Georgia & Armenia 2024 Day 13: Mestia To Koruldi Lakes

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Georgia & Armenia 2024 Day 13: Mestia To Koruldi Lakes

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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures

Georgia-Armenia 2024 Day 13: Mestia To Koruldi Lakes

Georgia-Armenia 2024 Day 13: 29th September (Sunday)

Group (Non-cycling) Tour of Georgia & Armenia:
Day 13 - Mestia to Koruldi Lakes/Chalaadi Glacier:

Mestia (Margiansha House)>Mestia Police Office>Koruldi Lakes>Mestia>Mestia Chali Bridge>Lushnu Qor Restaurant>hike>Chalaadi Glacier>(alternative for non-hikers: Mestia Seti Square>Mestia Central Market>Seti Square>Coffee Kor)>Mestia Police Office>Margiansha House.

This is page 13 of a 14-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D12: Ushguli | Go to Other Days | D14: Tbilisi 03 >

Route recommendations, here're some tips on travelling from Mestia to Koruldi Lakes:

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.

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 Queen Tamar Airport (მესტიის აეროპორტი) (GPS: 43.05606, 42.75142) with a unique control tower.

b. St. George Church, Mestia (წმ. გიორგის ეკლესია) (GPS: 43.06530, 42.74619), enroute up to the Koruldi Lakes.

c. Mestia Police Office (GPS: 43.04299, 42.7235).

d. Mestia Public Service Hall (GPS: 43.04299, 42.7235); our meet up mount to change to 4-wheel drive vehicles to get to Koruldi.

e. Koruldi Lakes (GPS: 43.08674, 42.70564), it's best to hire local 4-wheel drive vehicles with drivers as the road up to the lakes is untarred, winding, steep, rough & full guttters.
f. Hiking or Horse-riding up to the Koruldi Lakes.

g. Mestia Chali Bridge (GPS: 43.10881, 42.74424).

h. Chalaadi Glacier (GPS: 43.12599, 42.71679).

i. Mt. Ushba (უშბა) (GPS: 43.12398, 42.65992).

j. Hiking to the Chalaadi Glacier (hiking at this glacier at the foothills of Mt. Ushba, usually starts from the Mestia Chali Bridge, as the road to the bridge is heavy and dusty with traffic. One can take a taxi there, but do bargain for a round trip. Motorised traffic is not accessible beyond the bridge.)

k. Mestia Svan Tower 01 (GPS: 43.04400, 42.72669), Mestia Svan Tower 2 (GPS: 43.04517, 42.72725), & Mestia Stone Tower (GPS: 43.04550, 42.72769); there are several of these Svan Tower (Svanuri Koshki) in Mestia town itself.
l. Seti Park (სეტის პარკი) (GPS: 43.04368, 42.72443).

m. Seti Square (GPS: 43.04379, 42.72477), Mestia's town square where there are a variety of activities and sights that reflect the local culture.

n. Queen Tamar Statue (GPS: 43.04390, 42.72541) of Queen Tamar.

o. DEDE Cinema & Pub (GPS: 43.04533, 42.72977).

p. Mestia Central Market (მესტიის ცენტრალური ბაზარი) (GPS: 43.04521, 42.72768), a small supermarket that sells local vegetables & fruits, cheese (including Sulguni), wine, Chacha, etc.

5. Food

a. Breakfast:

An excellent inclusive Western/Georgian Fare at our homestay Margiansha House (GPS: 43.04041, 42.71321) in Mestia.

b. Lunch:

Georgian Fare at the Lushnu Qor Restaurant & Beer Garden (GPS: 43.04553, 42.73065): including Eggplant with Walnuts, Ojakhuri (Pork with potatoes in a clay pot), Ojakhuri with Mushrooms and Vegetables, Ajapsandali (Vegetable stew), and Khachapuri Acharuli. c. Afternoon Tea: Coffee & Affogato Icecream at Coffee Kor (GPS: 43.04409, 42.72446).

d. Dinner:

Western/Georgian Fare including a very delicious Georgian Roast Piglet at Margiansha House (GPS: 43.04041, 42.71321) in Mestia.

6. Accommodations

Third 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!

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 Koruldi Lakes was 22°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.

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PRELUDE

Yesterday, we visited Ushguli, renowned for their UNESCO Heritage-listed Svan Tower Houses (Svan Svanuri Koshki), the "Rapunzel" tower of love, and had a swinging time at the Ushguli Flying Swing, one with a great view!

After those tall tower houses, today we heading even higher. Higher uphill to some scenic lakes, and later some will go hiking on a trail at the foothills of Mt. Ushba. As it is our last day at Margiansha House, we end it with a grand dinner that includes the delicious Georgian Roast Piglet.

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DAY 13: MESTIA TO KORULDI LAKES

Guided Group (Non-cycling) Tour of Georgia & Armenia:

Day 13 - Mestia to Koruldi Lakes/Chalaadi Glacier:

(Click here for the Georgia-Armenia Day 13: Mestia-Koruldi Lakes Route Map)

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 Margiansha House, our homestay in Mestia.

