Written by travel writer Rahma from The Sane Adventurer
The small country along the Black Sea is blessed with the best natural sights, a rich history, and many cultures and food diversity.
The country has witnessed a past of Arabs and Ottomans passing through its land, which has left its cultural identity in its roots. This makes Georgia a highly culturally diverse country to explore. Stay in Tbilisi for all the touristy fun and game activities and the best choice of Georgian food, but as soon as you plan to step outside the cobbled streets of the lovely city of Tbilisi, Georgia, is all about adventure.
Not many people are aware that Georgia is blessed with a mixed landscape of mountains, plains, and the sea that makes it perfect for adventure seekers. I visited Georgia in the autumn last year and is an avid adventure lover; my only focus was to enjoy most of the country’s adventurous activities.
And well, I wasn’t disappointed at all!
To my surprise, there is a lot more adventure to be had in Georgia than I actually thought and planned. In this post, I am going to share the five adventure activities I enjoyed in Georgia.
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Paragliding In The Caucasus Mountains
Paragliding is one of the best things to do in Georgia and the one which I was the most excited about! And not to mention, in the end, it was the one I loved the most.
The paragliding is done at the small town of Gadauri that comes between driving from the capital city of Tbilisi to the small town of Kazbegi neighboring the Russian border. The take-off spot lies at 2800 meters about sea level on a lush green mountain top of Gadauri.
Many companies are operating the flights and twenty minutes of flight costs something around 80 to 100 dollars. But before you judge the cost of paragliding to be slightly expensive, let me mind you – it is totally worth it!
The flight starts taking off with a professional pilot on top of a mountain who then takes you higher and higher near the surrounding Caucasus giants. As I visited during the autumn season, all the mountains were covered with grass, and the sky was as clear as crystal.
The views of the many rivers that flow from the mountains in Georgia from the top are simply breathtaking! They look like a thin white line passing through the gigantic mountains surrounding them from all directions. It was quite surreal to see the ground more than 2000 meters below my feet.
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Trekking To A Lonely Church On The Mountain
The landscape of Georgia is quite mountainous and offers tons of trekking and hiking opportunities. I am a crazy trekking lover, and when I got to Kazbegi, my guide informed me about a short two hours trek to a lonely church on Mt. Kazbegi, I was over the moon!
The short trek is done in the small border town of Kazbegi on Mt. Kazbegi. It is the highest and definitely the most stunning snowcapped peak in the region.
The tree falls in the easy to medium category; however, it is a short distance; therefore, it can be easily done with average physical fitness.
The way to the lonely church goes through a scenic path gaining rapid elevation. The trek passes through giant pine trees and a muddy path where at some points, it is hard to see the sky as there are quite a lot of trees on the way.
The trek ends at the Trinity church on the top of the mountain with some extraordinary views of the small town below.
The abandoned church is a 6th-century church, which is quite an interesting place to visit in itself. Alternatively, the entire trek can be skipped, and the lonely Trinity Church can be reached by thirty mins off-road jeep ride, but what so adventurous in doing that? Nothing, right?
River Rafting, River Rafting, River Rafting
You must be confused about the repeated river rafting in the headline, right?
Well, there is a reason I used it three times. Georgia is blessed with many rivers flowing directly from the mountains in different directions throughout the country.
The flow in most of the rivers near the capital city of Tbilisi is fast. Therefore, they offer great opportunities for river rafting all year long except December to March when the weather becomes too cold for rafting. Aragvi River that lies near Gadauri, is very popular for river rafting. It also happens to fall in the country’s tourist route, making it a perfect choice for adrenaline junkies like me to hop on a raft and flow with the waves!
During September, when I visited Georgia, my guide suggested morning to be the best time to go for rafting when the river flow is moderate to strong. It is always good to make prior bookings for any activities you planned for the day, but in Georgia, you can get booked there and then at the spot.
The rafting was initially not in my plan, but seeing a huge crowd around the river while passing through it, I was convinced that this should definitely not be missed!
Forest Hiking In A Natural Park
The adventure opportunities in Georgia are undoubtedly countless! Who would have thought of going on a forest hike before visiting the country?
Yes, even I didn’t know about it!
The Borjomi Natural Park in the city of Borjomi is one of the largest parks in the country, with natural drinking water springs, waterfalls, natural hot water pools, and a short one hour hike through the forest! This surely makes the Borjomi Natural Park a must place to visit.
The forest hike starts towards the end of the park, a paved walk through a thick natural forest with a stream flowing through it. The trek ends at the hot water spring, a great place to have a relaxing hot bath within nature.
Though the hiking trail is well paved, crossing a few small bridges along the way, there are no lights on the way. Therefore, it is highly recommended to complete the hike back and forth during the daylight only. Though it is a protected area, hiking in the darkness on a narrow path with all sorts of insects around is not a pleasant idea.
Just like the trekking in Kazbegi, this forest hike can also be done by a jeep ride at an additional price, but that won’t be as good as hiking so close to a natural stream with all sorts of greenery around.
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Diving To An Underwater Church
I deliberately kept the most interesting adventure for the last!
Getting the opportunity to dive into an old sunken church is something that you won’t get to do everywhere.
Well, in Georgia, that is absolutely possible!
But before we get in the nitty-gritty, here’s a short history of the underwater church sunk in the Zhingavli Reservoir. The Zhingavli Reservoir on the Georgia border road just in Tbilisi’s outskirts was actually built on old villages.
The villages were abandoned, and the area was flooded in order to build the reservoir, which now serves as the primary source of water for Tbilisi.
When the water levels are high during the monsoon season, it is the best time to dive to the underwater church. Being not-a-good diver, I was forced to skip this adventure, but many of my group members went for it, and they absolutely loved it!
The church is quite near to the main viewpoint towards the mountains on the right. This activity has to be booked in advance, and it is not permitted to dive to the church independently, though there are people who still do that. As the water levels are dropping in the reservoir, the underwater church is predicted to be emerging out of the water in the next five to seven years.
Though there are many more adventures on offer in Georgia, these five were my favorite. Another reason that these top ideas for what to do in Georgia made my list is the fact that the places are located in close vicinity to each other. Therefore, it becomes easier to visit all the adventure spots. This area is also the most tourist-favorite stretch of Georgia, so commuting, on the whole, is very stress-free.
I hope I was able to help you know a little more about what Georgia has to offer. Being a very underrated country, so many tourists confine themselves just to the capital of Georgia. But, if you step out of Tbilisi, Georgia is nothing but a giant untouched playground for adrenaline lovers!