Georgia - Saving The Best For Last (Ananuri and Gudauri)

Zhinvali Reservoir

Heyhey! Been a while on this blog and I hope everyone's enjoying my #georgiatravelmoments. If the long weekend here in Dubai didn't happen this week, I might have missed updating this page once again. There are lots of things going on lately and guess what, God willing and hopefully I'm travelling again this end of month to go somewhere! Travel is on my side this year and what's more exciting is that when I attended this year's Arabian Travel Market, a few other opportunities came up - I'm hyped!

But First, Georgia The Country

road to Gudauri

Today I will be showing you photos taken on my last day of stay in Georgia. If you've been following my previous post, I did mention that I ran out of camera battery on my last day and mostly relied on my iPhone when we went to the last trip I booked through David of Holidays Travel Agency - an excursion to Ananuri - Gudauri Ski Resort

As early as 8am, we were already gathered at our meeting place equipped with our thickest clothes. The weather during my travel was 0°C thus I was wearing 5 layers of clothes and still bought a thick head cover just to make sure I don't freeze myself to death. 

Georgian Miltary Highway

From a tourist perspective, it's essential to bring something to eat for breakfast. You'd enjoy it more in the bus  while looking at the window and watch the scenery change from brown to green then white. It's a long drive from Tbilisi to be honest, took us about 2.5hours before we reached the first stop which is also part of the tour - a side trip to Ananuri Monastery Complex

Zhinvali Reservoir


Zhinvali Reservoir

On our way to Ananuri, we quickly pulled over for smoke break and to get a sight of Zhinvali Reservoir connected to the hydroelectric dam on the Aragvi River in the Caucasus Moutains . The crystal clear turquoise water melted my heart, good enough for my selfie photo *inserts evil laugh here*. Every grammer will understand why I had to stand like this and block the view *wink*, so please excuse my annoying back.


People elements in taking landscape photos always make it beautiful, in my own opinion.

Ananuri Monastery Complex

Ananuri Fortress

A few minutes later, we arrived at the Ananuri Monastery Complex  - a combined castle and fortress that sits along Georgian Military Highway.  Galina said that the castle was set on fire during the early days and is now included in the UNESCO Tentative List Of Heritage Sites. 

photo Ananuri Fortress

photos Ananuri Fortress

picture Ananuri Fortress

Ananuri Fortress


Ananuri Fortress doors

A few things that you will see inside the complex are: high crenellated curtain walls that joins the towers together, Church of The Assumption, and a view of the Aragvi River at the back. Outside the complex is a small cafe where you can buy authentic Georgian bread and turkish coffee and a souvenir shop where I got my head cover.

The Road To Gudauri

road to Gudauri

Perhaps on this trip, the thing that I loved the most is the bus ride and watching the scenery. I just can't explain how amazed I am with earth.

road to Gudauri


road to Gudauri

Ananuri to Gudauri is more or less an hour and in between, we also stopped by a convenience store for pee break. From here, our tour operators checked if the coast is clear because some of the road weren't accessible a few days back when we had the trip. Then off we went to snow land!


Gudauri Ski Resort

photo of Gudauri Ski Resort

First reaction when I saw it - SNNOOOOOOWWWW (while singing Do You Wanna Build A Snowman in my head). I was too excited to touch and see the white sheets of snow for the first time!

Gudauri Ski Resort photo

Gudauri Ski Resort photos

Selfie here, selfie there, selfie everywhere! :)))) Kidding aside, it's not really that cold when we were at Gudauri -  I even saw a few Russian sunbathing!

Things You Can Do In Gudauri Ski Resort

Gudauri Ski Resort photo

Skiing, heliski, lifts, speedriding and paragliding are the main activities in Gudauri Ski Resort. I wasn't able to try any of it primarily because it wasn't my day but I could've tried paragliding. I'm sort of a dare-devil, so to speak.

And the price is pretty cheap. Renting ski gears will only cost you 20GEL and you can use it the entire day. Tickets going up the peak of the mountain is cheap too!

Gudauri Ski Resort photo

Gudauri Ski Resort photo


Gudauri Ski Resort photo

If you're planning to stay longer, Gudauri also has a hotel facility where you can spend a night or two. 

Gudauri Ski Resort photo

There were about 4 -5 restaurants here and a common barbecue place with lots of options. And all options serve beer, ha!

Gudauri Ski Resort photo

Gudauri Ski Resort photo

More snow photos:

Gudauri Ski Resort photo

Gudauri Ski Resort photo

Gudauri Ski Resort photo

Gudauri Ski Resort photo

Gudauri Ski Resort photo

We only stayed between 11:45 until 3:30 pm at Gudauri Ski Resort and headed back to Tbilisi right after. I spent the rest of my day shopping a few items in Tbilisi and prepared for my flight back to Dubai at 2am the next morning.

My Georgia posts doesn't end here, I still have a bunch of photos I took while walking around the streets of Tbilisi. And oh, food! So please be patient while I sort all of it and hopefully summarise the solo trip and give you guys a round-up of the short vacay I had as a solo traveller. 


Follow my other posts about my Georgia Trip on below links:

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Photos above were taken and processed by me and is intended for this blog alone. If you intend to use this for commercial OR editorial purposes, please email me at joy.caasi@gmail.com.

I booked my tour (travel to Ananuri and Gudauri) with David through Facebook and email (please refer to the link above the post). The price was 49GEL at the time of travel and this includes transfers and a qualified guide.

5 comments

  1. hi ms joy, how much did you spent for Georgia travel.
    thanks

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  2. Hi Joy,

    It was fun reading your blog. You seem the kind of person who seems to find joy and happiness in every single thing.

    I am also planning to take a trip to Georgia in a few weeks time. Do you think you could help me to find some answers.

    Is it possible to take a public transportation to Gudauri and from there to Ananuri. My plan is to do paragliding in Gudauri and straight after head to Ananuri to see the heritage sites. So, i was wondering if public transportation was a possibility?

    Secondly, when did you visit? How cold would it be in May in Gudauri? I really hate packing those bulky winter clothes.

    Thirdly, how did you contact Gudauri Ski Resorts? Do they have a website or email that you could share?

    Thanks a lot Joy, and here's wishing you a lot more travels ahead.

    ReplyDelete
  3. what month did you went on this trip? we're planning to go this november.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your posts are lifesavers! Love em'

    ReplyDelete
  5. OMGosh.. i like the place.. im so excited to my trip on December in Gadauri.. i want to touch and bring home the snow in abu dhabi.. <3 thank for sharing your experience.

    ReplyDelete