Today we will head to the Koruldi Lakes, and later some will hike up to the Chalaadi Glacier.

A satisfying breakfast at Margiansha House, we will need the energy for today's multiple activities!

Our vans dropped us at the front of the Mestia Police Office, where soon several four-wheeled SUVs came by to pick us up. Four of us went into each of the SUVs, which were driven by local drivers.

Enroute we passed by the Queen Tamar Airport with its impressive architecture but the control tower seemed to be leaning!

Getting up to Koruldi Lakes is not easy, it's forty minutes of hard driving on winding, rough rutty gravel roads. The route up passes by St. George Church and overlooks the town and valley, it's a beautiful view to enjoy from there - but we kept our eyes peeled onto the narrow road and the deep ruts and held on for dear life!

(photo credit: Anne Cheong)

We were glad we left our fate with the drivers; they were experts in avoiding the many deep ruts & potholes. Many times it seemed like we were going to veer off a cliff while trying to steer clear of the deep ruts.

Somewhere along the way, my balls must have dropped onto the floor; never mind I will hold on tight first and pick them up later 😖.

Managed to catch a sneak view of Mt. Ushba.
Ushba is considered by many climbers as the most difficult ascent in the Caucasus and is known as the "Matterhorn of the Caucasus" for its picturesque, spire-shaped double summit. In Georgian mythology, Ushba was thought to be the home of the hunting goddess Dali.

Sneak pre-view of the Koruldi Lakes, taken from our 4-WD on the way up.

10:45am - We arrived at the Koruldi Lakes and took a short walk to the many ponds nearby. They are not large lakes but more like large ponds. What makes them stand out is their setting in a green valley devoid of trees and with the beautiful snow-capped mountains and blue sky in the background.

It's peaceful and quiet here, putting us in the mood for some romance 😍.

If only we had brought a picnic basket.

To better appreciate what we saw, here's a Google interactive street view of Koruldi Lakes.

We came up by the SUVs, more adventurous ones hike up here.

Here's a link on hiking to the Lakes and beyond.

We also saw some horse riders too, and were curious: are they locals or tourists?

They are tourists on a horse riding tour.

Here's a link to book a Horse Riding Tour from Mestia to the Koruldi Lakes by Everywhere, a horse-riding adventure company. For this ride, time on the saddle is four hours, so allow for more overall time for the tour.

1:45pm - We're back in Mestia and split up into several groups for lunch. Our group went to Lushnu Qor Restaurant; we had Eggplant with Walnuts, Ojakhuri (Pork with potatoes in a clay pot), Ojakhuri with Mushrooms and Vegetables, Ajapsandali (Vegetable stew), and Khachapuri Acharuli, etc.

With lunch over, while the rest went for the hike to Chalaadi Glacier, the rest of us went for a walk around Mestia town. There are several Svan Tower (Svanuri Koshki) around, and other interesting places include:

- the main street with old buildings including DEDE Cinema & Pub;

- Seti Park, with the Queen Tamar Statue of Queen Tamar. at one end;

- Seti Square, the town square where there are a variety of activities and sights that reflect the local culture;

- Mestia Central Market; a small supermarket that sells local organic vegetables & fruits, cheese (including Sulguni), wine, Chacha, etc.

Here's a Google interactive street view of the Queen Tamar Statue in Seti Square, the Seti Park is ahead.

Queen Tamar was the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, during the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. Her position as the first woman to rule Georgia in her own right was emphasized by the title mepe ("king", a title usually for males), afforded to her.

With still time to spare, went for a coffee break at Coffee Kor.

Wonder how our hiker buddies are doing?

(photo credit: Anne Cheong)

After a quick lunch, the vans had dropped them off at the Mestia Chali Bridge, vehicular traffic cannot go beyond this bridge. This is a suspension pedestrian bridge hanging across the Mestiachala River, which starts at these foothills and flows down through Mestia to join up with the Mulkhra and further down, the Patara-Enquri.

Their trek to the Chalaadi Glacier starts after the bridge and then goes along trails through light forest at the foothills of Mt. Ushba.

(photo credit: Anne Cheong)

Further on, the trek runs near the river, after which it goes onto gravelly trails on the slopes of the mountain. From there, the Chalaadi Glacier can be seen.

(photo credit: Anne Cheong)

Interesting and colourful fauna along the trail. Are they going to pick those mushrooms for dinner later? No, I don't think so, as they will stick to the adage: "Take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints".

On their return, the vans picked us up to go back.

Passed by Mestia Police Office, its tower-like shape pays homage to the region's medieval Svan Tower (Svanuri Koshki) which dots this mountainside region.

(photo credit: Anne Cheong)

Now I the AhPek Butcher and not the AhPek Biker!

When we came down for dinner, the Georgian Roast Piglet was staring at us from one side. The piglet did not come with a butcher 😃, so I volunteered myself. Luckily I didn't screw up as I had never chopped up a roast pig before. It was similar to a chicken except bigger, I did a such remarkable job that I even surprised myself too 😊.

Here's the rest of our dinner.