Watch Salt for Svanetia, and learn a little more about this amazing country. Each year on the Caucasian Challenge minimal assistance rally, one of the most beautiful locations we visit is Ushguli, the highest village in Georgia. In the mountains of the picturesque Svaneti region, and cut-off from the rest of civilization for many months […]
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Mestia: Georgia’s Mountain Paradise
Visiting unique places like Mestia is what the Caucasian Challenge is all about. It exemplifies all that is great about Georgia: a stunning location below mountain peaks, mystery in the form of the unique Svan towers, and incredible hospitality. After the picturesque drive from Kutaisi, a warm welcome always awaits us. Here’s everything you […]
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The Highest Village in Europe: Ushguli, Georgia
Introducing the highest village in Europe: Ushguli, in Georgia’s Svaneti region. Mountainous Svaneti in Northern Georgia is home to some of the most picturesque villages in the entire Caucasus region, and nowhere moreso than Ushguli. On the Caucasian Challenge, we spend the night in Mestia, the largest settlement in Upper Svaneti, before driving […]
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The Moments that Made the Caucasian Challenge Special
We recount some of the moments that made the Caucasian Challenge 2016 special. There are fewer than five months till the this year’s Caucasian Challenge, and we’re getting excited by looking at back at the Caucasian Challenge 2016. We’ve recounted our highlights of each leg of the journey, from leaving Istanbul to the finishing party in […]
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Caucasian Challenge 2016 Day 5: The Zagar Pass
We continue our review of the Caucasian Challenge 2016 with Day 5, crossing the Zagar Pass. The driving on day 5 is always one of the highlights of the Caucasian Challenge. It can be challenging, especially after the party in Mestia on Day 4, but it’s so worth it: the scenery […]
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More Encores With a Difference in Georgia: Part One
Okay, this one may not be for all of you. After all, your ten-day Caucasian Challenge, a 4000-kilometre trek, complete with all manner of built-in challenges, should suffice to fully tease out your inner Badass Adventurer of the Wilderness. However, some of you may be harboring a side an order of magnitude up from this, […]
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Svaneti – Where Time Stands Still in the Caucasus Mountains
In the high Caucasus Mountains of northwestern Georgia there is hidden a place of legends, forgotten by time, isolated from our modern world by more than 4000m high mountain peaks. Locals using sheep skins to sift the rivers for gold in ancient times might have sparked the legend of the Golden Fleece, which Jason and his […]
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10 Ways to Have an Adventure in the Caucasus
Are you an adrenaline junkie looking for the next fix? Then we’ve got the doctor’s prescription for you right here! If you’re sick of all the tourists clogging up the streets of Thailand and Cambodia trying to find enlightenment in the next bar, then you’ll want to head over to the South Caucasus. This region on […]
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Mestia (GE) – Ambrolauri (GE) – Day 5 of the Caucasian Challenge 2014 – Georgian Wine Heaven
Our adventure in the Caucasus takes us through three off-road trails, and the journey from Mestia to Ambroulari was our second such trail. And when we say off-road, we don’t just mean “bumpy”; we’re talking dusty, rocky mountain paths that can take several hours to cross. Some trails can’t be done with 2 wheel drive, […]
Continue ReadingMestia, a Small Jewel in the Heart of the Caucasus Mountains
Located at an altitude of 1,500 m (the equivalent of 4,921 feet) in the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, Mestia is an important stop for all tourists visiting Georgia and a highlight for us whenever we come to the Caucasus. The townlet – or daba in Georgian – is found 128 km northeast of the regional capital […]
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