On the way to Tusheti

We left our flat shortly after 8:00 on Tuesday and headed out of the city.  Our first stop was Telavi, where we went to the market and got tomatoes and cucumbers for our noontime meals and to go along with the smoked meats we had purchased on Monday.

The city is much nicer than we remembered from our last trip years ago. This visit left us with a very positive impression.

Above a view into the market.

We had some time to kill, so had a snack and walked around downtown a bit.  The photo below shows part of the renovated downtown.

We left the restaurant for a short bit while they prepared our food and did some walkIng around. We checked out Irakali's Palace which we discovered was being restored (during the summer when there are many more visitors to the city versus the fall or winter when there are none).  

From Telavi we went across the Alazani River valley to Pshavela, where we headed north toward Tusheti.  To say that this is an ugly road is an understatement.  It has been ranked as one of the 10 worst or deadly roads in the world!  We have been on some bad ugly dangerous roads both here in Georgia as well as in Nepal (where there are also a few very nasty roads as well), but this road to Omala ranks high on our list of worst.

The distance from where the road heads to Omolo from Pshavela is 72 km and is marked every kilometer by a small blue sign that gives the distances remaining to Omolo and from the beginning of the road at Pshaveli. Initially the road is paved but that soon ends and becomes a dirt road.  The road winds up a valley on the edge of the mountain side and has absolutely no guard rails.  About 50% of the time, or more, you cannot pass and often one is hugging the edge of the road with the car while the passengers and hanging into the grab bars inside.  One can either look up or down and see spectacular landscapes.  There are gorges and water falls and steep cliffs; sometimes all at the same time.  Ninety-nine percent of vehicles on this road are four-wheelers; sedans just don't stand a chance with the road conditions.

There road winds up and up until you come to Abanos Pass at just under 3000 meters (roughly 9800 feet).

This is view of the road from the top of the pass that we would drive to Omalo.  Looking back you get a sense of the road we had just traveled.

We were really blown away by the beauty of this county.  We have been to Shatilli and Ushguli, so this was the last of the tower-type village areas that we wanted to visit.  In a way it seems we saved the best for last, but they are all different so there is really no comparison when you get right down to it.

They say it takes at least four hours to make this 72 km trip and that is really about right.  From Tbilisi, the trip takes roughly eight hours, much of which is hard driving.  Many folks divide it up into two days, with an overnight in Telavi; we chose to do it all in one day.

We arrived at the Shina Guesthouse in time to go for a walk before our social hour and dinner; then it was off to bed.  

Here is a shot of David in front of the guesthouse.

Yes, the cows and horses roam freely in the village.

Tomorrow we will tell you about the village and the people who live there along with our adventures on Wednesday.