HIGH ALTITUDE HOSPITALITY

Of the three TCT countries, Georgia started trail construction first, then Armenia and finally Azerbaijan. The Georgia trail was started by Paul Stephens and Jeff Haack in 2017. Tom Allen started mapping the the TCT trail in Armenia around the same time, and started trail construction in 2017.

This is a long was of saying that the guesthouses in Georgia were more sophisticated than those in Azerbaijan. Specifically, we slept in beds and bathrooms were in the house with a western style toilet. Both countries had really good abundant food.

NAKRA GUESTHOUSE

The first guesthouse we stayed at was in Nakra and owned by Nino, who is the daughter of Valeri & Maro at the next guesthouse. Nino was very proud of her lovely two-story home with a view of the mountains, and presented an amazing spread for dinner and breakfast.

AGING GUESTHOUSE OWNERS

Valeri & Maro are in their 80’s and the parents of Nino. Their farm is in Kichkhuldashi with 20 cows who need milking every day. Valeri is a gregarious good humored farmer and Maro is an excellent cook! They are hoping a young family would like to eventually take over their operation.

HANMER GUESTHOUSE - in Etseri

Tony is from Canada and met his wife, Laki in Georgia. After they married they moved to Esteri and started this guesthouse on the TCT trail. The building to the right is an almost completed restaurant! It has floor to ceiling windows with a view of the mountains. The little dog is a neighbor’s dog - the neighbor was out of town, so his dog came to visit us.

MILA GUESTHOUSE - in Mazeri

Mika and Tamar are sisters in their eighties who do all the work in their two-story guesthouse. They prepare breakfast and dinner for guests (sometimes lunch) while their brother takes care of the animals. They also have a very fashionable neighbor across the street.

BAPSHA GUESTHOUSE - in Mestia

This guesthouse has several personable dogs! The black dog likes to talk and the white dog liked getting a brushing. His fur was so matted that I found some scissors and ended up cutting a full bag of fur off him. The next day he was feeling a lot lighter, and when he saw me, he immediately rolled over to let me rub his belly. The grateful guesthouse owner’s mom gave me a bag of much appreciated apples to share.

RESTAURANTS - in Mestia

The servers at this local restaurant wore memorable t-shirts. It’s refreshingly honest when a business is not afraid to share their position on tension filled events. The traditionally served dishes included: Badrijani Nigvzit, eggplant wrapped around a nut filling; Lobio Qotanshi, beans in a clay pot; Chvishtari, cornbread filled with cheese, Khinkali (a mushroom filled pastry), and Tschishtvarti Petvi (bread filled with cheese and Svan green millet).

At restaurants in Mestia with outdoor seating, dogs go very respectfully from table to table and wait for you to notice them. They are happy to wait until you finish your meal and hopefully feed them your leftovers on your way out!

ANGELINA GUESTHOUSE - in Ushguli

We fell in love with the playful kitten at Angelina Guesthouse in Ushguli. Yes, the food mattered… and it was the best… and we couldn’t resist feeding it to the kitten!

SADMELI WINERY

The Sadmeli Winery, near the town of Ambrolauri in the Racha wine growing region, offers great mountain views and wine tastings. Our team definitely found favorites! Austin is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the local wines and we all think it would be a great idea for him to lead a wine tour. The food was tasty too and went well with the wine - especially the fresh oven made bread.