Ushguli is a village (actually an inter-connected group of four villages) in the Caucasus mountains of Georgia. It is claimed to be the highest village (in elevation at 2200 meters/7217 feet) in Europe. Ushguli is in the historical province of Svaneti, and is populated by an ethnic subgroup of Georgians, the Svans. Ushguli has been described as a "fairytale" and this is indeed a very apt description of this wondrous village high in the mountains. Any trip to Ushguli is an unforgettable journey high into mountains with glorious peaks, thousand year old ruins and unbelievably hospitable people.
The trip to Ushguli is a long, multi-day jeep trip, high into the Caucasus mountains. Part of the experience and wonder of Ushguli is the journey getting there. The rugged jeep trail meanders through valleys scored into the mountains that thrust up into the sky on either side of you. Many times along the way you will have to wait for a bulldozer to clear a recent landslide off the road, but this is the way it is in Georgia. The authorities go out of their way to make sure every visitor to Georgia has a fabulous experience. As a guest you are treated with the utmost respect and are welcomed with open arms.
Arriving into Ushguli the first thing you will notice is the gorgeous Svan defensive towers. Some of the buildings in Ushguli are UNESCO World Heritage sites. There is a museum in one of these towers run by an owner of one of the guesthouses and a member of the police force in Svaneti. You are able to enter one of the towers and climb all the way to the top and look out over the villages. It is possible to buy souvenirs in the museum. These towers were built around 1,000 years ago to protect the natives of Svaneti from attacks from the raiding peoples of the times, including the mongols. More recently these towers would be used to keep out the invading Chechens, Ingush or Dagestanians from just over the norther border in Russia. Ushguli is actually a collection of four villages at the head of the Enguri Gorge.
Your stay in a family run guesthouse will be unforgettable. The Georgians themselves claim to be a little afraid of the Svans who live here. They live on a code of chivalry and if you are an accepted guest you will be treated as a visiting God. Be prepared for wonderful food, loving hospitality and the ubiquitous delicious wine of Georgia to flow, almost to the point you have to refuse any more. If you are not light-hearted try the "cha-cha" an alcoholic drink made from the grapes leftover in wine making. If you are lucky you may get to witness a cow being killed by having its throat slit and then the locals in Ushguli will skin and barbecue the cow for you right in your guesthouse's yard. The experience of witnessing a cow being skinned and expertly sliced into meat and then getting to eat the delicious meat afterward, with new friends and enough wine to fill a small river is an experience and treasure. One guesthouse is at the very top of Ushguli and therefore is the highest house in the highest (continually inhabited) village in Europe and makes for a fabulous place to stay in the clouds.
No comments:
Post a Comment