal 1 into and out of Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport via Qatar Airways, with transit at Doha. It would have been time-saving into Armenia via Yerevan's Zvartnots International Airport; but we naively erred on the side of caution. Our airfares were bought during the MATA Travel Fair via promotions by the RHB Debit Card, the return fare cost us between MYR 2,800 to 3,200.
We got around both countries by using a local long-chassis Mercedes Sprinter Van with an extended rear luggage section for the 16 of us, and a Mercedes V-Class 7-seater van for another four of us who enlisted later. The rides were generally comfortable as most were on tarred roads with some stretches of gravel roads.
For harsher rides we used smaller local vans with drivers familiar to the rougher, steeper roads - this was to the Gergeti Trinity Church, Ushguli Village, Koruldi Lakes and Chalaadi Glacier.
We got around both countries by using a local long-chassis Mercedes Sprinter Van with an extended rear luggage section for the 16 of us, and a Mercedes V-Class 7-seater van for another four of us who enlisted later. The rides were generally comfortable as most were on tarred roads with some stretches of gravel roads.
For harsher rides we used smaller local vans with drivers familiar to the rougher, steeper roads - this was to the Gergeti Trinity Church, Ushguli Village, Koruldi Lakes and Chalaadi Glacier.
There were a couple of free days to explore Tbilisi by ourselves, but it is possible to use the Uber Georgia app to get further around. Other ride-hailing alternatives are Bolt, Yandex and Taxi Maxim.
4. Places & Things of Interest
Enroute were several places of interest, some of which we visited and others we did not for lack of time (Note: click on GPS coordinates for a directional map to respective places):
a. Mestia Public Service Hall (GPS: 43.04299, 42.7235).
b. Mestia Stone Tower (GPS: 43.04550, 42.72769).
c. Majvdieri Viewpoint (GPS: 43.03629, 42.8304).
d. Svan Old House (Museum) (GPS: 43.03616, 42.83058).
g. Lamaria Church (უშგულის ლამარია) (GPS: 42.91836, 43.01963).
h. Church of Kala - 'Lagurka' (ვაჩნაშის ლაგურკა) (GPS: 42.93906, 42.90686).
i. Heshkili Huts (GPS: 43.01756, 42.70649).
j. Ushguli Flying Swing (GPS: 43.01667, 42.70539).
5. Food
a. Breakfast:
An excellent inclusive Western/Georgian Fare at the Margiansha House (GPS: 43.04041, 42.71321) in Mestia.
b. Morning Tea:
d. Dinner:
6. Accommodations
Second of three nights at Margiansha House (GPS: 43.04041, 42.71321) in Mestia. The alternate hotel for the second group was Ushba Hotel (GPS: 43.04463, 42.73212).
7. Tour Costs & Arrangements
Return air tickets bought during the MATA Travel Fair/RHB Debit Card promotions were between MYR 2,800 to 3,200.
The ground arrangements tour package included a 10-passenger van to take us around, starting from & returning to Tbilisi. It also included 3-star hotels/homestays. The charge per pax for this ground arrangement was at MYR7,400. This excluded meals (other than hotel breakfasts & 3 dinners at Mestia), airport transfers, most entry tickets and tips. This allows for individuals to have meals according to their own liking & budget. Allow per meal should be adequate.
On average, the overall tour cost worked out to be around RM950 to RM1,000 per day. For those interested in this tour, contact Eddie at +6012-6122600 for more details and updated costs.
For out-of-pocket spending, we exchange some Georgian Lari (GEL) and Armenian Dram (AMD) in the respective countries. Some brought along their Wise debit cards to use; one can pre-load the card with the local currency. Or let it auto-deduct the currencies existing in the card. We found that it deducted other currencies first before deducting Malaysian Ringgit.
8. Communicating with Each Other
When travelling in a group it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one gets lost from the rest. Georgia pre-paid sim cards are easily available and cost 5 GEL to 20 GEL, depending on the provider and the included benefits. While Armenian pre-paid SIM cards range from AMD 1000 to AMD 3000. Those in our tour group pre-ordered their SIM cards through our Georgian guide.
Those who use Maxis as their telco can purchase the Maxis Roaming Pass. The RM89 15-day Multi-country Roaming Pass covers many countries including Georgia, Armenia and Qatar.
