Kazbegi , a beautiful getaway along the Georgian Military Highway.The Georgian Military Highway is the route that leads from Georgia to one of the most dangerous areas in the Russian Caucasus ,Chechnya.
A trip to Kazbegi guarantees a treat for your eyes with the beautiful scenary as the marshrutka makes it way from Tbilisi up into the mountains.Snow capped mountains and churches perched on the cliffs , lifestock that share the same road .
Buses leave from the Central Bus station around 930am when the bus fills up.As Kazbegi is a popular tourist attraction , half the marshrutka was filled with tourists going for a weekend stay.A Japanese couple travelling around the world for the past 2 years , a Dutch guy , Patrick who speaks Japanese and a few others.Patrick eventually became our travel companion in Kazbegi.
Upon arrival in the town in the mid afternoon, we were greeted by a huge group of babushki offering us a chance to stay in their cozy homes with hot showers and hot meals thrown in for 15Laris per night.Speaking Russian here became a huge asset and it became extremely easy securing a place to stay in.A babushka grapped Nicky by her hand and rattled on hoping to convince Nicky that she had the best house in town.Roping Patrick in , the 3 of us headed off to babushka's house which was a 1 minute walk from the bus station.
Babushka's bragging was way above our expectations and it was indeed a modern house with a stunning backyard view of Mt Kazbegi and Tsminda Sameba Church perched at the top.
Things to do in Kazbegi
1.Check out Gveleti Waterfall 7-8km from Kazbegi
2.Hike up to Tsminda Sameba Church
3.Watch teenagers dressed in stylish clothes drinking beer and walking round and round the town's main square , Stalinis moedani because there is no where else to walk to or hang out at.
There are more things to do besides the 3 listed acitivities ie ( Hiking up to the Gergeti Glacier 900m ascent up from Tsminda Sameba Church or checking out the Tamar's castle 10km from Kazbegi.
Gveleti Waterfall
The 3 of us set off to look for the Waterfall.After approximately 7-8km along the Georgian Military Highway out of Kazbegi , we finally saw a half faded sign of a potential tourist attraction.It could be start of the trek to the waterfall.The trek was not an easy one for a person wearing flip flops as the path was filled with loose rocks.However , there is blue paint markings on the rocks along the way to guide trekkers.
Our next task was to try to hitch a ride back to Kazbegi to no avail.Walking in the rain , we started thinking about the sumptious dinner that we hoped babushka would prepare for us when we reached back to Kazbegi.
Meals by Babushka
Babushka announced that she ran out of gas to cook dinner and was unable to buy any gas from the shops in the evening.She managed to pan fried oily potatoes and gave us bread and a choice of either juice or home made Georgian white wine.Sitting in the dark living room exhausted from the walk with a tv in front of us playing a spanish drama serial dubbed in Russian , we downed the carbohydrates.We had expected traditional Georgian food , so the disappointment was evident.However , those were the best potatoes i had in a very long time.
Breakfast was a more cheerful affair with the room lighted up by the early sunrise.Babushka was in a good mood and started chatting with us.Her daughter works in Germany.Babushka has been to Germany herself , she managed to speak a few sentences in German.According to Babushka , i am not the first Singaporean who lived in her house!It would have been cool if she did take a photo of every guest that stayed with her.She went on to tease Patrick for picking juice over wine for a breakfast drink , declaring that in Georgia , men drink wine for breakfast.It was amazing to be greeted with the aroma of sausages and eggs after a good night sleep in the comfortable beds that she offered.With the amazing weather in the morning , excitement was building up for the hike up to see the Tsminda Sameba Church.
As we left the house ,babushka was amazed that i was going to hike up in flip flops tied to my feet with a green shoelace." I am a crazy Singaporean girl" , i told her.She smiled and shook her head.
Tsminda Sameba Church
Lonely Planet states a 1.5 hour walk from the city center to the church.We did it in 40minutes.Emerging out from the forested area after 40 minutes , our mouth dropped.That's it.The church with a snow capped mountain background sitting in a distance , with no tourist groups anywhere near the church.It is possible to drive up to the church .Most people visit the church on a 4wheel Drive.But the sense of accomplishment hiking up made the view alot sweeter.Words can't describe the beauty that Georgian tourism stands to offer here.
Gergeti Glacier
We attempted to hike up to the Gergeti Glacier 900m ascent up from Tsminda Sameba Church.Due to the unstable snow and ice conditions on the rocks leading up to the Glacier , i had give up the attempt halfway and plant myself on the slope waiting for Patrick and Nicky to return.The route up was filled with thorny plants which made grasping plants for support impossible.what a relief that those plants were not poisonous.Judging from all the scratches received from thorns , it certainly is not flip flop friendly.A couple of hikers passed by and said hi.Nicky and Patrick gave up on the hike to the glacier due to time constraints and turned back.Meeting the hikers along the way , they all mentioned about the girl with the bright green shoelace sitting on the slope on the way up.Ying is still alive.
