Tiflis was an exciting introduction to my tour of Georgia. But after a week of traffic chaos and smog, I had had enough, and so the next thing on my trip around the world was to Stepantsminda, formerly known as Kazbegi, in the mountains of the Caucasus.
The best way to travel through Georgia is by “marshrutka”. These are minibuses that head for practically all places worth seeing in the country. You just have to find the right marshrutka. The minibus to Stepantsminda departs from Didube station. My hostess, somewhat misleadingly, tells me that the bus stop is opposite the Ministry of Health. Unfortunately, it wasn’t exactly there, but about 100 meters further.
The problem with the Marshrutka bus stations is that private drivers intercept tourists beforehand and pretend to direct you to the correct bus. Instead, you are led to the private car, which is significantly more expensive.
My companion and I are also intercepted nicely on the 100 meters. At least the driver doesn’t lie and tells us the ride is private. But if you wish, he can stop anywhere so that we can take photos of the impressive landscape. That sounds tempting.
Unfortunately, we are the only passengers so far, so the driver has to find two more passengers to make the tour worthwhile for him. So we sit in the car and hope for the sales skills of our driver.
But after a good half hour, we lose hope. Outside the high season and in Corona times there are simply not enough tourists. So we get out a bit bashfully, excuse ourselves and head back to the marshrutkas. After a bit of asking around, it finally works and we set off for the mountains in the right minibus.
For hiking in the mountains of the Caucasus
After about three hours we reach our destination. The weather forecast for the next few days isn’t the best, so we take the opportunity and hike to one of the top attractions the same day: it’s the 14th-century Gergeti Trinity Church. The ascent takes about 1.5 hours.
Behind the Gergeti Trinity Church (left in the picture) rises the 5047 meter high Kazbek
Quelle: Getty Images/Mekdet
The nice thing about the off-season: there are only a few tourists in this magical place. And so you can enjoy the magnificent 360-degree view in peace. Looking down into the valley towards Stepantsminda and looking up to Kazbek. At 5047 meters, it is the third highest mountain in Georgia and one of the highest peaks in the Caucasus right on the border with Russia.
In late autumn and winter, Stepantsminda is a sleepy place because the hiking conditions are not the best here at a starting altitude of 1700 meters. In addition, most hiking opportunities are not right on the doorstep. So you have to be taken by taxi to one of the hiking routes.
But it’s worth it. The Trusso Gorge is about half an hour’s drive away. We don’t have to look long for a ride. An old white Lada Niva pulls up next to us. The elderly gentleman at the wheel does a great job of convincing us that we can hardly say no. I’ve also always wanted to drive one of those Soviet jeeps.
The Soviet jeep glides over fields and road holes
On the way into the gorge, the driver stops briefly at his mini-market and advertises a small purchase. Then he stops briefly at his guest house, where he also offers us a room. He also serves homemade schnapps, the traditional tschatscha. He tries in vain to persuade his French guests to join us on our tour. Then he finally takes us down into the valley and tells us about all the tours he could do with us. Quite businesslike, sir.
The Trusso Gorge looks like a no man’s land of abandoned villages and ruins
What: pa/Rainer Hackenberg
Although his Lada Niva is pretty rocked, it proves its legendary off-road capability. He almost glides over fields, meadows and road holes as if it were the most normal thing in the world. I would love to cruise around the world with such a robust vehicle.
But first you have to walk through the valley. The driver is supposed to pick us up at a bridge in six hours. He would like to be paid immediately. We’re going for the deal. To be on the safe side, he gives me his phone number so I can reach him at any time.
Georgia intoxicates me with grandiose nature
The schnapps didn’t fail to have an effect. I had no idea that homemade tschatscha contains up to 70 percent alcohol. And so we march off so full of energy that we completely lose our sense of time. The first two hours fly by. But for the most part it is also due to the grandiose landscape that puts us in a frenzy of the senses.
First it goes in the narrow gorge on partly snow-covered paths along the river Terek. But as soon as the valley widens and lets the sun in, the snow disappears. Now it looks like the tundra, surrounded by mountains, crowned by blue skies. Again and again we encounter water springs that turn reddish from sulfur and spread the typical smell of rotten eggs.
The hike along the Terek River leads through magnificent landscapes
Quelle: Martin Lewicki
The whole area looks like a no man’s land of abandoned villages and ruins. We need exactly three hours to reach the Zakagori Castle on a hill. An ideal turning point for pausing, marveling at the landscape and devouring provisions.
On the way back, the sun quickly disappears behind the mountains and the temperature in the valley drops quickly. And so it goes back, freezing, goose-stepping. Luckily our driver comes right on the minute to pick us up at the bridge.
He lets us out again to advertise at his mini-market. But we prefer to go to the next restaurant: there they serve fried trout in pomegranate sauce and the typical Khinkali, stuffed Georgian dumplings. They’re so good you could sit in them!
Read more parts of the world tour series “One Way Ticket” here. The column appears every two weeks.
You should keep this in mind during the winter holidays
In Saxony, the slopes are finally being woken up from hibernation. The ski areas are allowed to open again there. They were closed for weeks while the mountains in the Czech Republic could be made unsafe. But if you want to go abroad during the winter holidays, you have to consider a few things.
Source: WELT/ Jan-Friedrich Funk
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