Svaneti Georgia - best Pow for Bucks ratio on the planet!
Before we start you have to understand that there is a bias to this article, it’s a simple one and I’m happy to share it: ‘I simply love Georgia! I love the people, the food, the wine, the architecture, the fact there’s animals everywhere, that there’s never a queue at the lifts or on the roads, but most of all I love the snow!’
Oh, and did i mention the price? Lift pass for $18 US/£15 a day, with a freshly produced dinner and a few bottles of wine for $20 a head, and on mountain lunches costing even less, Georgia is possibly the best value for money winter sports destination anywhere on the planet.
Travel
The Backdrop Crew and friends have been travelling to Georgia and the Svaneti region for many years with a near annual pilgrimage a must. Svaneti is a region that’s not always been the easiest to get to, and to be honest it still isn’t. From the UK we first flew to Istanbul, which is a city not to be missed, so we stopped overnight visiting the Kilic Ali Pasa Hamam and a fine meal at the nearby Namli Gurme deli. Easy Jet and BA now fly direct to Tbilisi from London, but it’s an 8 hr drive to Mestia, where as Katumi is 4.5hrs and Batumi is around 5 hrs.
You can take a train from Tbilisi to Zugdidi for as little as £8, and it’s a great way to see the countryside, but it does take around 7hrs.
A mid morning flight took us to the somewhat bizarre town of Batumi, built by the Black Sea, it’s a mini Vagas, with casinos and hotels lining the beach. And, after ejecting a young chinese woman wearing pink fluffy slippers from our minibus, after she’d insisted she was with the Backdrop Crew, we set off for a late lunch in Zugdidi, don’t worry we safely saw the newest member of the crew onto the correct bus.
Zugdidi is a bustling town, half way between Batumi and Mestia. If you have the time, we’d recommend stopping at Restaurant Diaroni as it’s the best place in town to grab a bite.
Mestia
The town of Mestia is a UNESCO world heritage site due the Svan Towers, which are unique defensive structures, primarily built between the 9th and 12th centuries. If anyone attacked the village locals would hold up in the stone towers until the invaders simply gave up and buggered off again.
Mestia is changing and I really hope that it doesn’t lose its charm. The restaurants and bars are still the same, although a few hipster bars have popped up in recent years, it’s the new, sometimes very high rising, hotels that have sprung up that I’m not a fan of. I understand the need for good hotel rooms, and the fact that Mestia gets a lot of visitors in the Summer months, but the Mayor needs to have a serious think about what gets built in the coming years, as, personally, I think low rise guest houses is the way forward for Mestia, or better still, the renovation of what’s already standing.
Having said all that, Mestia is still by far my favorite ski town in the world, it still feels like you’re walking through a photo of the Alps from the 1800’s, and long may that continue. The roads here are rough (a 4X4 is a must ) and pigs, dogs, and cows roam the streets, and while you can walk to the closest resort of Hatsvali, which is a great little place, most people take a Delica taxi the 35 min drive up to Tetnuldi. The lifts of Tetnuldi open up a world of slack country possibilities, along with it being a great starting point for longer day tours too.
If riding near the lifts, check out under the Jumber Kakhiani chair, as the lines here are great fun and often remain untracked but when riding from the top chair don’t be sucked onto the west facing slope that runs parallel to the second highest lift as it slides.
From the resort’s highest point you can look north into the terrain used for the Freeride World Tour - this link has some great footage of the pros riding Tetnuldi’s backside, aka the Kakhiani Face. But I wouldn’t even think of entering this area without a local guide, especially if you want to get back into the lift system, or ride down to a taxi.
Guide
I’ve been lucky enough to ride in many out of the way places, often using a local guide with mixed results, but on my first trip to Georgia I was lucky enough to meet Ilia, the founder of the Georgia Guide Office. Ilia is an IFMGA trained guide, having qualified from the famous guide school in Chamonix. So, impressed with how things work in Chamonix, and recognising the similarities between the towns, he returned to Mestia and set up the Georgia Guide Office, held daily meeting for all the working guides and lobbied for improvements in the local guide training, eventually getting it to such a standard that its IFMGA recognised.
