Georgia
A supra is not a dinner. It is a several-hour institution with a toastmaster
Population
3.7m people
Currency
Georgian Lari
Main Language
Georgian
best time to visit
May – June and September – October
Climate
Subtropical on the Black Sea, continental inland, alpine in the Caucasus
Visa
Visa free for up to one year for UK, EU, US and most Western visitors
Country overview
Georgia has been quietly becoming one of the best-value destinations in the world and the word is now well out. It has its own alphabet, its own language related to nothing else, one of the oldest Christian traditions anywhere, and an 8,000-year winemaking history that predates everyone else claim to the title.
Tbilisi is the draw: sulphur baths under brick domes, wooden balconies stacked up a hillside, Soviet concrete, and a nightlife scene built around techno clubs in unlikely buildings. Beyond it, the Greater Caucasus has serious mountains. Kazbegi has a church on a ridge under a 5,000-metre peak. Svaneti has medieval defensive towers in villages that were effectively unreachable until recently.
The food and wine alone justify it. Khachapuri is cheese bread that arrives in several regional forms, one containing an egg. Wine is often still made in qvevri, clay vessels buried underground. And the supra, the traditional feast, comes with a tamada who leads formal toasts for hours. Being invited to one is the real Georgian experience.
Annual events and festivals
- Orthodox Christmas (7 Jan) — marked with the Alilo, a costumed procession through Tbilisi.
- Easter, Aghdgoma (Apr-May) — the most important religious holiday, with red-dyed eggs and cemetery visits.
- Tbilisoba (Oct) — the city festival, with wine, food and music across Tbilisi over a weekend.
- Rtveli, grape harvest (Sep-Oct) — families harvest and press together in Kakheti. Visitors are often welcomed to join.
- Independence Day (26 May) — marks the 1918 declaration, with military parades and concerts.
- Svetitskhovloba (Oct) — a major pilgrimage to the cathedral at Mtskheta.
- Art-Gene Festival (Jul) — traditional Georgian folk music and crafts in Tbilisi.
- Batumi Black Sea Jazz Festival (Jul) — an international jazz event on the coast.
- Lomisoba (Jun) — an old mountain festival with pre-Christian roots.
- Kaziuko and winter mountain festivals (Feb-Mar) — ski season events in Gudauri and Bakuriani.
Georgia Travel Guides
Georgia guides are coming soon.