And we headed back to catch the bus back to Tbilisi.Kazbegi was indeed a beautiful getaway in the mountains .And for those with limited time in Georgia and are in Tbilisi , Kazbegi is the place to go in order to experience the mountainous beauty of Georgia in the shortest period of time.
Buses leave from the Central Bus station around 930am when the bus fills up.As Kazbegi is a popular tourist attraction , half the marshrutka was filled with tourists going for a weekend stay.A Japanese couple travelling around the world for the past 2 years , a Dutch guy , Patrick who speaks Japanese and a few others.Patrick eventually became our travel companion in Kazbegi.
Upon arrival in the town in the mid afternoon, we were greeted by a huge group of babushki offering us a chance to stay in their cozy homes with hot showers and hot meals thrown in for 15Laris per night.Speaking Russian here became a huge asset and it became extremely easy securing a place to stay in.A babushka grapped Nicky by her hand and rattled on hoping to convince Nicky that she had the best house in town.Roping Patrick in , the 3 of us headed off to babushka's house which was a 1 minute walk from the bus station.
Babushka's bragging was way above our expectations and it was indeed a modern house with a stunning backyard view of Mt Kazbegi and Tsminda Sameba Church perched at the top.
Things to do in Kazbegi
1.Check out Gveleti Waterfall 7-8km from Kazbegi
2.Hike up to Tsminda Sameba Church
3.Watch teenagers dressed in stylish clothes drinking beer and walking round and round the town's main square , Stalinis moedani because there is no where else to walk to or hang out at.
There are more things to do besides the 3 listed acitivities ie ( Hiking up to the Gergeti Glacier 900m ascent up from Tsminda Sameba Church or checking out the Tamar's castle 10km from Kazbegi.
Gveleti Waterfall
The 3 of us set off to look for the Waterfall.After approximately 7-8km along the Georgian Military Highway out of Kazbegi , we finally saw a half faded sign of a potential tourist attraction.It could be start of the trek to the waterfall.The trek was not an easy one for a person wearing flip flops as the path was filled with loose rocks.However , there is blue paint markings on the rocks along the way to guide trekkers.
Our next task was to try to hitch a ride back to Kazbegi to no avail.Walking in the rain , we started thinking about the sumptious dinner that we hoped babushka would prepare for us when we reached back to Kazbegi.
Meals by Babushka
Babushka announced that she ran out of gas to cook dinner and was unable to buy any gas from the shops in the evening.She managed to pan fried oily potatoes and gave us bread and a choice of either juice or home made Georgian white wine.Sitting in the dark living room exhausted from the walk with a tv in front of us playing a spanish drama serial dubbed in Russian , we downed the carbohydrates.We had expected traditional Georgian food , so the disappointment was evident.However , those were the best potatoes i had in a very long time.
Breakfast was a more cheerful affair with the room lighted up by the early sunrise.Babushka was in a good mood and started chatting with us.Her daughter works in Germany.Babushka has been to Germany herself , she managed to speak a few sentences in German.According to Babushka , i am not the first Singaporean who lived in her house!It would have been cool if she did take a photo of every guest that stayed with her.She went on to tease Patrick for picking juice over wine for a breakfast drink , declaring that in Georgia , men drink wine for breakfast.It was amazing to be greeted with the aroma of sausages and eggs after a good night sleep in the comfortable beds that she offered.With the amazing weather in the morning , excitement was building up for the hike up to see the Tsminda Sameba Church.
As we left the house ,babushka was amazed that i was going to hike up in flip flops tied to my feet with a green shoelace." I am a crazy Singaporean girl" , i told her.She smiled and shook her head.
Tsminda Sameba Church
Lonely Planet states a 1.5 hour walk from the city center to the church.We did it in 40minutes.Emerging out from the forested area after 40 minutes , our mouth dropped.That's it.The church with a snow capped mountain background sitting in a distance , with no tourist groups anywhere near the church.It is possible to drive up to the church .Most people visit the church on a 4wheel Drive.But the sense of accomplishment hiking up made the view alot sweeter.Words can't describe the beauty that Georgian tourism stands to offer here.
Gergeti Glacier
We attempted to hike up to the Gergeti Glacier 900m ascent up from Tsminda Sameba Church.Due to the unstable snow and ice conditions on the rocks leading up to the Glacier , i had give up the attempt halfway and plant myself on the slope waiting for Patrick and Nicky to return.The route up was filled with thorny plants which made grasping plants for support impossible.what a relief that those plants were not poisonous.Judging from all the scratches received from thorns , it certainly is not flip flop friendly.A couple of hikers passed by and said hi.Nicky and Patrick gave up on the hike to the glacier due to time constraints and turned back.Meeting the hikers along the way , they all mentioned about the girl with the bright green shoelace sitting on the slope on the way up.Ying is still alive.
And we headed back to catch the bus back to Tbilisi.Kazbegi was indeed a beautiful getaway in the mountains .And for those with limited time in Georgia and are in Tbilisi , Kazbegi is the place to go in order to experience the mountainous beauty of Georgia in the shortest period of time.
