Is Kazbegi Worth Visiting? When It Is, and When I’d Skip It

Is Kazbegi worth visiting? It's the easiest mountain trip from Tbilisi, but it isn’t always worth the long drive. I explain when the trip pays off, and when I would skip it.

If you’ve started planning a trip to Georgia, you’ve probably seen the photo already. A small stone church on a green hill, and a huge snowy mountain right behind it. The church is Gergeti Trinity, the mountain is Kazbek, and both are in Kazbegi, a mountain area about three hours north of Tbilisi by car.

I spent some time there last summer, in August, with three full days of hiking, and I’d go back. Still, I wouldn’t send everyone. It depends a lot on your expectations, what you want to see, how many nights you can give it (if any), and on the month you go, too.

So, below I’ve ranked the three ways the trip to Kazbegi makes absolute sense, and the three I’d avoid.

Stepantsminda Is Not a Pretty Mountain Town

The town where almost everyone sleeps in Kazbegi is called Stepantsminda, but it's not exactly postcard-perfect. The main road to the Russian border runs straight through it, so trucks go by all day. Side streets have potholes, half-finished buildings, the odd pile of horse droppings.

The good part is what’s around it, like Gergeti Trinity Church, and the valleys with the best hikes a short drive away. In the evening, the restaurants fill up with hikers comparing trails, which I liked. If you’re hoping for a mountain town that’s lovely to wander around, Mestia in Svaneti does that much better, though it’s a lot further from Tbilisi.

You Might Not See Mount Kazbek

Mount Kazbek is the 5,054 m (16,581 ft) peak behind the church, the one in every photo of Kazbegi. It’s also covered by clouds a lot of the time. In my three full days there, I saw it clear only once.

Local guides say your best chance is early in the morning, before the clouds start gathering around the summit. If you sleep in Stepantsminda, you get a few mornings to try. On a day trip you get one shot, and tours from Tbilisi often reach the church too late for that, around lunchtime.

The Drive From Tbilisi Is Long

From Tbilisi to Stepantsminda it’s about 150 km (93 mi), roughly three hours without stops. Most people stop at least at Ananuri, a fortress on a lake, and at the Friendship Monument, a big Soviet viewpoint over the valley. We did both, and all the other stops worth making on the way are all in my complete guide to the Caucasus mountains in Kazbegi.

The road is the Georgian Military Highway, the only road between Georgia and Russia, so it’s busy with trucks. Near the border they line up along the road, and on the way up we lost some time in a queue.

The Hiking Season Is Short

You can reach Stepantsminda for most of the year, but the hikes are a different story. For me, the window is late June to early September. In May there can still be enough snow on the higher trails to make a hike dangerous, or to make you turn back halfway. October has the same problem, and it rains more.

Getting to the Trailheads Takes Some Effort

The roads to the hikes are a bit of a project. Juta, the village where the Chaukhi Lake hike starts, has had a landslide on the last stretch of its road for a while now, and it still isn’t fixed. Cars stop before it, and you walk the rest. The road into the Truso Valley is a rough dirt track with plenty of traffic in summer, river crossings and a few suspicious bridges.

None of this stops you from doing the hikes. It just adds time, and some planning.

These are the ways I’d plan a trip to Kazbegi, starting from the one I liked best.

1. Staying in Kazbegi Three or More Nights for Hiking

Best for anyone who likes walking in the mountains and can spare a few days of their Georgia trip.

• Time needed: at least three nights, so you get two full days. I had four nights and three full days.
• What you see: the church, the glacier trail under Mount Kazbek and two side valleys, Truso and Juta, at your own pace.

This is how I did it, and the only version I’d recommend without any doubt. On day 1, I went to the Gergeti glacier hike that starts at Gergeti Trinity Church. On day 2, I was in the Truso Valley, walking past mineral springs, an abandoned village and an old fortress. On day 3, I did the Chaukhi Lake Hike from Juta. Having several mornings there also gives you a real chance of seeing Kazbek clear at least once.

I compared all the hikes I’d consider in my guide to the 5 best hikes in Kazbegi, and for dinner after a long day, here are the best restaurants in Kazbegi.

2. One Night in Kazbegi and the Gergeti Glacier Hike

Best for people with only two days for Kazbegi who still want one proper hike.

