An Entrance to Caucasus Mountains
Kazbegi, a.k.a Stepantsminda, is a quiet city north of Gudauri, close to the Russian Border. It is one of the most picturesque locations in Georgia and anyone who goes to Georgia without a visit to Kazbegi is missing out on something amazing!
Tiblisi to Kazbegi Car ride
We would highly recommend the drive from Tblisi to Kazbegi, as you will see some truly beautiful landscapes as you drive north, enticing you with resplendent mountains in the distance.You will also cross the beautiful Annanuri Castle on the way. When you reach the mountains, the terrain becomes even more mesmerizing as you zig-zag, up and down different mountains, passing various small towns on the way. Since the roads are well made, you can enjoy the drive without having to worry about the drive.
Be well informed by going through our guide for things to do in Kazbegi before you plan your visit.
Places to visit in Kazbegi:
- Gergeti Trinity Chrurch
- Gveleti Waterfall
- Mount Kazbek
- Trusso Valley
Gergeti Trinity Church – The Base Point of Mount Kazbek
We saved one day to explore Kazbegi and decided to start with Gergeti Trinity Church. The only challenge to get up there is the road, which was not cemented and therefore quite uneven, slippery and muddy. It was our first experience driving up such a road, but we managed to make it up unscathed!
For those people who don’t have a four-wheel drive, or just don’t want to drive on that road, there are many taxis/guides willing to take you up there for a small fee at the spot pointed in blue on the map below.
After a 20 minute drive, we reached the entrance of the church, and as soon as we got out of the car, we were amazed and took some time to just take it all in. The view was truly BREATHTAKING. We saw a beautiful church at a peak, surrounded by mountains, some capped with snow, while others were bare and Mount Kazbek stood proud and tall in the background. Words cannot express how beautiful it was, so we will let pictures do the work, but even they don’t do justice to the experience of being there.
We spent a lot of time sitting there, taking in the view, snapping loads of pictures and wondering at the creation of God. Finally, we made our way up to the church, which was a five minute walk. The Church itself wasn’t very big, but it was beautiful and very calming. We thought that the location was perfect for a place of worship as you cant help but say a small prayer when surrounded by such majesty.
As we left the church, we were once again blown away by the view, which was slightly different from the peak. We tried to stay there for as long as possible, but finally had to go back down, before nightfall.
The rest of the climb to Mount Kazbek generally takes 5 days to get through and sitting at the base site, you can just imagine how striking the view from the top would be.
Some other must visit sites in Kazbegi are Gergeti Glacier and Trusso Valley. The trek is quite demanding and time taking, so we simply did not have the time for them, but we hope to go back one day to go to these places as well! Gvaleti Waterfall is very near the Russian Border and is quite an exciting experience to have.
If any of you have been to these three places, we would love to hear about it in the comments
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