Day 16 Gudauri
It was a short drive to our next stop at the popular ski destination of Gudauri, so we stopped off for a quick hike to Arsha waterfall. From there, it was back down the E117 to the Kobi gondola (cable car) … which was not running.
We also stopped at the Jvari Pass, the highest point on the mountain road at around 2,400 meters and an epic viewpoint to Georgia’s highest mountain, Mount Sherkhota, at over 5,600 meters elevation, before rolling into the ghost town of Gudauri.
Snow season doesn’t start until December, so the entire place, which is 90% apartment blocks, was deserted and populated by construction workers building more apartment blocks. Our building had no reception or visible occupants (despite Agoda insisting it was full), so it was a bit of a shitfight finding someone to verify our booking and eventually give us a key.
We stopped by the local Spar, which had an impressive selection of Georgian wines, and settled in as the temperature plummeted and the first snow of the season drifted down.
Day 17 Gudauri
There was a light dusting of snow after the night’s fall early on, but by mid-morning it had started to melt on the lower peaks. The higher mountains were blanketed, however, so we ventured back to the Gudauri lookout, which wasn’t packed with selfie seekers, for some more shots of the valley and Caucasus. We were met at the Mount Sherkhota lookout by the resident dog, which looked more like a polar bear in this weather, and was happy for the company.
A short hike up the barren ski slopes in the afternoon awarded us with more good views, though the settlement of Gudauri itself wasn’t a picturesque one.
We stopped in the only open restaurant, a seriously overpriced tourist joint called The Drunk Cherry, for a beer and a khachapuri to ward off the cold before returning to the apartment for the evening.
Gudauri is probably a lively spot, thronging with skiers and boarders in the snow season, but out of season it simply isn’t worth visiting.
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