The church itself is beautiful but the rocky mountainside in the distance made for an incredible backdrop. Nowhere says backdrop quite like Gergeti Church.
When we reached the area that surrounds Gergeti Church and got our first view of the church from up high we were not disappointed. Most tourist info websites we looked at beforehand advise to plan 1.5-2 hours to reach the church and 30 minutes by car. As a result, some tourists many guides to drive them up the hill and you’ll regularly see 4WDs whizzing by with tourists wondering whether the climb would have been more comfortable than being flung side to side in the back of a car. It’s nearly all uphill with few flat stretches. The path is well-trod, which makes it harder to go wrong. Lots of people are doing the same walk and if you’re unsure ask a local who will point you in the right direction. The first stretch of the hike, which takes you to Gergeti church, is not hard to follow. It’s possible to climb the tower at Ananuri, and there you get a great view over the rest of the complex. The Church of the Mother of God has beautifully decorated façades and elsewhere you can see inscriptions on the walls. Different areas of the complex are in better conditions than others, having suffered different amounts of damage during the many battles the complex witnessed. The complex consists of two castles and a couple of churches surrounded by a tall stone wall. It’s a stunning castle complex that sits above the Aragvi River and dates back to the 17th century. Fortunately, it’s on the roadside so you can’t miss it. The main site to see along the route to Kazbek is Ananuri. I quickly made breakfast and packed lunches, then we packed our hiking and overnight bags before hitting the road at around 7:30 am. On the morning of the hike, we woke up early knowing it would take at least 3 hours to drive to Kazbegi and that we would probably stop a couple of times along the way.
If we had more time during our trip we would have stayed in northern Georgia longer as there’s so much incredible hiking territory there. We opted to drive up the morning of our hike then stay overnight before heading back down to the capital. Not without completely exhausting ourselves. We were staying at in Tbilisi and realised we weren’t going to manage to drive to Mount Kazbek, hike to the glacier and back, then drive back all in the same day. It’s an incredibly beautiful hike and at times challenging, since the uphill climb can feel a bit relentless. Hiking from the town of Kazbegi to the foot of the Glacier on Mount Kazbek was the highlight of our trip to Georgia. Some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission for every booking, without any extra cost to you.
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