You’d be impressed if he stopped there, but he’s now running guide training courses for the next generation of local guides, who get government funding to train, is running the safety team for the Freeride World Tour when it’s in town and helps run a Natural Wine vineyard.
Georgia have been making wine for thousands of years, now being at the forefront of a renaissance in traditional wine methods: after being lightly pressed, whole bunches of grapes are thrown into beeswax-lined pots, which are buried in the ground, sealed and left to age. The Georgians have been doing this before the Romans even thought of building an empire, with the earliest evidence of winemaking here dating back to around 6,000 BCE.
Ushguli
Ushguli is one of the highest continuously inhabited settlements in Europe; home to around 200 people, it’s a real throwback to a time gone by. The road here from mestia is often blocked, but for those who do make the effort to get there, the touring is some of the best on the planet, and you’re almost guaranteed to be joined by a least one of the local dogs on your tour into the high peaks.
The snow we had in March 2025 was as good as any of the desert dry cold smoke pow I’ve had in Colorado or Montana, it was lighter than the super cold pow I’ve ridden in Japan too, and all at a fraction of the cost of a holiday in any of those places.
We spent two days touring from Ushguli where the food in our guest house was plentiful and the chacha possibly flowed a little too freely. Chacha is a strong Georgian spirit, made from the distillation of grape pomace akin to raki from Greece and Turkey. It’s best drunk neat followed by plenty of water, especially as Ushguli sits at 2,100 metres above sea level.
Riding a Cat in Georgia
Before we hit Mestia and the Svaneti region we rode a cat in the Lesser Caucasus mountains.
Mestia Restaurants and Food
Khinkali are Georgian dumplings and every Georgian male will boast of how many they can eat in one sitting. They are traditionally filled with meat, beef and pork are common, but cheese and mushrooms are both popular too. The skill is to pick them up by the crown and take a small bite, so you can drink the broth, before eating the rest, except for the crown, so you have proof of how many you can manage.
Khachapuri is a lunchtime treat, each region has its own filling but my favorite is cheese and egg, which hails from the region of Adjara on the Black Sea, and is often on the menu as Adjaruli.
Beans in a pot and bean stuffed bread are both winners, and for meat eaters mtsvadi, or Georgian shashlik, featuring grilled marinated meat and Chanakhi, a hearty stew made with lamb, potatoes, and other vegetables are all scrumptious.
In Mestia, Cafe laila has good vibes and great food, Sun-Seti Cafe has amazing food and is great for groups as you can then make your own atmosphere, Lushnu Qor Restaurant is super rustic with hearty and tasty grub at a good price and Lile has a limited menu but what they do they do well.
Twin Peaks is good for a drink if you want to hang with the Mestia hipsters as it’s as far from traditional as Mestia gets but does play good tunes.
Many of the Georgian wines are sweet, but if you want a dry red try a Saperavi.
Delica
The Mestia Valley runs on Mitsubishi Delicas imported from Japan. A new tax has tripled the import fees on right hand drive cars but for now the Delica still rules the roads and you’ll be hard pushed not to get in one while in the valley. These little vans seemingly can’t be stopped, and will get you across rivers, through deep snow and to just about anywhere you want to go. Taxi drivers here have a bit of a reputation in the summer for changing prices, but in winter I’ve not had a problem, simply find out what a fair price is from your hotel owners or guide, and agree the fee before you set off. Most will take you up to Tetnuldi and then wait there all day to take you back down again.
The Delica is also perfect to get into the small villages below Tetnuldi, if you plan to ride down to the valley floor. We rode from the top lift all the way down to Zabeshi, a powder descent of 1600m and our little Delica was there waiting for us.
How do I?
Georgia Guide Office for all things on mountain.
Accommodation
Restaurants
Sun Set has excellent food but lacks atmosphere, Cafe Laila is a must as great food and good vibes, Lile is also good and inexpensive, while Lushnu Qor Restaurant is a rustic treat.
Flights
Turkish via Istanbul to Batumi or BA and Easyjet have new direct flights London to Tbilisi.
Transfers
Tbilisi to Mestia is around 7 1/2 hours drive, you can catch a train to Zugdidi but it takes just a long. Batumi is around 5 hours, Kutasi is closest airport but flight there are limited.
