Tourist activities in Georgia

Overview 

There are many different tourist activities in Georgia. Travellers with a wide range of interests can discover and experience exciting trips here. From cultural tours to wine tours and bird watching, Georgia offers a variety of travel options and tours.

Below you will find detailed information about Georgia as a travel destination, which will help you plan and execute your trip.

Tourist activities in Georgia

Mountaineering

Georgia can undoubtedly be described as a mountaineer’s paradise. The mountains of the Greater Caucasus, some of which are over 5,000 metres high, offer numerous opportunities for mountain tours at all levels of difficulty.

Some of the most popular summits include the 5047-metre-high Mkinvarzveri in Stepantsminda/Kazbegi, the 4800-metre-high Uschba, the 4800-metre-high Tetnuldi, the 4010-metre-high Lahla, the 4547-metre-high Ailama and the 5200-metre-high Schchara in Svaneti.

Besides these peaks, there are numerous other mountains suitable for tours for both professionals and amateurs. Georgia thus offers an impressive range of challenges and adventures for mountaineers of all levels of experience.

Photo tours

Georgia offers a wide range of fascinating photo opportunities: landscapes, people, everyday life, abandoned places, architecture, animals and nature. The mountainous regions of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus are ideal places for landscape photographers, while the highlands of Ajara are a good option for shots of everyday life, people and landscapes.

As a former post-Soviet country, Georgia has many abandoned Soviet buildings that photographers can explore as ‘lost places’. The small town of Zkaltubo, where many old sanatoriums of Soviet architecture can be found, is particularly recommended.

On our photo tours such as ‘Georgia in Pictures’ or ‘Golden Autumn in Georgia’, we visit all these regions of the country. Landscape and nature photographers will be particularly interested in the 20-day exclusive photo tour of Georgia, which mainly covers the areas of the Lesser Caucasus.

Another interesting destination for photographers in Georgia is Vashlovani National Park, which is located in Kakheti and is known for its unique steppe landscape and wildlife.

Jeep tour

As a mountainous country, Georgia offers many beautiful passes, making it a fantastic destination for off-road fans. In addition to the mountain regions, the routes also lead through the steppes of Davit Gareja and the Vashlovani National Park. That’s why Jeep tours are one of the most popular tourist activities in Georgia.

There are numerous providers in the country that rent out 4×4 vehicles that are well suited for such tours. The vehicles are in good condition and, above all, insured. Since driving in Georgia is considered somewhat wild, guests should be especially careful on roads with heavy traffic.

The most well-known routes and destinations for a jeep tour in Georgia are Vashlovani National Park, Tusheti, the Zekari Pass between South and East Georgia, Lake Tabatskouri in the Lesser Caucasus and Svaneti with the Lasdili and Zagaro passes. These regions not only offer breathtaking landscapes, but also challenges and adventures for off-road enthusiasts. That is why we have included the beautiful places in our 14-day off-road programme.

Cycling

Cycling has played a significant role in Tourist activities in Georgia since 2018. The country’s diverse landscape offers excellent opportunities for cycling tours of varying difficulty, whether at lower altitudes on flatter routes or in mountainous regions for more demanding mountain bike tours.

The areas of the Lesser Caucasus are particularly well known for cycling tours, as they are low in traffic and offer breathtaking mountain scenery. Cycling tours along the wine routes and through the steppes of Kakheti, which we explore on our 11-day trip, are also popular.

Other beautiful regions for cycling tours are Western Georgia in Mingrelia, where a round trip through the region is possible. For more challenging MTB tours, there is Svaneti and Racha, the highlands of Adjara and Tusheti.

Horseback riding

Horseback riding is very popular and well suited in Georgia, both in the mountainous regions and in the national parks and steppes. Due to its popularity, there are numerous providers in almost all regions of the country that organise impressive riding tours. The horses they provide are very calm and well trained to carry even inexperienced riders safely.

