Alternative Georgia: 20 Gems

TL;DR: Fortified highland villages, abandoned Soviet air bases, wild river gorges, volcanic plateaus, and mountain wine routes. The places most visitors never reach, organized by what you already love about Georgia.

Overview

Once you have ticked off Tbilisi, Kazbegi, Kakheti, and Svaneti, Georgia keeps going. The country rewards repeat visitors and curious first-timers equally, with dozens of destinations that match the appeal of the famous highlights but come without the tour buses. Here are 20 offbeat places organized by what draws you to them, each paired with the popular destination it echoes.

Remote Landscapes and Wild Corners

Shatili: Georgia's Fortified Northern Frontier

If you loved Ushguli, try this.

Where Ushguli's towers spread across a wide valley beneath Shkhara glacier, Shatili concentrates its medieval fortifications into a single dense cluster rising straight from the Arghuni River gorge in Khevsureti. Built between the 7th and 18th centuries, the interconnected flat-topped towers form one continuous defensive wall threaded with wooden balconies and narrow stone passageways.

Four hours from Tbilisi by road, yet development remains minimal: a handful of guesthouses, simple restaurants, and the trailhead for the multi-day Shatili-Omalo trek connecting to Tusheti. The nearby ruins of Mutso add another layer of highland drama.

The Ossetian Military Highway Through Upper Racha

If you loved the Georgian Military Highway, try this.

Northeast of Oni, Upper Racha unfolds along fragments of the former Ossetian Military Road, a late-imperial strategic route that once connected Kutaisi with North Ossetia via the now-closed Mamison Pass. Like its famous eastern counterpart, this road winds through dramatic mountain terrain, but traffic is sparse, viewpoints are informal, and the pace is entirely different.

Highlights include Ghebi, Gona (often called Georgia's "Little Switzerland"), and Chiora. The road does not cross any border; it simply fades into the mountains.

Vashlovani: Off the Grid in Georgia's Wild East

If you loved Tusheti's remoteness, try this.

Stretching along Georgia's southeastern border, the Vashlovani Protected Areas feel closer to Central Asia than the Caucasus. Semi-desert steppe, eroded badlands, and dry canyons spread across a vast landscape best explored by 4x4 in spring or autumn, when Tusheti is still sealed by snow.

The two regions share a deep historical connection through transhumance: families from Omalo and beyond have driven their herds down to Vashlovani's winter pastures every October for centuries. Advance registration, self-sufficiency, and zero cell coverage are part of the experience.

The Abasha Riverside: Wild Nature in Samegrelo

If you loved Martvili Canyon, try this.

Martvili Canyon's managed walkways, boat rides, and ticket booths are not to everyone's taste. But upstream and downstream from the formal attraction, the same Abasha River flows through undeveloped gorges, forming waterfalls and swimming holes used primarily by local families in summer. Gachedili Canyon, Kaghu Waterfall, and Oniore Waterfall can all be reached on foot and offer the same turquoise water and mossy cliffs without the infrastructure.

The Yaylas of Upper Adjara

If you loved Tusheti's landscapes and mountain traditions, try this.

Drive a couple of hours inland from Batumi and the landscape shifts from subtropical coast to dramatic mountains shaped by seasonal movement and distinct cultural identity. Like Tusheti on the Russian borderlands, Adjara developed on the Ottoman frontier, producing wooden mosques, covered bridges, and yaylas (summer settlements) including Beshumi instead of fortified stone towers.

More developed infrastructure, sealed roads, and activities including one of Europe's longest zip lines make Upper Adjara more accessible than its eastern counterpart.

Abudelauri Lakes: The Other Side of the Georgian Dolomites

If you loved the Juta Valley hike, try this.

Starting outside Roshka, the Abudelauri Lakes trail approaches the Chaukhi Massif from the western side, revealing the same dramatic rock formations that define Juta viewed from the opposite face. Unlike Juta's relatively gentle valley trail, this is a longer, more demanding hike following the valley floor and crossing rivers via bridges to reach three alpine lakes: Green, Blue, and White, set beneath the cliffs.

The full loop takes at least six hours including steep sections and shale descents, making it a natural progression for hikers building confidence in the Greater Caucasus.

Small Towns and Big Histories

Abastumani: Romanov Spa Town and Mountain Observatory

If you loved Borjomi, try this.

Abastumani developed in the late 19th century as a Romanov-era health resort famous for mineral springs and clean mountain air. Wooden dacha-style houses still line the main street, and the town sits directly on the edge of Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park with marked forest trails leading out of the center.

Smaller, quieter, and far less commercialized than Borjomi, its defining landmark is the Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory, established in 1932 as the first high-mountain observatory in the USSR. Guided nighttime telescope sessions add a scientific dimension to the classic spa-and-forest formula.

Saro: Cyclopean Megaliths and Subterranean Houses

If you loved Vardzia, try this.

Set on a ridge between Akhaltsikhe and Vardzia in Samtskhe-Javakheti, Saro layers Bronze Age and early medieval history within a compact but commanding landscape. A cyclopean fortress of massive unmortared stone blocks crowns the hilltop, overlooking a wide valley.

The 7th-century Archangel Church stands nearby. Unlike Vardzia's monumental scale, Saro is dispersed and invites unguided exploration. Scattered throughout the village are rare examples of Darbazuli Sakhi, traditional Meskhetian hall houses with distinctive pyramid-shaped wooden ceilings.

Chobareti: Traditional Meskhetian Cooking in a Village Home

If you loved visiting wine cellars in Kakheti, try this.

Meskhetian cuisine is one of Georgia's most distinct regional food traditions, built around dried and salted ingredients: apokhti jerky-style meat, arishta noodles, and sweet-savory breads like kada. In the village of Chobareti near Akhaltsikhe, a family-run Meskhetian House offers visitors cooking demonstrations centered on tenili, an ancient string cheese made by stretching softened curds into delicate strands.

Like Kakheti's cellar tastings, the experience is rooted in regional traditions and hospitality, but the setting is a quiet Meskhetian village instead of a vineyard.

Lailashi: A Mountain Village Shaped by Faith and Trade

If you loved Kazbegi, try this.

Located high above the main highway in Lechkhumi, Lailashi is an upland village defined by layers of religious history. Its stone synagogue built in the 1860s once housed the Lailashi Codex, a 10th-century Masoretic Pentateuch, while ruins of Armenian Apostolic and Georgian Orthodox churches reflect centuries of coexistence.

Like Kazbegi, it has dramatic mountain scenery but with no tourism infrastructure beyond a few guesthouses. The Lailashi Secret Pool, a spring-fed infinity pool overlooking mountains and the Lajanuri Reservoir below, is the village's postcard moment.

Didgori Battle Memorial

If you loved the Chronicles of Georgia monument, try this.

West of Tbilisi, the Didgori Memorial marks the site of the 1121 battle where King David the Builder defeated Seljuk forces in what became known as the "Miraculous Victory." Like the Chronicles monument, it commemorates medieval statehood through monumental sculpture.

Giant steel cross-swords pierce an open hillside, sculptural figures scatter across wildflower meadows, and the drive in on a sealed road is every bit as spectacular as the complex itself. Late afternoon and sunset offer the most dramatic light for photography.

Routes and Relics

The Javakheti Plateau: An Alternative Way West

If you loved road tripping across Georgia but want to skip the main highway, try this.

The Javakheti Plateau bypasses the modern E60 highway and its dozens of tunnels in favor of empty roads, big volcanic landscapes, high lakes, and quiet towns. Driving from Tbilisi via Tsalka and across the plateau to Akhaltsikhe takes around five to six hours without stops, making it doable in a long day. Traffic is light, roads are straightforward, and driving is far less stressful. A rental car turns this into one of the most scenic cross-country routes available.

The Imereti Wine Route: Georgia's Second Wine Region

If you loved the Kakheti Wine Route, try this.

Imereti is Georgia's second-largest wine region with a noticeably lower-key atmosphere than Kakheti. The wines are lighter and fresher, dominated by indigenous grape varieties like Tsitska, Tsolikouri, and Krakhuna. The same 8,000-year-old qvevri traditions apply, though in Imereti the vessels are traditionally called churi and pressing troughs are made from wood rather than stone.

The harvest season runs later in the west, so if you missed the Rtveli in Kakheti, you can catch the festivities in Imereti from late October through early November.

The Monument Route: Mosaics and Memorials in Samegrelo

If you loved mosaic-hunting in Tbilisi, try this.