The Pass can be bought before the trip with a designated starting time/date, BUT DO TURN OFF your data roaming just before the Roaming Pass expires OTHERWISE any subsequent usage will automatically trigger off the 1-Day Roaming Pass costing between RM29 to RM38 per day!
The Pass can be bought before the trip with a designated starting time/date, BUT DO TURN OFF your data roaming just before the Roaming Pass expires OTHERWISE any subsequent usage will automatically trigger off the 1-Day Roaming Pass costing between RM29 to RM38 per day!
9. Communicating with Locals
At favourite tourist destinations, locals may speak fairly good English. In the smaller towns, locals speak some rudimentary English, and our local guide was most helpful in translating for us.
10. Weather
The average day and night temperatures at Mestia were 21°C and 10°C. The average day temperature at Ushguli was 21°C.
Useful weather forecast sites for Georgia & Armenia is AccuWeather. For more detailed weather, including cloud cover and wind speed, use Weatherspark and Ventusky.
11. Navigation
I used MapMyRide to track our routes and stops. Geo-tagging of places of interest was via FaceBook or Google Maps.
___________________________________________________________________________
PRELUDE
A day earlier, we left Kutaisi to head for Mestia. Enroute, stop for a riverboat ride along the Martvili Canyon, and after that visited the Enguri Dam.
Today we head for Ushguli, renown for their UNESCO Heritage-listed Svan Houses, visited a "Rapunzel" tower of love, and had a swinging time with a great view!
Today we head for Ushguli, renown for their UNESCO Heritage-listed Svan Houses, visited a "Rapunzel" tower of love, and had a swinging time with a great view!
___________________________________________________________________________
DAY 12: MESTIA TO USHGULI
Most posts below are linked to my Facebook postings during the trip and are embedded here with some comments. (NOTE: Click on respective posts to link to the FB post for more details. If you can't see the posts, please log out from your Facebook first)
Good morning from our homestay at Mestia, the Margiansha House. A bit of
special effects; photo shoot through window mesh. Autumn yellow & brown colours a setting in more.
Breakfast at Margiansha House - today they're serving pancakes with honey together with an unique shredded carrot salad.
9:30am - In our two vans, we headed to Mestia's Public Service Hall. It's a futuristic-looking building which ... er ... doesn't look like a building.
Other than looking great, it lives up to its name of offering a wide range of services and is designed with convenience, and to maximise efficiency and minimize wait times - by offering self-service zones with automated systems and quick service zones for services that take less than 5 minutes.
But we're here not to test their efficiency; but instead we're here to change into several smaller 7-seater vans, which will take us from Mestia to Ushguli Village. Are the roads ahead too rough for our vans? They weren't but it's part of tour groups efforts to use locals who are more familiar with the local roads.
10:30am - A short stop at Majvdieri Viewpoint.
Here's a Google Map interactive panoramic view to appreciate the scenic landscape beauty from the viewpoint.
..... and afar to the right is Majvdieri, the village renowned for the Svaneti Tower Houses.
The Svan Towers are the tower houses built as defensive dwellings in the Georgian historical region of Svaneti (present-day Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti). These towers are unique to the region and were primarily built between the 9th and 12th centuries, during the Georgian Golden Age.
The Svan Towers are the tower houses built as defensive dwellings in the Georgian historical region of Svaneti (present-day Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti). These towers are unique to the region and were primarily built between the 9th and 12th centuries, during the Georgian Golden Age.
On the other side of the road is the Svan Old House, apparently it's a museum too but we did not check it out.
Further down the road is the Bogreshi Tower of Love.
But this is not a classic Romeo & Juliet story, it's more a tragic story of unrequited love.
According to local legend, Miaguli Pirveli, a beautiful woman, met a skilled hunter called Otia Margvelani during the Kvirikoba festival. They fell in love, but Otia was married with children, and Miaguli did not want to ruin her beloved’s family. Saddened by this story, Otia went hunting, fell into the river and died. His wife could not bear the pain of her husband’s death and jumped into the Enguri River as well. According to the legend, the husband and wife turned into trout. Miaguli asked her father to build a tower on the boulder, where she lived till the end of her life, feeding the fishes every day.
