SVANETI

Becho was historically known as a trade center. The pass that connects Upper Svaneti to the North Caucasus is in Becho. There is one church of interest near Becho – the Church of the Messiah in Chokhuldi, which was built in the 11th century and con­tains the 13th century icon of the Archangel.

Mestia is a highland townlet (daba) in northwest Georgia, at an elevation of 1,500 metres (4,921 feet) in the Caucasus Mountains.
Mestia is located in the Svaneti region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province (mkhare), some 128 kilometres (80 miles) northeast of the regional capital of Zugdidi. Mestia and the adjoining 132 villages form Mestia District (raioni).
Mestia is served by the Queen Tamar Airport, which is operated by the state-owned company United Airports of Georgia, since 2010.
The townlet is dominated by stone defensive towers of a type seen in Ushguli (“Svan towers”). A typical Svan fortified dwelling consisted of a tower, an adjacent house (machub) and some other household structures encircled by a defensive wall.
Unique icons and manuscripts are kept in Mestia Historical-Ethnographic Museum. Mestia is also a center of mountaineer tourism and alpinism.

The most interesting sites in Mulakhi include tower-houses and the church of Christ , with Paintings dating from the 13th century. The site also includes an icon of Saint George from the 10th century and other various 16th-18th century icons.

Ushba is draped in snow and glaciers at the altitude of 4710 meters from the sea level. It is situated on the most beautiful and the most rough Caucasus massive on the Southern branch of the General Caucasus Ridge.

Ushguli is one of the highest settlements in Europe, 2200 meters above sea level. Ushguli’s Medieval constructions, just like the towers and churches of Svaneti, are under protection UNESCO.