The drive between Kutaisi and Zugdidi is one of the most mosaic and memorial-rich stretches of road in the country. Once prized for agriculture, silk, and tea production, this corner of Imereti and Samegrelo is dense with culture houses, abandoned sanatoriums, collective farms, and civic buildings.

Large-scale pannos dominate village centers in Abasha and Khobi, while mosaic-clad bus stops and roadside monuments appear unexpectedly around villages like Dziguri, Ingiri, and Kakhati.

Zestafoni: Industrial Heritage in the Georgian Rust Belt

If you loved Rustavi, try this.

Zestafoni developed around a 1930s ferroalloy plant that still operates today. Soviet-era apartment blocks, civic buildings, and mosaics define the compact city center. Even more obscure than Rustavi, it is a place most travelers pass on the highway without stopping.

Besides bas-reliefs and several stunning mosaics, Zestafoni has a museum, a beautiful railway station, and a modern covered bazaar, making it a dream side quest for photographers and anyone interested in industrial-era Georgia.

Big Shiraki: An Abandoned Soviet Air Base on the Steppe

If you loved Tskaltubo, try this.

Built in the 1950s for the 178th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Big Shiraki is one of Georgia's most striking post-Soviet landscapes. Concrete runways, barracks, and service buildings stretch across the steppe in eastern Kakheti, their peeling paint and rusted metal echoing the flaking sanatoriums of Tskaltubo.

The most memorable structures are dozens of numbered, dome-shaped hangars, each with a distinct patina. A single abandoned bomber plane left behind when the base was evacuated reinforces the feeling of a place frozen in time.

Anaklia: Georgia's Unfinished Black Sea Megaproject

If you loved Batumi's outlandish architecture, try this.

Anaklia feels like Batumi stripped of crowds and commerce, leaving behind a surreal architectural landscape by the sea. The Pier Sculpture, Anaklia Tower, wooden bridge, and long empty promenade combine to form a strange open-air installation with futuristic forms set against a quiet Black Sea backdrop.

Unlike Batumi, there are no working high-rise hotels, no nightlife, and no restaurant strip. This is a destination for photographers drawn to unfinished modernism, especially striking at golden hour or during stormy afternoons.

Kvetera Fortress Church: A Medieval Stronghold in the Forest

If you loved Gremi, Nekresi, and Kakheti's mountainside churches, try this.

Hidden beyond the Alazani Valley, Kvetera is a 10th-century domed church set within the ruins of a fortress city once ruled by the medieval Kingdom of Kakheti. A short walk leads to the turquoise-roofed chapel standing alone inside crumbling defensive walls. No formal signage means you might have the site entirely to yourself. It is perfectly positioned as a stop when driving between Kakheti and Stepantsminda via the scenic Tianeti backroad, which is especially beautiful in autumn.

Getting There: Why You Need Your Own Car

The common thread connecting every destination on this list is that none of them are served by reliable public transport. No marshrutka runs to Shatili on schedule. No taxi knows the way to Big Shiraki. No tour operator sells day trips to Saro or the Ossetian Military Highway.

A rental car is the only practical way to reach these places. For paved routes like the Javakheti Plateau, Imereti wine trail, and Monument Route, any sedan works fine. For Vashlovani, Upper Racha, Shatili, and the Abudelauri trailhead, our 4x4 fleet handles the terrain comfortably.

For more route planning, see our road trip guide, driving tips, 30 destinations by region, and first-time visitor tips.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the best time to visit these offbeat destinations?

Most are best from May to October. Vashlovani peaks in spring and autumn when Tusheti is still snowbound. Shatili and Upper Racha open from late June to September. Coastal and lowland spots like Anaklia and Guria work year-round, and the Javakheti Plateau is most dramatic in summer when wildflowers bloom.

How do I get to these places without a tour?

A rental car is essential. None of these destinations have reliable public transport. Paved routes (Javakheti, Imereti wine trail, Monument Route) work with any sedan. Rough mountain roads to Shatili, Vashlovani, and Upper Racha require a 4x4.

Are these destinations safe for solo travelers?

For these offbeat spots, the practical concern is usually road access rather than personal safety. Carry a downloaded offline map, a full tank, and basic supplies when heading to places with no cell coverage like Vashlovani or the Ossetian Military Highway.

Do I need a guide or can I explore independently?

