Georgia’s winter resorts start to gain more interest, as this summer is over
By Mariam Chanishvili
Thursday, September 28
The summer has ended and it’s time to think of new adventures.
Ski season is approaching and the countdowns are on. Georgia is a great winter travel destination because of its popular ski resorts. Local people are lucky enough to say that they do not have to travel far away in order to get a chance to ski.
Georgia is rich with skiing resorts and untouched slopes. A total of 124 km of slopes are included in Georgia. The ski resorts reach up to 3279 m. in the country.
Some of the most popular skiing resorts include Gudauri, Bakuriani, Tetnuldi, Betania, Goderdzi, and Mestia.
For quite some time by now, Gudauri is regarded as the ‘winter capital’ of Georgia and Georgia’s largest ski resort. Gudauri’s slopes are covered with snow for four to five months of the year, December through April. The resort boasts over 20 runs for a total of more than 50 kilometers.
For those who love extreme skiing, visitors can go up higher into the mountains with a heli-ski tour. Another extreme sport available in Gudauri in winter is paragliding.
Gudauri is located in only 2 – 2.5 hours’ drive from Tbilisi, the city that has been founded in the fifth century. Exploring the Old Town is a must. Ananuri Fortress and ancient capital Mtskheta are on the way to Tbilisi too.
Bakuriani is known for days with long sunshine, for 2052 hours a year and long snowy winter from December to March.
Bakuriani is a mountain-climate resort with its main curative factors: mountain air, long time sunshine, high activity of ultraviolet rays. One can be cured here from lymphadenitis, chronic non-tuberculosis illnesses of respiratory tract and anemia.
During winter seasons families with kids and fans of skiing adults equally enjoy staying here. Cable ways can be found in several places, on the Kokhtagora mount (1.3 km), Kokhtagora II, Sakhvelo mount (3.8km), under 90 and 25 m. ski jumps.
Goderdzi Ski Resort is located at an altitude of 2,000 meters, 252 km away from Tbilisi and 109 km away from Batumi, in the highlands of Adjara on the Goderdzi Pass. The resort is distinguished with its nature, fresh air, beautiful scenery and well-equipped skiing tracks.
This winter, Goderdzi Pass offers two cable lines to its guests, total length of the tracks of which amounts to 8 kilometers. Here, two cable cars will serve the holidaymakers: 8-seat gondola and 6-seat bubble. Hotel Meteo, which is operated on the Goderdzi Pass, can accommodate 35 persons and 6 cottages are determined for 70 persons.
Georgians usually plan a day trip to Gudauri, due to its location or take a week off before Christmas and visit Bakuriani.
A student of Tbilisi State University Irina Gvasalia, 20, mentioned that one of her favorite types of sport is skiing and she feels lucky to be able to visit Gudauri every year.
“I can’t imagine my life without skiing. I start thinking about skiing from August. I am very excited for this season and hope we will get a lot of snow. I am planning to visit Gudauri several times this year,” said Gvasalia.
Many famous websites and blogs such as skiresort.info, Vogue, metro.us and many more have talked about visiting Georgia in winter.
“Georgia is one of the world's best bargains when it comes to skiing and snowboarding. There are six ski resorts in Georgia but Gudauri, located two hours north of Tbilisi, eclipses the competition with 35 miles of slopes to traverse,” says metro.us.
The perks of skiing in Georgia are endless. The price is affordable and cheaper than most of the ski resorts in Europe. The majority of the slopes are crow-free. The resorts are easily accessible with transportation. Due to the moderate continental climate the snow is dry.
And of course – all visitors of Gudauri particularly mention the incredible beauty of this place.
