Last Adventure from Tbilisi – Anauri-Truso-Stepantsminda-Kazbegi Off-Road Tour

With two days left on my extended time in Georgia, I booked one last adventure with Friendly.ge, who has given me so many great memories to add to my cool experiences list. Once again, I was excited to have Aleksi, who let the Tusheti trip, as my guide.

We met at the park and then headed out down the Georgian Military Highway until we arrived at Jinvali Lake, the reservoir that provides water to Tbilisi. In the lake, there is a 12th century Church of the Cross which is submerged in water for 6 months of the year. If you look closely in the photo on the bottom left, you can see the four uprights from the bridge poking up from under the water. While we were here, we also made a quick visit to the Anauri Fortified Castle which sits on the shore.

Continuing on, we made our way up the Aragvi River to the point where the Tetri (white) Aragvi and the Shavi (black) Aragvi rivers meet. At this point, the waters of different colors stay separate until later blending downstream.

Next, we passed through Gudauri, a ski resort with beautiful views of the Caucasus Mountains, stopping to see the amazing Travertine National Monument. The travertine looks like a waterfall coming down the mountain. We then took a 4WD road until we arrived at the trailhead to hike in to the bottomless lake, a deep mineral spring known for it’s positive health benefits. It was interesting how much the cold water was bubbling up as the iron-rich stream flowed out of the back side of the spring.

After the hike, we stopped for a nice lunch at a winery before traveling on to Stepantsminda, a quaint little town, and home to the popular 14th century Gergeti Trinity Orthodox Church, which stands high on the top of the mountain.

After Stepantsminda, we began our drive back towards Tbilisi, stopping to visit the Russian-Georgia Friendship Monument, erected by the Soviets in 1983. It is in a beautiful location, with stunning views over Devil’s Valley and the Caucasus Mountains. It is surrounded by hundreds of “pop-up” halal restaurants which are very popular with the Muslim tourists.

We arrived back in Tbilisi as night fell, and Aleksi was so kind to give me a ride back to my place where we had a big hug and said goodbye. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to see the country with him and learn so much!

I’ll see you again soon to share the city of Tbilisi and what I did in between all of the outdoor adventures.

Peace, Love, and Hugs!! Michelle