The most popular regions for horse riding tours are Vashlovani National Park, Tusheti, Svaneti, Borjomi-Kharagauli and Lagodekhi National Park. In these areas, travellers can not only experience breathtaking landscapes from horseback, but also discover the diversity of Georgian nature and culture in a unique way.

Round trips

Georgia is a fascinating destination for those seeking a cultural experience. As part of a secular civilisation that is thousands of years old, the country offers cultural attractions that date back to the Stone Age. Georgia is characterised by the unique coexistence of pre-Christian and Christian civilisations over many centuries, which led to an independent cultural development.

Another striking feature of Georgian culture is the fusion of Eastern and Western influences. This region is the place where the two cultures met and a unique cultural identity emerged. Particularly impressive is the medieval Christian culture of Georgia, especially in the areas of architecture and wall paintings.

You will experience all of this on our 14-day trip.

Hiking

Hiking belongs defiantly to one of most popular tourist activities in Georgia. As a mountainous country, Georgia is a true paradise for hikers and mountain lovers. The mountains of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus offer ideal conditions for trekking and hiking tours, which are among the most important tourist activities in Georgia.

You can go hiking not only in numerous national parks and nature reserves such as Lagodekhi, Borjomi-Kharagauli, Mtirala, etc., but also in all mountainous regions of the country such as Svaneti, Racha, Tusheti, Khevsureti and many more.

The hiking trails in Georgia are only partially marked, so it is recommended to explore the routes with a local guide or at least plan them in advance. Camping is allowed almost everywhere in Georgia, except in nature reserves, where it is only allowed in certain places. Snowshoeing is also possible in winter.

Destination Caucasus has put together a wide range of hiking tours in Georgia. The most important ones are:

• Hiking in Svaneti – 11 days
• Hiking in Svaneti – 7 days
• Hiking in Svaneti – 7 days
• Hiking in Tusheti – 12 days
• Hiking in Tusheti – 7 days
• Trekking in Georgia – 12 days
• Trekking in Svaneti and Mingrelia – 7 days
• Hiking in the Caucasus – 14 days

Wine and cuisine

It is not surprising that wine tours in Georgia, the oldest wine country in the world, are very popular. The diversity of wine varieties makes the country one of the most popular destinations in the region.

Each region has its own unique wine varieties, which makes wine tours here extremely varied and interesting. Year after year, numerous small and large wineries are emerging, offering their own products.

During a wine tour, guests have the opportunity to visit both large wine factories and small family wineries. There they can not only taste the delicious local wines, but also get to know the famous Georgian method of wine production (Qvevri wine). You can experience and enjoy all of this in our travel programme.

Rafting

Georgia’s rich river landscape offers numerous opportunities for the exciting adventure of rafting. The Aragvi River along the Heestrasse, the Rioni in Racha-Lechkhumi and Zheniskhali in Svaneti are among the most popular rafting rivers in Georgia.

From the visitor centre, a 700-metre-long paved path leads to the historic Dadiani Trail. There are two bridges, three viewing platforms and an impressive historic staircase made of chalk stone with 30 steps.

Visitors have the opportunity to take a walk or a boat trip on the Abasha River. This ‘journey’ covers about 300 metres (one way) and allows visitors to enjoy very beautiful and fascinating views of the river and gorge. In addition, there is also the opportunity to travel by water, but you have to be at least one metre tall to do so.

Birdwatching

Birdwatching and photography are becoming increasingly popular in Georgia. Many nature lovers visit the country specifically to observe and photograph different bird species. Particularly popular destinations for bird watchers in Georgia include Adjara, where a special infrastructure for observing migratory birds has been created in the village of Sakhalvazho. Also worth visiting are the Kolcheti National Park on the Black Sea, whose marshland attracts many bird species, and the Vashlovani National Park in Kakheti.

There are also beautiful places for bird watching in southern Georgia, in the Javakheti National Park with its numerous mountain lakes. In the mountainous regions of Georgia, such as Stepantsminda, you can also observe vultures and other large birds. Georgia’s diverse landscapes thus offer a rich variety of species for bird lovers and photographers.