My Family Travel to Georgia started from Sharjah airport in June using Air Arabia’s call center technology, which landed us a great holiday deal. Much better than the website. We had even got our travel Insurance through them which is mandatory to buy in case of accident claims or baggage loss/ delay. We stayed in Tbilisi, the beautiful Capital of Georgia country and later we decided to spend one day in Kazbegi. We had a busy Travel itinerary plus a little kid who was traveling for the first time.
Kazbegi is around 3 hours drive from Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. This is mostly tourist-friendly during summers. In Winters, it is mostly closed due to heavy snowfall and the villagers move to other places to survive for 6 months. We hired an 8 seater car with an English speaking driver- guide. Generally, Students work as tour guides here, Our Tour guide was a Law student, working for extra pocket money.
Before we started the day, A simple yet elaborated breakfast buffet was offered by the hotel where we stayed. We started from our hotel at 8 a.m. and we packed some snacks for the kid. It was a bit windy and we decided to keep some extra jackets just in case. After all, we were headed to the mountains near Russia border where it was windy and colder than the city.
En-route Kazbegi, we had a chance to stop by Ananuri. This is a Castle complex on Aragvi River. The complex has been on the tentative list for inclusion into the UNESCO World Heritage Site
( Source: Wikipedia)
We saw the breathtaking views from the castle and captured the memories in our hearts. Our little kid had a great time interacting with our kids.
The view from the tower:
The local houses
View from the car towards the hilly areas
Look at the Fort’s entrance.. huge isn’t it?
Walking on the clouds- Trinity Church Kazbegi Gergeti
Gudauri was our first stop for a Tea and snack break, one can find everything under one roof. But apparently, this was the only stopover for the next destination. This destination is famous for Ski, June, snow was almost gone. So, we moved further.
Next destination was Gergeti in Kazbegi, A little pretty village. It is famous for two things:
Holy Trinity This is one of the oldest Christian churches which was built in the 14th century and the only cross-cupola church in the province. This stays closed for 5-6 months during heavy snowfall. This is on the top of a mountain and between the rainbows and clouds. Very historic and very beautiful. The church websites are also evident of the same.
The cottages: There are beautiful cottages to rent in and one can stay for an extended period in these, away from any hustle and bustle. Amidst the beautiful Georgian nature. With the local villagers. If you want to experience Kazbegi, this is indeed the cheapest and best way to stay. A small kitchenette is available to do that you can cook some delicacies with your own expertise.
So, When we started from the plains in Kazbegi called Mtskheta towards the Holy Trinity church, we did not expect much. But we thought 50 Lari was a bit tad expensive for a small trip. As we started, the car made jolts and the driver drove with finesse as he had been driving on this dangerously beautiful narrow path his whole life. If another vehicle came, our driver parked his car on an uneven rock and let the other one cross. We understood why the cost was higher. Everyone in the car looked a bit scared, we just held on tight and shared a good laugh. We passed through numerous pine trees which were totally green in June. We reached the height of 1740m within half an hour. People do hike and reach in 4-5 hours.
we saw a beautiful . With a church on it. The lush velvety grass looked untouched by any human ever. There were shiny stallions grazing over it. We had to park the car at a distance and now it was our turn to hike for minutes.
The steepest mountain and my shoes- there was a slight mismatch. So I had difficulty going up. The guide helped us get near the church. We slipped and laughed.
Then the most spectacular view awaited us. We were at the Holy Trinity Church. We looked down to a breathtaking and never seen before view. town could be seen in a valley and there was a rainbow all over it. We were just above the clouds as if we had won. We looked around, we could even see the Russia Border on mountain.
Near the church, there is a water tap with natural spring water.
Next, since it is an Orthodox church, women can only go inside if they have their legs covered with an apron. These aprons are available at the church gate and everyone is supposed to adhere to the rules.
Men are not allowed to wear shorts here
Gergeti Trinity church is one of the most beautiful churches in the world.
We spent about 40 minutes here and we took a lot of pictures too. Sometimes it was drizzling too, and we decided to head back to Tbilisi.
We went downhill very quickly and the car was still shaking. We met the driver’s family living in the village and bid him adieu.
Our guide took over from here. We looked forward to a filling lunch after all this hard work. The guide took us to a beautiful property – the rooms hotel. It had a view that one sees in the wallpapers. We walked around and enjoyed some views from the terrace. We decided to try something local instead of 5-star dining.
Our amazing guide drove us to a small family owned restaurant and i would like to mention that we had the best food there. My and Mushroom in white sauce.
We had no regrets of skipping a five-star hotel.
These places are so heavenly that we forgot about our daily life in Dubai.
It was getting rainy and chilly so, the tired lot hopped in the cozy car and started for The capital of Georgia.
My child slept all her way back and I was not ready to miss a thing so I just kept looking out the window. The sun was still shining at 8 pm, which was another surprise for us.
We reached our hotel in about 3 hours. Enough time to relax for our next endeavor. We were glad that we went there in June and could see the beautiful Gregeti Trinity church.
Read about my https://momislearning.com/2018/10/18/a-shoulder-ride-from-the-best-family-vacation-spots-in-georgia/
