Jumber Lezhava is a bicycle world traveller, a Guinness World Records holder and a UNESCO World Sportsman and Citizen

This unprecedented and challenging trip is led by none other than Jumber Lezhava, a bicycle world traveller, multiple Guinness World Record holder and UNESCO World Sportsman and Citizen. Lezhava has put together an ideal route for visiting cyclists. Time on tough roads is combined with visits to cultural and historic sites, and opportunities to meet the locals in isolated, mountainous villages.

The idea of this taxing but stimulating tour came from Mamuka Burduli, Director of Adventure Club Jomardi, the whl.travel local connection in Tbilisi. “It is our pleasure that the tour has such a prominent leader as Mr Jumber Lezhava. We visit the most beautiful areas of Georgia and experience adventure at the same time.”

“The tour is an amazing initiative,” says Lezhava. “The positive side effects of such tours are more plentiful than the direct effects: they raise productivity and self-awareness in people and, of course, advocate a healthy lifestyle. During the bicycle race from Gudauri to Tbilisi in May 2010, for example, many youngsters were able to overcome difficulties. Our new itinerary can be compared to world races in its level of difficulty.”

A map of the 12-day bike route through Georgia's high passes

From the Valley to the Northern Mountains

The route begins in the Kakheti Region, cradle of Georgian wine. It moves move Tbilisi, the country’s capital city, to the Tsiv-Gombori Mountain Range (part of Greater Caucasus Mountain Range) in the southeast of the region and then on to the Alazani Valley, amidst the neatly cultivated vines and valleys around Telavi.

Turning to the north, the trip heads up toward the Tusheti Historic Area Historic Area. Here, the roads becomes more of a trial, especially the passage from Alvani to Omalo, which meanders through steep mountains, diverse climates and landscapes. The Abano Pass (2850m) is the highest point of the passage; breathtaking views open up above the clouds. Deep within Tusheti, well-preserved medieval fortresses and towers await in the villages of Omalo and Dartlo.

Across the Northern Mountains

While these isolated communities – rich in monument and cradled by mountain – often leave their beholders speechless, there’s still much more to behold to the west and further within Khevsureti Province, reached via Girevi and the Atsunda Pass (3400m).

In Shatili, residential buildings are connected to the towers and constitute a chain of fortifications. They belong to the medieval and early modern periods of Georgia.

The Khevsuretian villages of Ardoti and Mutso are of special interest for their well-preserved medieval dwellings. Equally as impressive are the ancient towers of historic highland Shatili, proudly overlooking the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus. The backdrop of the Arghuni Gorge makes the site all the more stunning.

Back Down into the Valleys and Gorges

From Shatili, the bikers pedal south, up and over the Datvijvari Pass (2677m), beautifully carpeted with alpine meadows that give way to other picturesque sites: the Aragvi Gorge and Zhinvali Reservoir. After the stern mountains of Tusheti and Khevsureti, the sky-blue waters of the Zhinvali Reservoir have a tranquillizing effect.

The next challenge is the Sabadura Pass, from which the road loses elevation, paralleling the Mtkvari River through the beautiful Sabadura Forest and all the way to the ancient capital of Mtskheta, which has been declared a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site. Noteworthy Mtskheta landmarks include Svetitskhoveli Cathedral and Jvari Monastery, the latter at the confluence of the Aragvi and Mtkvari rivers.

Mutso Village in Georgia's Khevsureti Province has preserved medieval dwellings and ancient buildings

From Mtskheta, the route passes through Dzegvi village and Gori to the Dzama Valley and then through the Gujareti Gorge to Timotesubani in Borjomi Gorge, where the nature is greener and less rugged.

Up to the Mountains of the South

It’s time to climb again. Via Mitarbi, bikers push up to the Bakuriani ski resort (1700m), an area that boasts mineral springs and coniferous forests with extraordinary biodiversity.

There’s still more uphill to go. From Bakuriani, the tour heads over the Tskhratskaro Pass (2454m), reaching Akhalkalaki in south-central Georgia for a visit to the 12th-century Vardzia Cave City. Vardzia has rock-hewn parlours, chapels, kitchens and refectories and offers stunning views of the Mtkvari.

Ahead lies another challenging pass; biking through Aspindza, Akhaltsikhe and Adigeni, cyclists reach the Goderdzi Pass (2025m). The breathtaking views make the difficult road well worth tackling.