All 20 destinations are accessible independently with a car and a good map. Vashlovani requires advance registration with the ranger station. For multi-day treks like the Shatili-Omalo route, a local guide is recommended. Everything else is self-drive friendly.

Can I combine several of these into one road trip?

Yes. The destinations are grouped by theme, but many cluster geographically. Kakheti alone covers Vashlovani, Big Shiraki, Kvetera, and the Lagodekhi trailhead. Western Georgia links Chiatura, Nikortsminda, Lechkhumi, and Upper Racha. A 10 to 14 day trip can cover 8 to 10 of these comfortably.

Before You Go

Remote places are easier when you verify the boring details first. Check current road access, fuel stops, daylight, weather, and local rules before leaving the main highway. For Vashlovani, mountain passes, protected areas, or routes near sensitive borders, confirm the latest requirements with official local sources before you drive.

Pros and cons

Rental car or self-drive

• Pros: Best for flexible timing, scenic stops, luggage, and routes that continue beyond one town or viewpoint. Groups can share the daily cost instead of paying per seat on every transfer.
• Cons: One traveler needs to manage navigation, parking, fuel, and local road conditions. Wine routes also need a sober driver or a separate driver plan. It is less useful if the whole day stays inside a walkable city center.

Marshrutka, minivan, or bus

• Pros: Usually the cheapest choice for a simple point-to-point journey. Works well when the plan follows a known route and does not need extra stops.
• Cons: Schedules, luggage space, comfort, and exact arrival points are less flexible. Some services leave when full or require a station transfer.

Train

• Pros: A calm scheduled option when the route is served by rail. Good for travelers who prefer not to drive or negotiate with drivers.
• Cons: Rail does not reach every village, trailhead, winery, or hotel area. Station transfers and ticket availability still need to be planned.

City public transport

• Pros: Low-cost and useful for short city movements when stations match the route. It avoids parking and city traffic stress.
• Cons: It is less convenient with luggage, late-night arrivals, or multiple stops far from stations. Crowds, transfers, and payment cards can slow down a tight plan.

Walking

• Pros: Best for slow neighborhood detail, cafes, markets, viewpoints, and short historic centers. No parking, tickets, or driver coordination are needed.
• Cons: Weather, hills, uneven pavements, and luggage can make the day harder. It only works well when the main sights are close together.

Rental pricing and feature reference

For trips like this guide, these are the current FSTA rental and add-on prices used across the website.

Service	Current price	Booking note
Full off-road insurance	EUR 29/day	For paved and off-road driving with no road restrictions; includes tires, glass, underbody, and scratches with EUR 0 responsibility for covered damage.
Roof tent	EUR 27/day	Available on eligible vehicles, subject to availability and route suitability.
Camping equipment	EUR 149 flat fee	Cooking and outdoor kit rented as one package.
Daily car rental	From EUR 53/day	Current starting rate from FSTA fleet data; model-specific rates are shown in the vehicle comparison table.
Standard Insurance	EUR 9/day	For paved-road trips only; off-road damage is not covered.
Cross-border documents	EUR 89 flat fee	Available for eligible cross-border trips with paperwork prepared before travel.
Yacht trip	EUR 250 flat fee	Private yacht or lake trip for up to 5 people where the selected country and city support it.
Helicopter tour	EUR 3,000 flat fee	Private 3-hour helicopter tour for up to 7 people, with route and takeoff details confirmed after request.
No deposit	Included	No blocked deposit in FSTA rental terms.
Unlimited mileage	Included	Useful for long self-drive routes and cross-country planning.
Free second driver	Included	A second driver can share the road without an extra daily fee.

Expert sources and local authority checks

This guide cites official transport, tourism, road, rail, park, or local travel references where relevant. Fares, travel times, opening hours, and road conditions can change, so FSTA checks these sources and local route notes before publishing.

• Tbilisi Transport Company standard tariff - official Tbilisi metro, bus, minibus, and ropeway fare rules.
• Georgian Railway passenger ticket portal - official train ticket search and passenger schedule checks.
• Roads Department of Georgia restrictions - official road restriction and closure notices for mountain and highway routes.
• Georgia Travel official destination guide - official country destination context for regions, cities, culture, and parks.
• Wander-Lush Tbilisi to Sighnaghi and Telavi transport guide - local fare checks for Sighnaghi and Telavi shared taxis, marshrutkas, and private transfers.