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We Three Kings of Orient Are 🙏 https://ift.tt/2AqTA6p

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Hiking from the little village of #Diklo that is known as one of the coldest villages in #georgia🇬🇪. Although the day I was there the weather was as stunning as the scenery stretching off into Chechnya. I couldn’t find the path so asked the border guards and they pointed me to the top of this hill with a great view of the valley and the cacasus mountains and where I finally located the trail that took me to the even smaller village of chiglo. #tusheti https://ift.tt/2Shi2OK

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I first sighted Gremi fortress in Georgia at high speed through a bus window and thought I must visit, so the next day I did. Standing above the green valley of Alazan vineyards, the 16th century royal citadel reminded me of a Georgian version of Count Dracula’s🧛‍♂️ castle. Both gloomy and monumental it dominates its surroundings. https://ift.tt/2yOMUND

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I had this lost castle all to myself. I had passed it the previous year when I was visiting the cave city of Vardzia in #georgia🇬🇪 (where all the tourists head) and had promised myself that one day I would explore it. #Tmogvi castle sits astride a high rocky outcrop with the most astonishing views down a deep crease in the landscape. Clambering up to the ruins is not easy, but well worth the dripping sweat and any fear of heights. As sitting atop a crumbling tower with not another soul to disturb the daydream you can literally feel king of the world. https://ift.tt/2CSwic0

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This is the moment that you finally summit and realise that a storm is brewing and there is absolutely no shelter. Hail, wind, thunder, lightning the lot. #bakuriani #georgia🇬🇪 https://ift.tt/2QRhSMl

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Kissing horses 💏 Bakuriani Georgia 🇬🇪 https://ift.tt/2Prx4zs

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The ruins of an abandoned village in Tusheti Georgia 🇬🇪. Crumbling old properties stand solemnly, somewhat cheered by the presence of small nesting birds flitting in and out of the skeletal structures to feed their chicks. The medieval watchtower leans impossibly, surely one small earth tremor – common in these mountains – or a raging rain storm could bring it down. The people now long gone apparently falling victim to an outbreak of plague in the 19th century. https://ift.tt/2ycVuq2

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Black Rock Lake Trail is considered to be one of the hardest, interesting and most beautiful trails in all of Georgia boasting magnificent views over the #Caucasus and #Alazani valley. The hike usually takes three days camping out in mountain huts but I did it in two (more on this later) and starts from the Georgian town of #Lagodekhi. The lake straddles the #georgia🇬🇪/Russia (#Dagestan) border. In fact you can’t walk around the lake otherwise...who knows, but the Georgian soldiers who rode up on their horses to join me and share their lunch and chacha (vodka) told me not to try. Walking down from here was a bit of a drama as I ran out of water and it proved to be a lot further, harder and hotter than I thought. It was my first and hopefully my last time of experiencing real thirst when your throat is so dry you can no longer swallow. Sounds silly but the only thing that kept me going was sucking the juice from a tomato. I finally stumbled down into the base of the the valley in the pitch black and gratefully fell into a river and drank and drank. Even then the feeling of thirst gnawingly lingered for a couple of days.

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With monstrous head and sickening cry  And ears like errant wings, The devil’s walking parody  On all four-footed things. https://ift.tt/2zJAIPK

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Why hike through these lands. It had to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles with no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains, streams and rocks, rivers grasses, sunrises and sunsets. To be a human lost in the midst of nature’s boundless beauty. #tusheti #georgia🇬🇪 https://ift.tt/2OmN6gJ

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These defensive towers litter the landscapes so there must have been some serious defending going on back in the day in #Tusheti #Georgia. Now often used for little more than livestock or storage and in this case good rest spot for a tired hiker. https://ift.tt/2N6giDS

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Following the cows home to the tiny village of #Chigo in the #Tusheti region of #Georgia. At points I thought I might not make it here after being chased by a pack of mountain dogs and losing the path but somehow I managed it and made it just before dark meeting the farmer who was bringing in his heard. There is not much to this village a few houses and a few ruins now used for the livestock. I stayed the night here feasting on masses of food and of course the ubiquitous chacha (Georgian Vodka). https://ift.tt/2xPBtom

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Leaving the village of #Shenako in the #Tusheti region of #Georgia. Unfortunately not too long after this I ran into some mountain dogs. These are not the sort that are conducive to patting. These are viscous beasts that come at you as a pack. It starts off as distant barking then you see them streaking across the hills towards you. Luckily I had a stick and as long as I kept moving I was okay. Very unpleasant being surrounded by these hounds and felt lucky to get away. https://ift.tt/2xBqS02

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Skulls 💀 next to the beautiful old church in the village of Shenako high up in the Caucasus mountains. I stayed in the priests house and his wife made the most delicious food and massive portions of it whilst chatting away to me about the village history. #tusheti #georgia https://ift.tt/2pjXisq

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After a day of hiking I find myself peeping through the ruins of Diklo fortress towards the mountains in Chechnya. The isolated ruins are situated on a promontory with a 1000ft drop in three directions. Totally amazing views from here. https://ift.tt/2x4BHYe

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The road to #Tusheti in the #Caucasus mountains of #Georgia is considered as one of the most dangerous roads in the world. It captivates by beauty, but doesn’t fail to remind you what can happy to the unwary traveller. There is no public transport so you need to find yourself a willing driver to take you up the near vertical muddy track that’s prone to landslides and blind turns to the mountain village of #Omalo. This was mine a really nice guy who didn’t speak a word of English but drove well despite of the #chacha (Georgian vodka) and beers that he drank and shared along the way. You certainly won’t get stopped for drinking and driving on this road although you just might die! What was really disconcerting was that numerous times we would screech to a halt so that he could point to rusty wreck in the valley where some poor soul had missed a turn and driven over the edge. After about five hours We finally made it safely to the village of Omalo and he invited me in to his brother’s house for a few more glasses of chacha and a final picture with his niece before parting company.

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Back in the beautiful country of Georgia. This time the aim was to head to Tusheti a remote and difficult area to reach in the northeast of the country straddling the Caucasus mountains between Georgia and Chechnya. Pictured is the the ancient fortified towers of the village of Old Omalo. https://ift.tt/2MToLiB