Once the water level in Enguri decreases, a pure spring appears from the bottom of the boulder, which is said to be Miaguli’s tears.
According to local legend, Miaguli Pirveli, a beautiful woman, met a skilled hunter called Otia Margvelani during the Kvirikoba festival. They fell in love, but Otia was married with children, and Miaguli did not want to ruin her beloved’s family. Saddened by this story, Otia went hunting, fell into the river and died. His wife could not bear the pain of her husband’s death and jumped into the Enguri River as well. According to the legend, the husband and wife turned into trout. Miaguli asked her father to build a tower on the boulder, where she lived till the end of her life, feeding the fishes every day.
Once the water level in Enguri decreases, a pure spring appears from the bottom of the boulder, which is said to be Miaguli’s tears.
Inside the The Tower of Love, Bogreshi.
This three-story tower has high floors that are connected with one another by vertical stairs, which are narrow, so one should be especially careful when climbing them. The thick walls of the tower have stood for centuries and are likely to stand for many more.
At UNESCO Heritage-listed Ushguli, renowned for its Svan Tower Houses.
The Svan towers are either freestanding or attached to residential houses. The towers usually have 3–5 storeys, and the thickness of the walls decreases with height, giving them a tapering appearance. The upper floors of the towers are exclusively used for defence, with machicolated parapets and embrasures providing cover when throwing projectiles. The connected houses usually have two floors: the ground floor of the house, called the machub, and the upper floor, called the darbazi.
1:00pm - Coffee time of Kada Pie (walnut with honey) at Cafe Nita. It was the first time we tried this pie, it went very well with coffee, beer and a GREAT view from the dining garden.
Taking a walk through Ushguli, the roads/trails are narrow bringing us up close to some of the tower houses. Some stretches were steep and gravelly, so our hiking sticks came in handy.
We left the houses and drove over to the Lamaria Church.
The church sits on a hill above the village and is set against the backdrop of the 5,200-metre-high summit of Shkhara Mountain. It is surrounded by a low stone wall and defended by a Svan tower standing on its west end.
The Lamaria Church housed a collection of dozens of church items—manuscripts, icons, crosses, artwork and various utensils. It is functional, and currently serves as the seat of the Georgian Orthodox Bishop of Mestia and houses several Zemo Svaneti Artwork.
Having lunch at Stopover Cafe which sits at the confluence of the Patara-Enquri & Guristskali rivers. On the opposite bank sits the "Lagurka" Church", which is officially called the Church of Saints Cyricus and Julitta. Sitting on a high hill above the village of Khe, the church is dedicated to the early Christian martyrs Cyricus and Julitta, who are venerated as the patron saints of the Kala community.
4:30pm - Arrived at Heshkili Huts and took a short walk downslope to the Ushguli Flying Swings. These swings are on the slopes with an unimpeded view of the mountainy countryside. It's a swinging time with a scenic view!
Good evening from Mestia.
A pink sunset welcomed us back to Margiansha House, and warmed us up for dinner.
It wasn't just a normal dinner .....
It was followed by rounds of Georgian Kepi Toast, to be thankful for our safe holiday, health, family and great friends!
And an after dinner, to dance the night away.
And jokingly drinking from a 5-litre bottle of AIA Georgian Beer!
"გაუმარჯოს"
(That's "gau-mar-jos!" - “To victory!” a dinner toast in Georgian)
(For more photos of Day 12, Click Here)
This is page 12 of a 14-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
< D11: Mestia | Go to Other Days | D13: Koruldi Lakes >
___________________________________________________________________________________
RELATED BLOGS:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
___________________________________________________________________________________
 |
| Gallery - KevinTheBigCity Tattoos, Kuala Lumpur: July 2014 A look at a young man's simple but meaningful tattoos. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| November 2023 Foodie Roundup |
You are at - Jotaro's Blog /AhPek Biker-Footsteps /Cycling Europe/Georgia & Armenia 2024/ D12: Mestia To Ushguli | Go to D1/D2/D3/D4/D5/D6/D7/D8/D9/D10/D11/D13/D14
If you like this, view my other blogs at Jotaro's Blog
(comments most welcomed below. If you like this pls share via Facebook or twitter)
No comments:
Post a Comment