Ushguli is located under the Skhara Peak, between the juncture of Enguri and Shavtskala-Kvishara rivers. Village of Ushguli is located between 2070-2200 meters. It used to be the highest inhabited village in Europe until 2015, when another village in Georgia – Bochorna took the title, though Bochorna has only 1 inhabitant. There’s about 60 families living in Ushguli now.
Ushguli is only accessible in the summer months, as it’s located in an area where avalanches are very common. Through the rest of the year, roads are covered in snow and getting to Ushguli is only possible via a helicopter.
It is thanks to this isolation that Ushguli is so unique – people have lived here in isolation from the rest of the world for hundreds of years. In winter months families spend most of their days reading, taking care of animals and chit-chatting with neighbors – there’s not much else you can do in the freezing cold of the Svaneti winters.
Another thing that makes Ushguli unique, is the fact that it has never had a ruler – Ushguli has always been under the Georgian kingdom but never had a direct ruler – as the Georgian saying says: “True freedom is only high in the mountains”.
Every hill and stone in Ushguli will mesmerize, however there are still couple of places you should not miss when you visit:
