Tombraider in Tusheti

A shout-out to Arabia for nicknaming me Tombraider on Instragram, cause that aptly describes this weekend’s theme. I went on a three-day adventure to Tusheti, one of Georgia’s most beautiful and remote mountainous areas of Georgia. And it took my breath away! It’s Sunday evening and I’ve just gotten back home to my flat in Tbilisi, and I’m eager to upload my many photos and write about my impressions.

Tusheti is only accessible by one road which is closed from the first snowfall until late spring. So my window of opportunity was slim and my patience wouldn’t allow me to wait till next year, so yalla! The road to Tusheti is one of the ten most dangerous roads in the world (google it!), going through the Abano pass which is the highest drivable mountain pass in the Caucasus, at 2,826 metres. So rather than driving myself I joined a small tour with a Georgian guide/driver with a good 4x4 car (on advice of everyone I talked to). The drive up the mountain was full of adrenaline, even though I listened to Nils Frahm and Aphex Twin in my headphones (thank you Russell for having the best music taste of anyone I know, and for sharing it with me). The drive required active “passengering” - I had to constantly tense my abdomen muscles to avoid being tossed around in the car. The road condition was rough, with narrow roads and steep drops on one side, barely wide enough for two cars to pass. The most bizarre sight was a cyclist struggling uphill who looked like he was beating out his inner demons.

Tusheti is just take-my-breath-away gorgeous. Photography heaven. Located on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, Tusheti is bordered by the Russian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan to the north and east. The population are called Tushs. Historically, Tusheti comprised four mountain communities, comprising of 50 villages. Only some 10-20 people live there all year around these days, closed off from the rest of the world for seven months of the year. One village has only one resident man all year around. That gives a whole new perspective on loneliness.

We hiked and visited old villages and ancient monuments and forts. Women are strictly forbidden close to some of the monuments (can someone please give me a non-superstitious explanation?!). I spent an hour talking to some of the old ladies in a village and asked them to tell me about the fort I had just hiked up to since there is very little historical information about it (it’s so old no one knows when it was built). And the ladies delivered! So many stories about enemy mountain warriors trying to kidnap the beautiful daughters or kill the villagers taking refuge in the fort. Whereby it was common for the Tushs to rather commit suicide than be enslaved by their enemies. These are the mountain fighters who would be summoned by fire-signals when the King in the Kahetian valley was under attack. I would love to see the sight of them riding down the mountain…. “To the rescue!”

I was walking towards a herd of sheep to take some photos when I hear and see two massive Caucasian shepherd dogs charging towards me. These dogs are bred in the mountainous regions of Georgia to protect herds from wolves and bears. And they are scary as shit! My guide screams at me, “Grab a stick!” What the fuck?! I might look like Laura Croft but I need more training before taking on two of the most aggressive dogs on the planet. A shepherd on horseback managed to get them under control and I got away with a few blurry photos of sheep running.

We spent two nights in a simple guest house, eating hearty Georgian supras and toasting with homemade cognac and wine. The walls were clad in animal skins and the grandfather told us the story when he killed the brown bear that took up a whole wall. The breakfast table overlooked the Caucasus mountains and I have never been more grateful for a cup of coffee with smoking hot pancakes when I saw my fellow breakfasters eat boiled pasta with jam (sort of like porridge?!). A total treat was meeting a Norwegian women on a hike who shared her picnic with me, consisting of Swedish crackers and cheese on tube - with coffee in a thermos!! Just imagine my delight.

There is something so dignified about mountain people. Their toughness. Their wisdom. Their beauty. It comes from hardship. I daydreamed about their lives throughout the centuries. And was reminded by what Albert Camus said, “In the midst of winter, I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer”.