Touring Georgia: some ideas and observations.
Travelling to Georgia is a quite astonishing and unique experience, and I have had many requests for more practical information from readers. How, when, where and sometimes why are asked, and perhaps this will help.
Georgia is, as you will have noticed from my blog, a truly remarkable country. It is remarkable on many levels, and offers visitors an extraordinary variety of experiences, and that is just the beginning.
It is possibly easier to start by saying what Georgia is not. It is not a homogeneous destination, and it is not overrun with tourists; yet. It is not in the grip of any political crisis, and is a country that has managed to wend a path neatly between its painful past and its future. This has not been easy, but the country is resilient, educated and optimistic.
It is a country of passion; often the deep, thoughtful type rather than the ebullience of the Mediterranean, and a country of thought. To spend an evening with Georgians, eating, drinking laughing, singing and toasting is to have one’s soul opened; inevitably one makes toasts, revealing remarkably personal ideas, and sharing thoughts with people who until a few hours before, were complete strangers.
And that’s the key really; Georgian hospitality is legendary, and thousands of years of occupation, war and subjugation have failed completely and utterly in the attempts to extinguish the Georgian Soul. A combination of many factors: isolation, language, the alphabet and the Georgian church are just a few of the threads that have kept the identity burning and alive.
An evening at Pheasants’ Tears in Sighnaghi
And it is an identity that visitors will find on their first day in this wonderful country.
The architecture, the food, the design and the landscapes are unique; the sights and sounds, the smells and stories will enchant and surprise. Geographically, Georgia is richly endowed with such variety that it is hard to believe each region exists. But it does; in a ten-day trip through the country one will pass from remote and ancient villages in the distant Svaneti Valley, to lush agricultural landscapes, to the rich culture of the Georgian church and the quirky design of Tbilisi, the capital city. One will listen to the haunting sounds of polyphonic music and embrace the different cuisines of the various regions of the country; and all the time marvel at just how small Georgia really is.
But now is the time to go. I have been fortunate enough to visit regularly over the past six years, and where two years ago I saw two or three tour groups, now I see five or six; hotels are sprouting up and magazines in Europe and North America are now full of the country’s many charms. There is a long way to go before Georgia is overwhelmed by tourists, but the time will come, and those of us who were privileged to visit before the hoards will be able to smile quietly and be grateful that we did.
The Great Caucasus Mountains in Svaneti andMtskheta, the ancient capital
And if you think that this is a shameless way to plug my two tours (The Classic Georgia: Food, Wine and Culture and the Soviet Legacy Tour) that will run this September, you are partly correct. They will be fun. However, I am more interested in ensuring that one way or another, you get to experience the Georgia that I have come to love – with me or with others, or simply exploring by yourselves. In the immortal words of Nike, “Just do it”!
