So my first road trip was to the village of Gergeti, on the northern slopes of the Caucasus mountains. To get there you travel 200 km along a road known as the Georgian Military Highway - truly one of the most beautiful mountain roads in the world. It was built in the late 1700's by 800 Russian troops to connect Russia to Georgia. Gergeti itself is only a short distance from the Russian border. Many of the signs here are in both Georgian and Russian.
One of the highest mountains in Europe, Kazbek, is in this region. It takes 4 days to climb, which I did not do. However I did make a hike up to Trinity Church, which was built on top of a smaller mountain in the 1400's. In western Europe you can see lots of huge ornate cathedrals; Georgians seem to prefer simpler structures built in majestic locations.
As it turns out there is a more obvious path around the north side of the mountain, but I "chose" a longer, more strenuous, but beautiful hike along the southern side. What I thought was a trail along a stream turned out to be a cow path that soon petered out. Fortunately I had a good landmark to keep my bearings.
But enough words, see for yourself.
One of the highest mountains in Europe, Kazbek, is in this region. It takes 4 days to climb, which I did not do. However I did make a hike up to Trinity Church, which was built on top of a smaller mountain in the 1400's. In western Europe you can see lots of huge ornate cathedrals; Georgians seem to prefer simpler structures built in majestic locations.
As it turns out there is a more obvious path around the north side of the mountain, but I "chose" a longer, more strenuous, but beautiful hike along the southern side. What I thought was a trail along a stream turned out to be a cow path that soon petered out. Fortunately I had a good landmark to keep my bearings.
But enough words, see for yourself.
