Discover Gudauri, the most popular ski resort of Georgia

Originally published on AWAYN’s website.

The Georgian Military Highway leads to Kazbegi and to the border with Russia, it follows the course of the Aragvi river from the impressive Ananuri castle complex all the way up through green valleys and mountains until its source somewhere near Gudauri, the most popular ski resort of the country and one of the best ski stations in the Caucasus.

Gudauri is considered a must-see destination for the snow-sports lovers for many reasons: the ski slopes are adapted to all levels, its highest routes (over 2700 meters) make possible skiing until May and it has different options of winter activities, such as paragliding, heliski, tubing and night skiing.

The skiing season lasts from December to mid-April, with the best snow in February but you should be aware that the road might be closed sometimes due to snowfall, so if you don’t want to get stuck, check the weather forecast before going there!

You can have an amazing view of Gudauri, the Mount Kazbek and the Devil’s Valley from the Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument— built in 1983 and also known as “Peace Monument”—, a Soviet round stone structure inside of which is a beautiful and colorful tile mural with scenes of the history of both nations. Next to the viewpoint you can find a nice place to chill and have a coffee in the low season and some market stalls where you can get local products, crafts and even seasonal fruit smoothies.

You can visit Gudauri as a day-trip from Tbilisi because is only 120 kms away. The best way to go there is to take a public minivan or marshrutka in Didube for 10 GEL (less  than 4 dollars). During the summertime the Snow Park is open and you can take any of the ski lifts to enjoy the snowy Caucasus mountains from the panoramic sightseeing points.