Skiing & Snowing in Georgia: Top 4 Ski Resorts To Chose From

Stretching between the Black Sea & Caspian Sea, the country of Georgia is recognized for its traditional music, folklore and theatre, and also its reputation as a cultural melting hub of influences ranging from Iran and Roman empires to Soviet Russia. Come winter season, Georgia is also known to offer some of the best skiing & snowboarding to tourists. Wither fewer crowds, ample powder and of course lower prices, a ski and snowshoeing tour in Georgia certainly tops the list. Check out our list below if you want to know more about the best ski resorts Georgia has to offer.

1.Gudauri:

Situated 75 miles north of Tbilisi, Gadauri is one of the best ski resorts Georgia has to offer. A matchless view across the sweeping snow-covered landscape is absolutely guaranteed when you are in this ski resort. The resort is strangely free of rocks, which offers another-worldly vibe and lets you get imaginative with your riding. There’re runs for beginners and also offer great opportunities for heliskiing if you’ve some additional cash to spend.

2.Goderdzi:

If you want the excitement of winding through dense trees & creating your own run, then Goderdzi is the ski resort to check out in Georgia. This ski resort is a little lower in altitude & is full of trees that offer infinite fun to the skiers.

3.Bakuriani:

If a family friendly ski resort is what you are after, then Bakuriani has to be the resort. Located just 3 hours from Tbilisi, Bakuriani is a perfect family-friendly ski resort with a sort of veiled, backcountry cabin feel. With the first infrastructure constructed in 1932, Bakuriani is one of the oldest Georgina ski resorts which features a collection of 8 ski lifts, 18-square miles of ski runs, and a small town center. If you call yourself as an expert skier, there is a fair share of expert downhill runs as well.

4.Mestia:

Situated in the northwest corner of the country, Mestia is home to some of the snowiest mountains in all of Georgia. If other areas are undergoing from a particularly dry winter season, Mestia usually still has snow. The ski resort is not as built-up as Bakuriani or Gaduari, so it boasts more of a hometown vibe.

Book a full day tour in Georgia with Color Tour Georgia and make your winter vacation an unforgettable encounter. To know more about our ski and snowshoeing tour in Georgia, feel free to get in touch with us now!

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5 Reasons Why A Trip To Georgia Should Be On Your Wish List.

In my opinion, a trip to the past Soviet republic of Georgia should be on every travel enthusiast’s bucket list. With miscellaneous architecture, incredible mountain backdrop and the famous wine-growing province of Kakheti, there’s so much to explore & discover. Below I have mentioned my top 5 reasons to plan a trip to Georgia.

To Savor Appetizing Food & Wine:

A fascinating fusion between the Mediterranean and Persian cuisine, Georgian foods are absolutely appetizing and worth tasting. Its mouthwatering Mediterranean style cuisine regularly involves yogurts, nuts, aubergines, cheese, and fish. Not to forget Khachapuri– cheesy bread; which accompanies just about every meal in Georgia.

Apart from its appetizing cuisines, Georgia is also believed to be the birthplace of wine. Their ancient winemaking procedure using clay jars has been incorporated into UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

To Enjoy The Captivating Mountain Scenery:

Runs between the Black Sea & the Caspian Sea, The Caucasus mountain range is so remote & impassable that rumors have it the great Alexander employed them as a massive natural prison for his boisterous rivalries. However, at present the mountain ranges are subjugated by gorgeous snow-covered glaciers, crystal clear lakes and rivers, and also offer the opportunity to spot wolves, eagles, and bears. Especially in spring & summer, the Caucasus Mountains are a perfect site for walking and trekking.

To Revisit It’s Fascinating History:

Dates back to the biblical eras, the history of Georgia are worth exploring. Its position between Islamic Asia and Christian Europe has ushered to a long string of attackers, all of whom have left their mark on Georgia’s culture & heritage. Even Georgia’s winemaking history dates back 7 thousand years.

To Witness The Out-Of-The-World Sights:

For a country of its size, Georgia is blessed with a massive variety of sights that will take your breath away. Some of the must-visit sights include but not limited to Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, cave towns of Uplistsikhe and Vardzia, Ananuri castle complex, Gergeti Trinity church, Stalin Museum, and David Gareja Monastery among others.

To Enjoy the Georgian Hospitality:

Last but certainly not the least; Georgia is perhaps best known for its great hospitality & toasting frame of mind. In fact, there is a proverb that every Georgian follow “every guest is God sent”. Any tourist to Georgia is certain to be invited into the homes of locals, where they’ll make friends forever.

