Irakli texted me and asked me if I wanted to go to Birtvisi to camp and that was my chance for a much needed break away from the concrete jungle I hate so much.
So yesterday we went and stayed until today.
Yesterday we took the metro to get out of the city and the bus to get to Birtvisi. It's a 1 hour drive from Tbilisi and super easy to get to. Once we arrived we started the 1 hour hike to get to the camping spot. The walk there is incredibly beautiful, canyons on both sides and lots and lots of nature. And best of all, no city noises and smells! I forgot what clean air smelled like, living in Tbilisi for quite a while now which is an insanely dirty city.
I instantly forgot the city and just enjoyed the sun, the smells, the scenery and the sounds. One with the planet and living in the now.
The road towards the canyons
View along the way
Gotta keep on hiking!
The hike itself is not too difficult, but you need to be able to climb a bit here and there and used to walking uphill. After about half an hour we reached the first camping spot, but I knew straight away that I didn't want to camp there and Irakli luckily also didn't want to camp there. He had another place in mind, on top of one of the pillars/rocks, about half an hour walk further.
While hiking our way up there, we crossed an incredible beautiful place inside the canyon with a tower from an old castle and a lovely stream of fresh springwater making it's way from one end to the other. Completely secluded between massive rocks, it gave the ultimate feeling of being in a movie scene.
The little watchtower
The scenery behind the secluded area
More scenery
After a short rest there, we decided to go further. From now we had to climb a lot. The place where Irakli wanted to camp was at the castle. You can't really see the castle, except for some walls, doorways and some towers here and there. The castle itself is build inside the rocks/pillars, so it was a great destination back in the day! Nobody can get there easily and you will be spotted very soon.
I was also surprised to see how much edible plants, trees, nuts and mushrooms there were. You seriously don't need to bring any food, you can survive for months on foraging. Also the water from the springs is so delicious and clean. We drank only water from the springs and we ate some of the plants growing there as well. I seriously think about moving here for a few weeks. No need for grocery shopping. You can live there without a problem, even if you don't have a tent, because there are lots of caves.
Beautiful flowers
On the way while climbing up
One of the entrances of the castle, you can see the wall between the rocks and the door
After the door was quite a steep climb up, climbing up was easy, but down the next day was a bit tricky.
After the steep climb up, we reached our camping spot and it couldn't have been better. Irakli really knows the best places! See for yourself:
Panorama view
Other cliffs and rocks in the distance
This was the top of the pillar/rock. The area you see was all there is. Steep cliffs on all sides. So it was a bit tricky in the night if you needed to pee. One step too far and down you go!
We arrived just before sunset, so we had the time to enjoy the scenery and watch the sun set. After that we made a campfire and enjoyed the silence before going to bed. In the night we also saw quite some stars, so that made the first day complete.
The next morning we woke up pretty early and we sat and enjoyed the scenery while waking up.
Waking up to this is the best thing in the world
Early morning view from the tent
Having some breakfast while enjoying the scenery
After a quick breakfast, we packed out stuff and set out once more. First back to the little secluded santuary for a more extended breakfast and than off to explore some parts of the canyons even Irakli hasn't been yet. We came across two other people who were camping and we had a little chat and they offered us their leftover food and we gladly took it. After that we decided to follow the small river and do some "canyoning" along the way. Hike, climb, jump the river and get wet feet. We both got so excited from exploring unknow territory, that we never really took a break anymore. We just kept on going!
Eventually after a few hours we got back to the village where we started. We saw a little castle ruin and we decided to check it out before hitchhiking back to Tbilisi.
When we got there, a lovely family was enjoying a beer and some food and immediately invited us to have a drink with them and some food. This is so typical in Georgia, you don't have to worry about starving to death, they will feed you until you explode. We had a nice little chat and enjoyed the sun over a glass of beer.
Enjoying a beer and the sun with our newly made friends!
When we wanted to say our goodbyes, one of the guys offered us that he could call a friend who could take us to Tbilisi for free. Turns out his friend is a driver of one of the mini busses that travels between there and Tbilisi. So we got a busride back for free thanks to our new friends!
So, 20 minutes later we were on the bus back to Tbilisi.
I'm seriously start to love Georgia more and more. The people are incredible, so hospitable and the nature is stunning. It does however remind me how much I hate cities and I will definately not stay in Tbilisi until the end of the summer. I haven't decided yet when I will leave Tbilisi, but I will make up my mind soon enough I think!
Hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to think about Georgia when you're planning your next holidays! Cheers!
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