Mamuka Burduli, Director of Adventure Club Jomardi, bikes in the Kakheti Region of Georgia

Coasting Down to the Coast

The route ends in the beautiful coastal city of Batumi, where bikers triumphantly kick back in the soothing seaside breezes, balm to the soul after the rocky mountains and stern fortresses of the higher elevations. Of course, in Batumi there is one more fortress waiting: the Gonio.

There, successful finishers might agree with Jumber Lezhava, who has travelled by bike in 238 countries and still feels so strongly about the quality of this tour. “Looking back, the highest pass I have crossed was at 4500m elevation, while going from La Paz to Chile,” reflects Lezhava. “I have crossed some 18 to 20 passes of 4000m high. When you go biking in Georgia, you notice that our roads are narrower than the ones you find elsewhere in the world. There are many narrow lanes and short distances here so, therefore, the nature is more beautiful and diverse, although the infrastructure is poor. But as the healthy lifestyle is actively being introduced in Georgia, special roads for bikers are being opened: we have one such a road in Batumi. This, together with some tendencies of working according to ecological norms, helps [us to advocate] biking as an important [foundation for a] healthy lifestyle.”

Contact Adventure Club Jomardi, your whl.travel local connection in Tibilisi and the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia for more about adventure travel in Georgia, not to mention accommodation, tours, activities and local hints about the country.

This is a two-part article. Part one presented the unique qualities of Svaneti, while part two, below, details the wonders of Tusheti.

In the traditional Tushetian game of 'Distance Jumping', people jump over a felt cloak. Jump the farthest and the cloak is your prize.

A Remote Region of Warm People

Spread between 1,700 and 2,400 metres of altitude, Tusheti is considered the most remote area of Georgia. Unlike Svaneti – another historic region characterised by towers – Tusheti is of such pristine and endemic nature that it is one of the Protected Areas of Georgia and inhabited only during the summer.

Cultural heritage runs deep here, the roots felt when communicating with locals and taking part in their festivals and traditional practices. One of the major annual events is the end-of-September cattle drive from Tusheti to the lowlands of the Kakheti Region. Enjoy a unique opportunity to join the shepherds and listen to their stories while sharing a meal by the fire at night.

Tushetian people have also preserved many ancient games like ‘Bow and Arrow’, ‘Distance Jumping’, ‘Playing with the Ball’, ‘Pushing’, the aims of which were to develop flexibility, strength, dexterity and speed in youth. The time-honoured names of these games are so old that non-Tushetian Georgians have a hard time remembering them.

In Tusheti, unlike Svaneti, the polyphonic songs are performed mainly by women

The Sun Rises When a Guest Comes

Tushetian hospitality is taken seriously, as revealed by phrases like ‘the sun rises when a guest comes; a cloud appears when the guest leaves’. Tushetians are genuinely ready to welcome guests with the best food they have, entertain them by teaching their games and even reward them with prizes if they win. The pleasure of being a guest at a Tushetian table is both memorable and utterly unique: Tushetian people brew their own beer, called aludi, make their own khachapuri, called kotori (wheat bread filled with mixture of curds and boiled butter), and prepare their own Gouda cheese (made from sheep’s milk).

Folk arts, crafts and practices are also alive and well in Tusheti. Women are famous for their artisanal work, like traditional knitted products that use natural material and colours. The practice of making thick felt is also preserved. Similar to Svan songs, Tushetian music is polyphonic, although performed mainly by women and accompanied by accordion and Georgian panduri.

The Keselo Fortress in Upper Omalo provides a glimpse of the Tushetian lifestyle in the 17th century

Tushetian towers are wider than the Svanetian ones and built for habitation. Today most of them are locked and unoccupied, most people having moved to two-storey wooden houses. They are however sights to behold in villages like Dartlo, Shenako and Diklo. Their stern and strict appearance makes them seem like night watchers, sentinels protecting the local landscape. One tower-ringed fortress museum near Keselo Fortress casts excellent light on the way Tushetian people used to live.

An exploration of remote Tusheti, with its lone towers and hospitable locals, really puts you in touch with the local community and nature. For the adventurous, another factor to keep in mind is that a getaway to the Tushetian Mountains is best done on horseback. Start in the village Omalo and then head off in the saddle to breathtaking views and unforgettable local hospitality – local meals, Tusheti guesthouses and homestays, and other elements of this land where time has stood still.

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Ia Kverghelidze is the whl.travel local connection in Georgia, where Ia and her team at Adventure Club Jomardi connect travellers to authentic experiences throughout the country. For travel information, or to book Georgia hotels or Georgia tours, contact Ia and her team!

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