If you are planning for a day tour booking in Georgia, look no further! At Colour Tour Georgia, we have been serving tourists with their Georgia travel needs for more than 20 years. With us your online tour booking in Georgia will be an effortless affair. Whether you are planning for a cultural tour, wine tour, adventure tour, pilgrim tour or cycling tour we have the best tour itinerary and of course deal waiting for you. For any help, don’t hesitate to call us at +995 599 555 242.

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Full Day Wine Tour
to East Georgia

Duration 8-10 hours

All Year Around

Wine production in Georgia has 8000 years history. Georgia is a motherland of wine. In Georgia are grown about 500 varieties of grape and produced well-known red and white wines. Georgian way of wine production in ‘Qvevri” (clay tank planted in the ground) is included in UNESCO Intangible world heritage list. Almost every family in the countryside in Kakheti is also winegrower.

For more details, Please visit Colour Tour Georgia's web page.
http://www.colourtourgeorgia.com/

Highlights:

• Alaverdi Cathedral (XI c)
• Twins wine cellar and museum in village Napareuli (Optional)
• Gremi fortress (XVI c)
• Wine tasting at Twin’s Cellar in Napareuli (Optional)
• Wine tunnels in Kvareli (under the mountains of Great Caucasus)
• Tasting of different sorts of factory wines “Khareba”
• Wien tasting in Prince Chavchavadze’s Palace
• Wine tasting in Schuchmann’s Chateau (Optional)
• Telavi – The main city of Kakheti region
• Gombori Pass on the way back to Tbilisi (1620 m)

In the Morning drive direction to Telavi, Kakheti region - East from Tbilisi, the largest wine producing region in Georgia. The first destination is Alaverdi Cathedral, (20 km Northwest from Telavi). Alaverdi Cathedral (XI c), is one of the important orthodox monument in Georgia. (Cathedral is in the tentative list of UNESCO since 2007).

Next visit of Twins wine cellar in village Napareuli. (This wine property is Optional and can be included in the trip due to your request). Here guests can find interesting wine museum where is available to learn Georgian method of wine production. In the several rooms of the museum you can see how Georgians make Qvevri (huge terracotta tanks), how they plant Qvevri into the ground, and all the steps of wine formation. At the end of the tour, the guests can taste different sorts of wines and Chacha – Georgian analogue of grappa.

Further on, on the way visit of Gremi fortress (XVI c). Till XVI c Gremi was the main city of Kakheti region. Nowadays, picturesque location of the fortress with tall bell tower and high walls makes the deep impression on guests and can be found as one of the popular photo stop location of the way.

Afterwards, the trip continues to wine tunnels built under the hills of Great Caucasus mountains. The total length of the tunnels is 8.000 m. Two main tunnels are more than 800 m each. The tunnels are used for ageing of wine. Above the wine-tunnels, one can find beautiful restaurant built on the top of the hill with a picturesque view of Alazani Valley and delicious Georgian meals.

Then, the root lays towards Prince Chavchavadze Palace (XIX c) in village Tsinandali with wonderful French park and wine cellar. Here in wine cellar guests can taste different sort of local wines.

After exploring of Palace, guests will visit Wine factory-museum “Shumi” for another wine tasting and if desired, it’s available to purchase some bottles of wines locally from the factory.

At the end of the tour visit of Telavi - main city and administrative centre of Kakheti region (100 km eastern from Tbilisi). Here you can find the local market in the town, where you can enjoy and buy a wide range of different fruits and vegetables, apples and peaches, grapes and pomegranates, tomatoes and cucumbers. Finally, through Gombori pass return to Tbilisi.

Duration: 8-10 hours
Driving distance: 330 km
Season: All year around

What's Included:
• Hotel pick-up and drop-off;
• Transportation In modern, air-conditioned coach;
• Petrol Costs;
• Qualified Guiding service (English, German, Italian, Russian);
• A bottle of water per traveler.

