Making a majestic sweep across northern Georgia, the Caucasus Mountains are ideal for walking and are interspersed with idyllic villages punctuated by medieval stone watchtowers. These beautiful green mountains can best be explored by taking a trip up the Great Georgian Military Highway which begins in Tbilisi and then leads northwards passing Mtskheta, with its superb church, and Ananauri, an ancient fortress, once home to the Aragvi dynasty.

As you journey deeper into the mountain range, you will eventually reach Kazbegi, which is overlooked by the snow-capped tip of Mount Kazbek, Georgias highest peak. From here you can hike up to the isolated Trinity Church at Gergeti, explore some of the smaller villages or continue for further hiking in the Dariali Gorge area.

Another fascinating mountain area is Svaneti, lying in the north of Georgia, and home to Europes highest inhabited village, Ushguli. Only recently re-opened to foreign visitors, it is a land of charm and tranquillity in which little has changed over many decades.