Kazbegi treks
Travel by public transport : Mini bus Mashrutka Tbilisi (Didube station)
- Kazbegi,
4 hours traveling, bus tickets cost 8 lari, if it takes too long until the bus gets full you are better off taking a group taxi for 10 lari per person. - Sights around Kazbegi : After Tbilisi, this is probably the most touristy part of Georgia since it's easy to get to but still has very beautiful mountain landscape with many possibilities of treks.
- Gergeti-trek : This walking path is probably the most popular walking route in Georgia (10 groups of walkers every day). The Gergeti trek can be done with a local guide for 40$ per person (Club Mountain Traveler, Mr. Koba, phone 899-555009). A guide for the Gergeti trek is actually not necessary unless you want to get to the top of the Kazbek mountain (Mount Kazbeg, 5047 meter, class 2, the last 30 minutes of the trek is possibly in snow or ice). The glacier should be climbable without special trekking material. You can find topographical maps of the region around the mount Kazbek in the WWF office for 5 Lari. The WWF is situated in the long house in the higher city part of Kazbegi, ask for "Botanitschki". The trek to the top of the mount Kazbek takes two days. The mountain is mostly from 9:00 in the morning already disappearing in the clouds so leave early if you want to admire the beautiful white summit. In the beginning of the walking path there is an amazingly positioned little church (Holy Trinity Church, Tsminda Sameba church), on 1.5 to 2 hours walk from Kazbegi city (easy to find also without map), if you look well you can even see the church from Kazbegi. There is an ideal camping place for a tent next to the church. From the church it's about 7 to 8 hours walk to the Meteorological station which also works as in between station and mountain hut for climbers of the Kazbek mountain (a bed costs 10$per person per night).
- Budget hotel - hotels Kazbegi :
There is a rather new budget hotel (from july 2001), proper, shower with hot water (if the electricity in Kazbegi is not cut off). The hotel is situated next to the statue of Kazbek. They have place for 10 persons, 10 lari per night per person, phone (8245)52029. The beautiful daughter Natalie (899/540925) speaks good english. There is also a new luxury hotel on the square. Home stay is possible for 5-10 lari per night. - Restaurants are hard to find in Kazbegi, there is 1 snack bar by the bridge where you can eat shashlik and Khinkali.