What's Not Included:
•Travel insurance;
• Meals and drinks;
• Costs for wine tasting.

http://www.colourtourgeorgia.com/

UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2010 via Travel Daily News

Over time, an ever increasing number of destinations have opened up and invested in tourism development, turning modern tourism into a key driver of socio-economic progress through the creation of jobs and enterprises, infrastructure development and the export revenues earned.
As an internationally traded service, inbound tourism has become one of the world’s major trade categories. The overall export income generated by inbound tourism, including passenger transport, exceeded US$ 1 trillion in 2010, or close to US$ 3 billion a day. Tourism exports account for as much as 30% of the world’s exports of commercial services and 6% of overall exports of goods and services. Globally, as an export category, tourism ranks fourth after fuels, chemicals and automotive products. For many developing countries it is one of the main sources of foreign exchange income and the number one export category, creating much needed employment and opportunities for development.
The most comprehensive way to measure the economic importance of both inbound and domestic tourism in national economies is through the 2008 Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) Recommended Methodological Framework, approved by the UN Statistics Commission. Though many countries have taken steps towards the implementation of a TSA, relatively few have full, comparable results available. The knowledge and experience gained through the TSA exercise has certainly contributed to a much better understanding of the role of tourism in economies worldwide and allows for a tentative approximation of key indicators.
Based on the currently still fragmented information from countries with data available, tourism’s contribution to worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at some 5%. Tourism’s contribution to employment tends to be slightly higher and is estimated in the order of 6-7% of the overall number of jobs worldwide (direct and indirect). For advanced, diversified economies, the contribution of tourism to GDP ranges from approximately 2% for countries where tourism is a comparatively small sector, to over 10% for countries where tourism is an important pillar of the economy. For small islands and developing countries, or specific regional and local destinations where tourism is a key economic sector, the importance of tourism tends to be even higher.

Key trends 2010:
- Worldwide, international tourism rebounded strongly, with international tourist arrivals up 6.6% over 2009, to 940 million.
- The increase more than offset the decline caused by the economic downturn, with an additional 23 million arrivals over the former peak year of 2008.
- In 2010, international tourism receipts are estimated to have reached US$ 919 billion worldwide (693 billion euros), up from US$ 851 billion (610 billion euros) in 2009, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 4.7%.
- As a reflection of the economic conditions, recovery was particularly strong in emerging economies, where arrivals grew faster (+8%) than in advanced ones (+5%).
Current developments and outlook:
- According to the April 2011 Interim Update of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, International tourist arrivals grew by close to 5% during the first two months of 2011, consolidating the rebound registered in 2010.
- According to the forecast prepared by UNWTO at the beginning of the year, international tourist arrivals are projected to increase in 2011 by 4% to 5%. The impact of developments in North Africa and the Middle East, as well as the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March, are not expected to substantially affect this overall forecast.
Long-term trend:
- Over the past six decades, tourism has experienced continued expansion and diversification becoming one of the largest and fastest growing economic sectors in the world. Many new destinations have emerged alongside the traditional ones of Europe and North America.
- In spite of occasional shocks, international tourist arrivals have shown virtually uninterrupted growth: from 25 million in 1950, to 277 million in 1980, to 435 million in 1990, to 675 million in 2000, and the current 940 million.
- As growth has been particularly fast in the world’s emerging regions, the share in international tourist arrivals received by emerging and developing economies has steadily risen, from 31% in 1990 to 47% in 2010.

 In 2010, world tourism recovered more strongly than expected from the shock it suffered in late 2008 and 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis and economic recession. Worldwide, international tourist arrivals reached 940 million in 2010, up 6.6% over the previous year. The vast majority of destinations reported positive and often double-digit increases, sufficient to offset losses or bring them close to this target. Recovery came at different speeds – much faster in most emerging economies (+8%) and slower in most advanced ones (+5%).

Find UNWTO Tourism Highlights here.

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

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Svetitskhoveli Cathedral is the second largest church building in the country, after the recently consecrated Tbilisi Holy Trinity Cathedral, and is listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other historical monuments of historical town Mtskheta. It's located 20 km northwest of the nation's capital of Tbilisi.

The patriarchal Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, one of the most important 11th century monuments. For centuries it was the religious centre of Christian Georgia. As early as the 4th century, the converted King Mirian built the first Church here on St Nino’s advice. The foundation traces of this Church were revealed during the restoration work at Svetitskhoveli in 1970-1971. The restoration also revealed the ground plan of the basilica, built here in the second half of the 5th century by King Vakhtang Gorgasali, after the falling apart of St Nino’s wooden Church. In the 11th century the damaged basilica was replaced with a new cathedral built by Melchisedec, Catholicos of Kartli, who had invited architect Arsukisdze for this purpose. The construction started in 1010 and was over by 1029. 

