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Skiing & Snowsports in Svaneti
Medieval tower villages under 5,000-meter walls: the Mestia-Ushguli trek through Europe's highest inhabited corner.
Why here
Mestia's twin state-run ski areas are Georgia's high-wilderness answer to Gudauri: Tetnuldi, opened in February 2016, skis from 1,600 to 3,165 meters on the flanks of the 4,858-meter mountain that names it, with a 9.5-kilometer longest run, and together with Hatsvali the Mestia zone counts fourteen lifts over about thirty-seven kilometers of trails. The setting is the point, empty pistes under the UNESCO tower villages with Ushba's double summit on the horizon, and a growing ski-touring and freeride scene run by the same local guides who walk the valleys in summer. Nowhere else in Europe do you ride a modern lift out of a medieval village this remote.
Best months
January to March; the access road from Zugdidi is winter-maintained but slow, and storm days close the upper lifts. Pistes suit confident intermediates upward, and touring needs guides and avalanche kit. Lift tickets cost a fraction of Alpine prices.
Getting there & around
Mestia is a long day's drive or a short prop flight from Tbilisi; Tetnuldi's base is forty minutes beyond town, Hatsvali ten. Local outfits run ski-touring weeks with guesthouse nights.
Skill levels: intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Mountain Trails Agency
OrganizerThe state resort operator running both Tetnuldi and Hatsvali in the Mestia zone: fourteen lifts over about thirty-seven kilometers of trails.
Svaneti Trekking
GuideMestia team of five named local guides with a decade-plus each, running the four-day Mestia-Ushguli classic plus day hikes and winter tours.