# Svaneti: The Gateway to Georgia's Ancient Highlands > Watchtowers, age-old traditions and a one-of-a-kind cuisine define the highland region of Svaneti. Here's what awaits visitors in Georgia's most mysterious corner. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/svanety-vorota-v-drevnye-vsokohoria-hruzyy/ - Language: en - Published: 2025-03-16 - Categories: Culture, Historic Sites, Mountains, Georgia, Mountain, Food & Drinks --- On a dark and eerily quiet February evening, exactly 10 weeks before Easter, groups of men carrying torches make their way toward the nearest cemetery. They will spend the evening feasting, raising tearful toasts to the dead, singing sacred hymns and dancing in circles around a fire. One by one, the graves are lit by torches made from home dried birch, while pitchers of homemade liquor and plates of bread, studded with thin wax candles, are laid out on tables carved from the snow. This marks the beginning of Lamproba, an annual ritual meant to secure a fertile spring and to revive the memory of the dead, both literally and figuratively. It is one of the many surviving traditions of Svaneti, a remote region sprawling among snow capped peaks and fir cloaked gorges high in the Georgian mountains. Connected by a chain of tiny medieval villages, the area is known for its distinctive highland culture, its mysterious folk customs and its ancient local language. Nothing represents Svaneti better than the hundreds of koshkebi (medieval watchtowers) that dot the mountain landscape. ## A Paradise for Travelers Thanks to the region's rugged terrain and extreme isolation, it is a bold traveler's dream. Svaneti's alpine summer draws crowds of hikers eager to conquer a network of trails that wind through old fashioned villages, with breathtaking views of crumbling churches, blooming meadows and the vast expanses of the Caucasus Mountains. The most famous route takes roughly 3 to 5 days and begins in Mestia, a picturesque little town studded with scenic Svan towers and ringed by majestic peaks. Rather than pitching a tent, a convenient number of villages along the way give hikers the chance to spend the night in local guesthouses, where the food is hot and the liquor is strong. Among these villages is Adishi, a quiet little refuge rich in historic landmarks such as the 12th century Church of St. George, where pilgrims give thanks to the dragon slaying saint in the form of sacrificial sheep and potent homemade spirits. At the end, weary travelers arrive in Ushguli, a cluster of villages nestled in the shadow of mighty Mount Shkhara. ![](/storage/image/prev/september-article-image-23-1-2024.jpg) Aside from a couple of red beer tents, Ushguli has remained largely unchanged since its founding in the 12th century, with the shouts of young boys galloping on bareback horses keeping the village lively. On a lonely Ushguli hilltop stands Lamaria, a modest 10th century Orthodox Christian church named after an ancient Svan goddess and an enduring example of the region's vivid duality. Inside, you'll find weathered frescoes and an altar lit only by prayer candles and a stream of light pouring down from the windows above. For the less adventurous, Mestia and neighboring Mazeri offer plenty of day hikes that would make John Muir blush. Spend a day walking to the Shdugra Waterfall, tucked away above the village of Mazeri, or set out on an intense day hike from Mestia to the pristine Koruldi Lakes. To link the two, spend a day trekking across the Guli Pass, an intense but rewarding stretch between Mazeri and Mestia. The route offers stunning views of Mount Ushba, a summit shrouded in legends of Dali, the Svan goddess of the hunt and a central figure in the ancient folk song and round dance "Dalir k'oyas khelgvazhale" ("Dali gives birth on the rocks"). ## A Culture as Varied as the Landscape "Khocha ladag" is the local greeting, meaning "good day." Cut off from civilization in the wild mountains for centuries, the Svans escaped the many conquests and wars that ravaged lowland Georgia. Isolation throughout history endowed them with a culture and a language as sharply defined as the landscape itself. The local tongue, Svan, an unwritten and endangered relative of Georgian, has survived only through oral tradition, serving as yet another testament to the region's resilience. And though the language may be at risk of disappearing, its polyphonic hymns have kept it alive. Groups of men, dressed in woolen garnet chokhas (traditional men's coats) with embossed daggers hanging at their belts, still gather to sing the unmodulated melodies of folk legends and ritual songs in their native Svan. ![](/storage/image/prev/september-article-image-23-2-2024.jpg) These folk tunes ring out from the many religious gatherings unique to the region, such as Kvirikoba, an annual Orthodox Christian pilgrimage to the Church of St. Kvirike, an 11th century Orthodox shrine perched on a high hill above the village of Kala. The feast is celebrated with fervent prayers to the mystical Shaliani icon, a relic usually kept behind glass in a local museum and brought out each year for the holy day. Traditions like these run deep. Throughout history, all of Svaneti served as a sanctuary, a place where relics and treasures from the lowlands were often brought in times of war for safekeeping. The hundreds of koshkebi (medieval towers), some more than a thousand years old, make Svaneti feel more like a Tolkien epic than a place that exists in modern Europe. After all, the wild reaches of Svaneti could never be fortified by a typical defensive wall. In their day, these towers served as a warning to invaders and doubled as living quarters for entire families. Many of these towers still rise above Svaneti, and the tiny village of Chazhashi boasts a labyrinth of 200 of them. Meanwhile, in Mestia, you'll find the Margiani House, a tower turned museum that reflects the life of the famous Margiani family who once lived there. ## The Local Cuisine ![](/storage/image/prev/september-article-image-23-3-2024.jpg) Perhaps the very foundation of Svan culture is its food: rich, hearty and comforting. In a tiny parish school beside the beaten path in Latali, women in floor length dresses work at a millstone as the fragrant scents of wild cumin, coriander and garlic drift through the air. They prepare Svanuri marili (Svan salt) the old fashioned way, grinding all seven spices from scratch: salt, coriander, blue fenugreek, crushed red pepper, dill, marigold petals and wild cumin seeds. Born out of the need to stretch limited salt supplies, it quickly became a staple in Svaneti and across Georgia as a whole. Add a small amount to your steaming pot of lobio, a bean stew from neighboring Racha-Lechkhumi, or use it to elevate a simple salad of cucumbers and tomatoes. You can find it packaged in little plastic bags throughout the region, and it's used generously in all sorts of Svan and Georgian dishes. Harsh winters meant stocking up on meat, potatoes and grain. Among the local favorites is tashmijabi, a dish made of hot potatoes folded into salty cheese until they form a stretchy, gooey, putty like mash. Even more popular is kubdari, a soft disk of bread stuffed with a hearty filling of beef, stewed onions and spices. For a meatless yet equally filling option, settle in with fetviani, a flatbread oozing with salty mountain cheese and green millet flour, or chvishtari, a crispy cornbread stuffed with pieces of cheese. Wash it all down with a shot of local moonshine made from Svan alpine honey.