• Time needed: one night and two long days.
• What you see: the stops along the Georgian Military Highway, the church and part or all of the glacier trail.

Drive up on the first day and stop along the way. Sleep in a hotel room that faces the church, because if Kazbek clears at sunset or at dawn, that’s where you’ll see it from. Start walking early the next morning, then drive back to Tbilisi in the afternoon.

The full trail is long, and three hours of driving after it is tiring. My guide to the Gergeti Glacier hike explains more details. If you don’t drive, book the first tour below, ask to be dropped off in Stepantsminda at the end, and go back to Tbilisi by minibus or with a private driver the next evening after the glacier hike.

3. A Kazbegi Day Trip from Tbilisi on a Small-Group Tour

Best for people who really want to see Kazbegi but can’t spend even one night there.

You spend most of the day in a car, and you may reach the church when the clouds have already rolled in. But if it’s your only option, I still think it may be worth it, as long as you pick a small group that stops properly in multiple destinations along the way. These are the two tours I’d look at.

• True 4WD Tour from Tbilisi: Kazbegi, Truso, Gudauri & Ananuri (GetYourGuide)

This is the one I’d pick. It’s one of the few with a group this small, it makes every stop, and it’s the only one I found that combines both the Truso Valley and the Gergeti church. Expect a very long day, though.

• • Time needed: about 12 hours, running only from June to October.
  • What you see: Ananuri, Gudauri, the Friendship Monument, the Truso Valley by 4x4 and Gergeti Trinity Church.

• Private Juta Village and Chaukhi Ridge Hike from Tbilisi (GetYourGuide)

This one includes a real hike, which makes it a very tiring but more adventurous day. The driver drops you in Juta and you walk on your own, and you need to leave Tbilisi by 7 or 8 a.m. if you want to make it all the way to the lake with a slower pace.

• • Time needed: about 10 hours.
  • What you see: Ananuri, the Friendship Monument and the Juta valley.

1. Driving Up and Back in a Day Just for the Church

A lot of people want Kazbegi for one photo: Gergeti Trinity Church with Mount Kazbek behind it. Driving up from Tbilisi and back in the same day only for that is a lot of work. That’s about six hours on the road, a short stop at the church, and the mountain could even be hidden by the time you get there. You can do the whole trip and come home with a photo of a church in the fog.

2. Cheap Day Tours That Rush Everything

Most day tours to Kazbegi are crazy cheap, but there’s a reason. You sit in a minibus for hours, get out for a few minutes at each stop, and see the mountains mostly through the window. It covers a lot of names on paper, but you don’t really get to be in any of those places. 

3. Going in Winter Expecting to Hike

In winter Kazbegi is covered in snow, and the hikes I described above aren’t possible. Many guesthouses and restaurants close until spring. The road from Tbilisi can also shut for hours, sometimes overnight, when it snows heavily on the Jvari Pass, so you can’t be sure you’ll get there on the day you planned.

If you go, check the road conditions before you leave Tbilisi on the Georgian Roads Department’s Facebook page or hotline. 

Is Kazbegi worth it if you don’t hike?

Yes, with a night or two there and a slow pace. You can drive up to Gergeti Trinity Church on a paved road, or hire one of the local 4x4 taxis that wait in the main square. The Truso Valley has a flat, easy walk once you’re there, and the giant stone heads in Sno village are a short drive from town. I also went into the lobby of Rooms Hotel just for a cup of tea, and with that view in front of you it’s a nice way to spend an hour on a cloudy afternoon. Without hiking, though, I wouldn’t stay more than two nights.

Is Kazbegi or Svaneti better?

For me, Svaneti wins by a little. Its glaciers can be reached with easy hikes, and Mestia, its main town, is much nicer to walk around than Stepantsminda. Kazbegi is far easier to reach from Tbilisi, though, and it’s the only one of the two that works in winter. They’re a full day’s drive apart, so neither one is a day trip from the other. I compared them in detail in Kazbegi or Svaneti.

Is Kazbegi crowded in August?

Not in a way that spoils anything. August is the busiest month, and you’ll share the church and the trails with other people, but I never felt it was too much. If you’d rather have the trails almost to yourself, that’s one more reason to sleep in Stepantsminda: be at the trailhead before 9 a.m., ahead of the cars and tours coming up from Tbilisi.

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