Kutaisi to Racha — Private Transfer & Tours

Lower Racha — Ambrolauri, Nikortsminda, the Khvanchkara villages and the Shaori and Lajanuri reservoirs — is reachable all year on sealed road. Upper Racha is not. The villages beyond Oni, including Ghebi and Gona, are snow-bound through winter and their roads close; several are rough gravel even in summer, which is why a high-clearance vehicle is the sensible choice up there.

The practical season for the whole region is roughly June to early November. Hiking finishes by late October. Late October and early November bring the wine harvest and the autumn colour that Racha is photographed for. In deep winter the Nakerala Pass can hold snow and the day-trip itinerary shrinks to Nikortsminda and Ambrolauri, which is still a worthwhile outing.

Only partly, and it should be discussed before the day rather than added on the road. A landslide struck Shovi on 3 August 2023, killing 33 people and destroying much of the resort. Most of the site remains inaccessible and reconstruction is not finished. Vehicles can reach a small surviving cluster of buildings, but the walk up toward the Buba glacier is not currently possible.

We will take guests into Upper Racha and say honestly what is and is not open on the day. What we will not do is sell Shovi as a scenic stop as though nothing happened there. If your interest is high mountain scenery rather than the resort itself, the valleys around Oni and Ghebi hold it, and reaching them from Ambrolauri takes a good part of a day there and back.

Nikortsminda Cathedral is the one unmissable stop. It was completed in 1014 under Bagrat III, stands on Georgia's UNESCO tentative list, and its interior carries dense 16th- and 17th-century frescoes including a Last Judgment. It sits directly on the road shortly before Ambrolauri, so it adds almost nothing to the driving time. The relief carving around its windows and drum is the detail most visitors remember.

Ambrolauri is the centre of the Khvanchkara wine area, made from the Aleksandrouli and Mujuretuli grapes grown in a handful of villages along the Rioni. Small family cellars are the norm rather than large estates, so visits are best arranged rather than improvised. Lake Shaori and the Lajanuri reservoir sit close to the same road and make good short stops in warm weather.