Mestia

城市概覽

Mestia is the regional capital of Svaneti. It is also the main centre of tourism for the region. It is a relatively small town of around 2,600 inhabitants, but it is the main tourist centre for the Svaneti region and as such has many of the characteristics of larger cities. It is tourist-friendly, in part due to several major construction activities including a new road (a twisty but well-maintained mountain road), a renovated town centre with a number of new buildings, and a new airport. There has also been a lot of investment in other infrastructure, such as a new district court, giving Mestia the feeling of a city rather than the rural towns it is. This has made travelling to Mestia much easier, but the main street has lost part of its former character. Exploring the streets just behind the main street immediately brings you to very rural areas with cows, pigs and chickens everywhere. The town is very easy to navigate. It consists of three villages following the Mulkhra River, with a single main street lying through the entire town. Most guest houses, hotels and restaurants are along this street. Prices are generally higher than other middle-sized towns around Georgia and haggling is not as normal as elsewhere.

Information Tourist Information Centre, Seti Square (the main square in Mestia). Part of the country-wide network of tourist information centres. Provides information on activities in Mestia including high-quality hiking maps. Mountain Tourist Centre of Svaneti, Pereulok Stalina No. 7 (200 m from the main square in Mestia).

如何抵達

By plane 1 Queen Tamar Airport. Mestia's airport opened in 2010. Flights from/to Tbilisi (Natakhtari airfield) are available 4 times a week. Price is 90 lari one way (63 lari for children 3-12). Price includes free transfer from Tbilisi, M.S. Rustaveli and back. Transfer point is nearby Metro Station Rustaveli, near the fountain. Sometimes there are available flights from/to Kutaisi twice a week. Price is 50 lari one way (35 lari for children 3-12). Complete schedule:

Tbilisi to Mestia: M, W, F 09:30, Su 13:00 Mestia to Tbilisi: M, F 15:30, W 11:30, Su 15:00 Kutaisi to Mestia: Tu, F 13:30 Mestia to Kutaisi: Tu, F 11:00 The registration time is 1 hr before the flight. Flight duration is one hour. Depending on weather conditions compliant to Visual Flight Rules VFR, flight can be postponed or cancelled (full refund). Limit of the hold luggage and for carry-on baggage in total is 15 kg/per person. It's impossible to pay for extra luggage but if there is free place on board, you can take your baggage along free of charge. Reservations are available at:

Vanilla Sky, ☏ +995 32 242 7427, +995 599 65 90 99 (Mob), [email protected]. There is always a high demand for tickets, so reserve tickets long in advance. For example, by the end of July 2015 the only tickets from Mestia to Tbilisi left were for the end of August. If no tickets are available, ask to be on the waiting list. Flights are dependent on weather conditions in the mountains between Mestia and Tbilisi. As the weather changes quickly, it is difficult to plan a flight to or from Mestia with certainty and it might be a good idea to have an alternative in case the flights are cancelled.

By helicopter There is also an option to fly to Mestia from Tbilisi by helicopter. The duration of the flight is 1½ hr. There are a few companies organizing these flights.

By train From Tbilisi, take the train reaching Zugdidi, costs 16 lari (Tbilisi 21:50 — Zugdidi 06:05, Tbilisi 07:20 — Zugdidi 12:55), then follow the

當地交通

On foot The city is small enough to be covered by foot.

By thumb Avoid the local taxi mafia and try to hitchhike instead if needed.

必看景點

1 Svaneti Historical-Ethnographic Museum, 7, A.Ioseliani St., ☏ +995 322 157 300, [email protected]. Tuesday-Sunday, daily 10:00-18:00. Astonishingly extensive museum which has one of the oldest New Testament manuscripts in Georgian on display. The museum is equipped with modern display cases and has extensive written descriptions of exhibits in English. 10 lari. (updated Oct 2020) House and Museum of the alpinist Mikhail Khergiani, Khergiani Street 15 (2 km north-east of city center). Part of the tour includes going inside the Svan tower which Khergiani used as his training gym. 10 lari. (updated Apr 2024) 2 Ski lift (8 km from Mestia. It's possible to walk there following uphill asphalt road, altitude difference is 400 m. Or get a taxi for 30 lari, including 2 hrs of waiting time and a ride back). Year round, 10:30–18:00. It leads to the top of a mountain and offers splendid view. There is a restaurant on top. 5 lari return. Stone defensive towers. A typical fortified dwelling consisted of a tower, an adjacent house and some other household structures encircled by a defensive wall. Churches of 10th–14th centuries, including Mazhari, Trongsa and some others. Mineral springs. 3 Tower of Love (between Mestia and Ushguli). A Svan Tower with a special purpose. (updated Sep 2019)

體驗活動

The two most popular tracks with tourist and easy to medium are the one to the cross and the one to the glacier. Going back from the outer church, coming from the cross, there is a spring hidden in a wooden box along the way. The water has some specific taste and changes depending on the weather.

Hiking You can get high-quality hiking maps for free at Mestia Tourist Information center at the main square. Another good place is the souvenir shop at the Seti Square (behind the Koshki café), it sells hiking maps from several publishers (Geoland, Terraquest etc.).

Ushguli – 4-day Mestia to Ushguli Trek Guli glacier and Ushba base path. Mountain Ushba is a main attraction, in a good weather conditions you can see it above. You can also get to its base (3½-4 hr one way).Download coordinates: GPX, KML. (updated Aug 2019) Mestia–Guli Pass–Mazeri. The walk to the Mountain Ushba glacier, takes around 6 hr, starting from a beautiful mountain village Mazeri.Download coordinates: GPX, KML. (updated Aug 2019) Cross and Koruldi lakes. The path is very easy to find and follow. From the main square go 500 m east and follow the road which forks uphill (just before the bank). Trip time is approx. 2 hr one-way, concentrate on the way back to avoid detours. You can also continue to the Koruldi lakes (2 hr more with some very steep hills to climb). No map needed for this route.Download coordinates: GPX, KML. (updated Aug 2019) Chalati Glacier (Chalaadi). There is a new bridge north of town that saves some kilometres from the previous route that passed the airport. Just follow the main road from town along the northern side of the river for approximately 2½ hr. You can try to hitch-hike to cut the time walking significantly. At the end of the road is a swinging bridge. The brave can cross that one, but there is also a normal bridge just next to it. There's no border post anymore, but a cafe offers refreshments. From the swinging bridge it takes approximately 1 hour to the glacier,