Hiking to Gergeti
If my memory serves me right, the last time I went hiking was still in the Philippines, a month before I came here in Dubai. So 2 years has already passed since I actually had a mountain climb. Planning the trip to Georgia and knowing that it’s also one of the things I can possibly do, my heart leaped at the thought of it. Apart from my Paragliding experience, this hike was also one of my best adventures and one of the highlights of my Day 2 Georgia Trip.
When I asked my guide if that’s possible, he suggested to go by 4x4 car as its the easiest way to get there. But I insisted I can hike, and that’s what actually happened. Good thing, the German traveler whom we've got to accompany us today, Hermann is a certified mountaineer. So I got a spontaneous buddy and he agreed with me on hiking instead of taking the ride. It could have cost us around 50 GEL each, so it was a good idea as a means of saving and also a good way of burning some calories after eating a lot of Georgian bread. Well, we really are typical budget travelers and adventurers (lol).
After lunch, our guide Shota drove us to the start of the hiking area. This time, I got time to properly observe the town and got a closer look at the place and its people. This part of Georgia is geographically considered as part of Europe. Its house structure and customs are typical of an old town, brick houses and cottages and some barns with animals.
During summer and fall, they had to prepare for the coming winter. As Hemann explained it, when it comes, the whole place would submerged in thick snow for a few months. They even had to prepare their livestocks and food in advance as there would be no vegetation during those cool months. We’ve meet some folks along the way, some are doing errands and we would nod and greet them “gamarjoba” which means hi/hello as a way of showing respect.
On our way up to the church, we’ve encountered some tourists on their way down. It was already 4 in the afternoon so it's expected they are already done in exploring the place. Upon our initial ascend, the trail wasn’t as steep and I didn’t had so much difficulty. But when we reached the middle of it, my legs began to hurt and I had to stop a few times to catch my breath.
As I rest, we would look around and appreciate the magnificent sites. It was tiring but the sites gets more stunning and rewarding as we go up and up. After a few series of walking, alternately climbing and resting, we’ve finally had the church in sight. I let Hermann go first as I took some pictures and catch my breath.
Gergeti Trinity Church
We first explore the outside part of the church. Instead of going around to its entrance, we took a shortcut by climbing the wall on its back. There are still a number of tourists present, mostly brought by the hired private cars. I’ve meet some fellow Filipino travelers from UAE and had a short exchange of conversation with them.
We went inside the church and the views are typical of the previous Orthodox churches we’ve visited. Pictures of saints on the walls, structures of the cross, burning candles and a priest. As what I’ve written in my previous article about Kazbegi Region, it is UNESCO Heritage Site which was built in 14th century on a hilltop making it one of the famous tourist destinations and an important cultural site.
After some time of exploring the church and taking snaps, we finally decided to go back down. Using the same trail on our way down, it took us less than an hour to descend, almost half of our 1 and a half hour time of climbing up. We’ve encountered a herd of sheep and some stray animals just before reaching the houses.
We got back at the village and walked further until we reach the start of the main road where our guide Shota was waiting. He asked how was it and with a big smile plastered on my face, I proudly said “I did it!”.
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