Topic: General Questions / Currency exchange

I think it is about the same. You will have to exchange money anyway, only the local currency is valid in Georgia.

Regards,
Kadri

Topic: General Questions / Currency exchange

Hi!

You can find both: ATMs and exchange offices in Tbilisi. In Kazbegi there are no possibilities to exchange your money, so bring Georgian laris.

Kadri

Topic: General Questions / room reservation + how to get there

Hi again!

• It is usually not necessary to reserve a room long before. What we recommend though, is that you choose the place where you want to stay and you the hosts on the day of arrival or a day before. Then the hosts can meet you at the bus station.

• The price should be negotiated with the host. It’s usually not a very hard bargain (if any), the ones who are used to take tourists have their fixed rates.

• Gergeti is walking distance from Stepantsminda (Kazbegi). It is basically one village, it’s just situated on the other bank of the river. If you wish to stay at Jutta, I would recommend you to hire a car(+driver) directly from Tbilisi. In Tbilisi the competition between the drivers is bigger and you would usually get better prices. The homestay-people in Jutta will probably not volunteer to pick you up from Stepantsminda (if they are not accidenally on their weekly shopping tour or any other duty in Stepantsminda). Or if so, they will expect you to pay the usual taxi rate.

Does anybody else have experiences with those questions?

Regards,
Kadri

Topic: Sights and Walks / Truso Valley, glaciers and churches...

Hi,

About Truso Valley: you can hire a car from central village Stepantsminda (former Kazbegi). As far as we have heard, it has been safe to go to Truso valley during the last years. We never experienced any problems ourselves either. It is an advantage to speak some Russian, though—there are Georgian border guards in Truso valley. They are going to check your identity (bring passport!) and they usually want to explain you some basic rules: how far up the valley you are supposed to go, how about camping and so on. This can be a challenge without russian…

About Gergeti glacier: the track to the glacier is very easy to find. You should start from Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) or Gergeti village and head up to Tsminda Sameba church. After reaching the church you just continue on the mountain side towards the top of Kazbek. You will see the small track on the hillside. It takes the whole day to the glacier and back, about 8 hours.

Last summer (2007) it was only possible to get a map about the area from WWF station (up the hill in Stepantsminda). Hopefully the situation has changed until now.

Regards,
Kadri

Topic: His Highness Kazbek / Walking to the summit...

Hi Anni!

You will need a basic climbing equipment for climbing mount Kazbek: a helmet, those pigs under your shoes, a rope, etc. You will definitely also need a guide. This equipment could be rented from mountain guides in Stepantsminda or Gergeti, but the availability can be random… I guess it would be most secure to carry your own equipment to Kazbegi.

As a “usual tourist” meaning without equipment it is theoretically possible to walk until the Meteo Station (see “Sights and walks” section). I say theoretically, because the locals do it and I have done it myself, but I’m not goint to recommend you to do this. It is a demanding full day walk from the village of Gergeti. All together you will rise 2000 m in altitude during the day (the village lies on 1800m and the Meteo Station at 3800m.) The hardest and most dangerous part is anyhow the glacier you will need to cross. Specially when the weather is foggy (but also otherwise, unless you are an experienced hiker) it should not be crossed without a guide.

Good luck,
Kadri Runnel

Topic: Accommodation / Accommodation + food prices

Dear Steffen!

I’m answering your e-mail from Estonia: as there is no internet in Kazbegi, the web-page Kazbegi.info is maintained from abroad right now. It will hopefully change from this autumn.

The normal price for accommodation + food in Kazbegi is about 30 lari per person per night (food included), but you will find both cheaper and more expensive options.

For weather forecast you should ask your landlord / landlady: they usually know somebody who has reliable information. They can make a
round of phonecalls and find it out. There is no weather forecast page in the internet or anything similar (at least I don’t know about any).

Regards,
Kadri Runnel

Topic: General Questions / What to bring as a gift, sheepheads and other questions

Hi Mirjam

1. A Georgian refers to himself as “Gruzin” while speaking Russian and to his country as “Gruzia”, as far as we have seen, nobody felt offenced by those names. In their own language the name of the country is “Sakharthvelo” and the people who live there are called “kharthvelebi”. But I haven’t really met anybody who would try to implement those names while speaking Russian or English.

2. Bring something traditional from your country as a gift. The Estonians usually bring their national drink “Vana Tallinn” and the Latvians their “Rigas Balsams” so you might want to be a bit more creative than that…

3. There is mobile coverage in most of the villages in Kazbegi, both GeoCell and Magti work. There was no coverage in Jutta until the autumn 2007, but we have heard that the situation has now changed there as well.

4. Bargaining mainly works at the market place. Usually there is no bargaining at the eating places. At the homestays—well I guess it is not the tradition, really.

5. Good question :) You might find some sheep heads lying around close to Tsminda Sameba church, specially around Mariamoba (28. august). It is a georgian tradition to feast with the whole family around the church at that time and of course sheep are envolved :)

Topic: General Questions / The current road and snow conditions

Hi Lloyd,

Unfortunately the web page Kazbegi.info is currently maintained from abroad: there is no internet in Kazbegi. So we don’t have information like that. Anyhow: I recommend you to speak to any marshrutka or car drivers at Didube bus station, they are very updated, I’m quite sure.

Regards,
Kadri from Estonia

Topic: General Questions / Kazbegi in January

Hi Vladimir!

It is fully possible to travel to Kazbegi in January, but you should try to explore the possibilities a bit while being in Tbilisi.
The road to Kazbegi can be closed for maximum every couple of days every once in a while because of snow, but not more.

My friend visited Kazbegi in december and told that there were many meters of snow there already then. But I suppouse they keep the jeep track to Stepantsminda church open—there are monks living there, they need food :) So I guess it will be possible :)

Regards,
Kadri (currently in Estonia)

Topic: General Questions / The confusion about the names: Kazbegi or Stepantsminda?

The name issue is often a topic when it comes to Kazbegi and Stepantsminda. Many travel-guides indicate Kazbegi as a name of the village, but marshrutkas from Didube only go to Stepantsminda. Also in the newer maps about the region you will NOT find any village with the name Kazbegi.

The reason for this confusion is that the village has changed the name for not long ago. During the soviet times and up to the latest times the village of Stepantsminda was called Kazbegi, for the honour of great georgian writer and poet Alexander Kazbegi (see “sights and walks” at the web page). A couple of years ago the municipality decided to give the village back its ancient name Stepantsminda: the village of Stepan the Holy. The name Kazbegi has remained a kind of a commercial name that indicates the whole area.

PS: there are also mount Kazbek and the well known beer trademark “Kazbegi”. This doesn’t really help to solve the confusion…