Kazbeghi, Georgia: What a Difference a Day Makes

---

In the Midwest, we say if you don’t like the weather, just wait an hour because it changes so quickly. I think the similar could be said about the topography of Georgia. If you don’t like the view, drive an hour and you can see an entirely different scene.



We tested this theory and drove from the river and mountain landscape of Borjomi to the intense mountains of the Kazbeghi Region in northern Georgia. We passed by emerald lakes and stately monasteries, followed rivers and their tributaries, watched as Georgian farmers harvested wheat, orchard grass and honey and enjoyed as they shepherded their herds of cattle and sheep high into the mountains.





We traveled through the rapidly growing ski towns and watched as sky divers took advantage of the heights. We took sharp hairpin turns and continued to be impressed with the vast collection of wildflowers growing in the mountain meadows. We marveled at the snow still sitting on the mountain slopes and slowed to investigate Georgia’s version of Pamukkale (located in Turkey).



The higher altitudes of the Khevi province also brought us a change of temperature. Traveling in July meant we were experiencing the height of Georgian summers and the 100 degree temperatures that accompany summer. I won’t lie, when the sun began to set in the mountains that first night in Stepantsminda and the hotel attendees began handing out blankets for all of us sitting on the deck, I couldn’t help but smile a bit. Finally, we had a day that presented all the season’s temperatures.



We spent our days a few miles from the border with Russia in the tiny village of Stepantsminda at 1,797 m, home to merely 2,000 people. We were only 153 km from Tbilisi, but it felt like we had left the bustle of the city far behind us. The region, and particularly this village, seemed to be a magnet for adventure seekers and nature lovers looking to do some serious climbing, mountain biking and hiking.



For us, it was an intriguing change of view and change of pace that drew us in to this little corner of the Caucasus Mountains.





**For more stories and photos about our travels, please follow along on Facebook at Valeri Crenshaw and on Instagram at Valerispassport!***

---

Comments

[Dancing Dave]

Follow that Road
An evocative pic that makes one wonder the dilemma of patience, futility or how long the wait. I'll post this in TB's "Follow that Road" thread in the Photography Forum. Check it out.