What's on in Mestia, Georgia through the year

Busy — Winter / New Year break in Georgia, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Roads in and out shut (15 Nov – 15 May (usually)), Ski season (15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Festival

  Lamproba torch festival

  5–25 Feb · usuallyMajor festival

  Svan villages cut birch torches and carry them to the family graves after dark, one for every man in the household. It falls on a February weekend and the date differs from village to village. Source ↗

Still on: Roads in and out shut (15 Nov – 15 May (usually)), Ski season (15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Spring break in Georgia, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Roads in and out shut (15 Nov – 15 May (usually)), Ski season (15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Roads in and out shut (15 Nov – 15 May (usually)), Ski season (15 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Roads in and out shut (15 Nov – 15 May (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Georgia, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Mestia to Ushguli trek season

  10 Jun – 15 Oct · usuallyTrail seasonBook early

  The four-day walk to Ushguli opens when the passes clear in mid-June and the guesthouses along it shut again in October. September is the driest of the four months and the one people who have done it choose.

Peak crowds — High summer in Svaneti, Summer holidays in Georgia

• Season

  High summer in Svaneti

  10 Jul – 31 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Everything that comes to Svaneti comes in these seven weeks, and the guesthouses in the tower villages take booking months out. The trail is busy by Georgian standards, which is still quiet by Alpine ones.

Still on: Mestia to Ushguli trek season (10 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — High summer in Svaneti, Summer holidays in Georgia

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Mestia to Ushguli trek season (10 Jun – 15 Oct (usually)), High summer in Svaneti (10 Jul – 31 Aug)

Busy — Summer holidays in Georgia, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Mestia to Ushguli trek season (10 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Mestia to Ushguli trek season (10 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

• Closure

  Roads in and out shut

  15 Nov – 15 May · usuallyRisk

  The Zugdidi road stays open but closes for stretches after heavy snow, and the Lentekhi road over the mountains is shut all winter for avalanche risk. The road on to Ushguli is the first to go. Source ↗

Busy — Winter / New Year break in Georgia, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Ski season

  15 Dec – 15 Apr · usually

  Two small resorts above the town, Hatsvali in the trees and Tetnuldi high and treeless, with the longest run in the Caucasus and almost nobody on it. Lifts stop when the weather is bad, which is often. Source ↗

Still on: Roads in and out shut (15 Nov – 15 May (usually))