A road-trip to the Kakheti (ქახეთი) region of Georgia
From the desert to the forest side of the Caucasus, with a stop in the plains!
Good morning good evening good afternoon, travelers! Time is irrelevant, as we are here to talk about space, spaces we visit and spaces we become a part of!
Last weekend, I had the privilege to jump into a car with some friends and to drive to the Eastern region of Georgia for 2 days, in order to explore, taste wine, and walk for hours!
The amazing thing about living in Tbilisi (თბილისი) is that you can drive for 3h and either be in the middle of the desert, bordering Azerbaijan, or in an Icelandic plateau in the west, or driving through an immense plain where the vineyards are located, or even the snowy legendary Caucasus mountains!
So, we decided to do three of these different sights. First, a drive through the hills and into the desert, with a stop in Udabno (უდაბნო) for some coffee and some pictures.
An Italian man very satisfied with his Italian coffee, in the middle of the plains
After this short break, we hoped back into the car and took the direction of the Azeri border to visit the Davit Gareji monastery (დავით გარეჯი ლავრა). More things carved in the mountain side to discover, and we also took a long wild walk in the hills around. Who would have thought they were SO MANY tortoise living in the wilds of Georgia?
Time to move on, we jumped back in the car and this time headed north. Through the fields and the hills, we made our way toward the Caucasus mountains with a few stops planned along the way. The amazing town Sighdaghi (სიღდაღი) on top of a hill was a nice addition to our day, we stopped for a bit to walk around and admire the sights from the medieval city.
Then we headed to Chumlaqi (ჩუმლაყი) to drop our stuff at the hotel and get ready to go on a wine tour at the Berika Winery! And let me tell you, if you have the chance to get to Georgia, and to visit the Kakheti region, you have to book yourself a wine tour of the Berika Winery. It's a family owned business, and the owner Ana Berika, by the age of almost 24 years old, is absolutely KILLING IT at making wine, branding it, distributing it around the capital, organizing tasting and touring in her family's vineyard. Immense respect for her and her passion for her work.
What were you doing doing when you were 23, I'm curious?
Berika Winery vineyard
Ana explaining me the process of growing and harvesting the grapes
Some delicious food and amazing wines by Berika Winery
Time was getting late, stomachs were getting full and bottles getting empty. We headed back to our hostel for a last drink and chat under the stars before heading to bed.
The next morning, I went on a walk in the forest by myself to wake up, and on my way back, an old farmer took me to his farm for a mini tour! My very basic beginner level Georgian language was finally put the test in practical way. We showed me his animals, what he was growing, told me about his wines, and offered me a whole bunch of strawberries before leading me back toward the hotel.
As the others woke up, I had already eaten all the strawberries. Selfish me.
Time for a little game of chess before breakfast, then we headed to the mountains.
The new Men in Black
After a few hours driving, we reached the village of Lagodekhi (ლაგოდეხი), left the car somewhere and went on a walk in the mountains. It felt like northern Europe to me, with dense and wet mossy pine forests and waterfalls.
I met a horse with a Berlin hair cut and her foal, which ALMOST came to eat into my hand but decided not to after someone looks angrily to the right slammed the door of the car a little too loud.
The new cool of horse fashion
We walked for maybe 4 hours on the mountain side, deeper in the forest, but the path to the waterfall was destroyed by the very heavy snow melt of this year, and we had to turn back. A stray dog followed us the whole way through, so we named him cafezinho and pretended he was ours for a bit -until he saw other people with more food than us, that is.
After a long drive back to Tbilisi, we gave the car back and headed for the only proper way to finish such an adventure... A huge bowl of khinkali (ხინკალი) and some rest!