Svetitskhoveli, known as the burial site of Christ's mantle, has long been the principal Georgian church and remains one of the most venerated places of worship to this day. According to Georgian hagiography, in the 1st century AD a Georgian Jew from Mtskheta named Elias was in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. Elias bought Jesus’ robe from a Roman soldier at Golgotha and brought it back to Georgia. Returning to his native city, he was met by his sister Sidonia who upon touching the robe immediately died from the emotions engendered by the sacred object. The robe could not be removed from her grasp, so she was buried with it. The place where Sidonia is buried with Christ's robe is preserved in the Cathedral.  On the south side there is a small stone church built into the Cathedral. This is a symbolic copy of the Chapel of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Built between the end of the 13th and the beginning the 14th centuries, it was erected here to mark Svetitskhoveli as the second most sacred place in the world (after the church of Jerusalem), thanks to Christ’s robe. In front of this stone chapel, the most westerly structure aligned with the columns between the aisle and the nave marks Sidonia’s grave.

The Cathedral presently functions as the seat of the archbishop of Mtskheta, Tbilisi and all Abkhazia who is at the same time Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia.

Davidgareja - one of the most remarkable religious and cultural centres of Georgia

Davidgareja, one of the most remarkable religious and cultural centres of feudal Georgia, is a cave monastic complex, situated in a rocky mountainous terrain in the historical region of Gareja, 60-70km south-east of Tbilisi. The Monastery was founded in the first half of the 6th century by David Garejeli, one of the Assyrian Fathers. The Holy Father came to the Gareja wilderness with his disciple Lukiane and took up his abode in a small, natural cave, thus laying the foundation to a monastery which, in later centuries, came to be known as St David’s Lavra. St David’s Lavra was the centre of the monastic life in gareja. In the course of time it was joined by new monasteries whose number, at a certain time, reached twelve. The appelation "The Twelve Gareja Monasteries" must have come down from that time.

The activity of the David Gareja Monasteries was an important part of the religious, as well as, cultural life of the Georgian people. In the early 12th century King David IV, the Builder, made the monasteries royal property, freed them from taxes, and facilitated their advancement. In 1265 Davidgareja and its environs were sacked and ravaged by the Mongol hordes led by Berka Khan. In the first half of the 14th century, during the reign of King Giorgi the Illustrious, Davidgareja yielded a potent political and economic power. The helmsmen of the monasteries were members of the Royal Council, and took part in the government of the Georgian Church. The monastic life was disrupted at Davidgareja by numerous invasions of Tamerlane at the close of the 14th century. In 1424 King Alexander 1, the Great, donated Davidgareja to the Patriarchal Church of Svetitskhoveli in Mtskheta. 

 

After the ravage wrought by the Persians during the  invasion of 1616-1617 the Monasteries ceased to exist. In 1629 King Teimuraz I revived the monastic life here. In the 18th century Davidgareja came under direct royal protection again. It owned extensive estates and villages, the peasants living in them were considered monastic serfs. The monastic life at Davidgareja did not stop till the close of the 19th century. The monastic construction at Davidgareja reached its peak during the cultural, political, and economic upswing in Georgia, in late 12th and early 13th centuries. Davidgareja developed its own way of life, style of construction, and school of mural painting.

 

The appearance of the Davidgareja monasteries of this epoch was totally different from the monastic style of the previous centuries. The former simplicity and spontaneity of the main Churches and refectories gave way to magnificence and grandour, to a tendency towards more free space. The murals on the walls of these Churches, and common refectories intensified the impression. The importance of the Davidgareja murals is heightened by the numerous portraits of the contributors, including the portraits of the Georgian royalty: Queen Tamar and her son Giorgi Lasha (the Bertubani Church). The size of the donors’ portraits is much larger than that of the religious personages, which demonstrates the freedom of the Georgian master from the rules set by the Byzantine art. The frescos of the Bertubani refectory are remarkable for the solemn and magestic impression they create. The frescos in the main Udabno Church depict episodes from David Garejeli’s life. The frescos in the apse of Udabno’s Ascension Church are equally interesting with the vital ity and expressiveness of their characters.In late feudal times the monastic complexes communicated by means of watch and signal towers, which came down to us in ruins. Some of the 17th and 18th century caves present a certain interest for their plaster embellishments. Davidgareja was an influential cultural and enlightenment centre. Prominent men of letters were engaged in scholarly work here at various times.