Svaneti — the high kingdom

3-min read

Upper Svaneti is Georgia’s attic: valleys at two thousand metres walled in by the highest Caucasus, where some two hundred medieval stone tower-houses still stand guard over the villages. The region is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

No invader ever fully subdued it. When Mongols or Persians burned the lowlands, Georgia’s icons and treasures were carried up here for safekeeping — which is why tiny Svan churches still hold some of the country’s oldest sacred art. The Svans keep their own unwritten language, older than Georgian itself.

🎒 Guesthouse evenings in Mestia are cool even in July — this is what that sweater is for.