Vazhaoba in Georgia: dates, meaning and how to experience it

By Mariam Lomidze, GTour desk · Fact-checked against the sources listed · Last checked 25 October 2026 · Editorial policy

What it is

Vazhaoba (ვაჟაობა) takes its name from the Georgian suffix -oba, used to mark a feast day or commemorative occasion, attached to “Vazha” — the pen name of the poet Luka Razikashvili, who wrote as Vazha-Pshavela. In Georgian, vazha means “son” or “young man,” and Pshavela means “the one from Pshavi,” so the poet’s chosen name reads literally as “the son of Pshavi.” Vazhaoba, then, is not a church feast but a literary and folk commemoration: a day set aside for the man who is still considered the great poetic voice of Georgia’s eastern highlands.

The festival is celebrated by the people of Pshavi — a mountain district of Dusheti municipality in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region — together with writers, teachers, students and cultural institutions from across Georgia who travel up the Aragvi valley to take part. It is centred on Chargali, the village where Vazha-Pshavela was born, and combines formal elements (poetry readings, lectures, school performances) with the living pastoral culture he wrote about: Pshav polyphonic song, horse racing, and open-air feasting in the valley below his family homestead.

Historical background

• 4th–6th century — Pshavi and the other eastern highland districts are drawn into the Christian kingdom of Kartli-Iberia, though mountain communities retain pre-Christian shrine (khati) customs alongside church observance for centuries afterward.
• Medieval period — Pshavi and neighbouring Khevsureti appear in Georgian chronicles as highland communities that guarded the mountain passes and supplied warriors to the lowland kingdoms.
• 1861 — Luka Razikashvili, who would write under the name Vazha-Pshavela, is born in the village of Chargali, Pshavi.
• 1880s–1900s — Vazha-Pshavela publishes the narrative poems that record and reinterpret Pshav-Khevsureti life, custom and belief, including Aluda Ketelauri, Host and Guest and The Snake Eater.
• 10 July 1915 — Vazha-Pshavela dies in Tbilisi; the mid-July timing of Vazhaoba today echoes this anniversary.
• 1961 — On the centenary of his birth, his remains are reinterred at the Mtatsminda Pantheon of Writers and Public Figures above Tbilisi, cementing his status as a national literary figure.
• Soviet period — The Vazha-Pshavela house at Chargali becomes a protected memorial site, and annual gatherings of writers, teachers and highland families around the anniversary grow into an organised commemoration.
• Post-1991 — Vazhaoba continues as an annual open-air festival, supported by local municipal and cultural authorities, reviving horse racing and Pshav song alongside the literary programme.
• Today — The festival is held each mid-July at Chargali, with exact dates confirmed annually by organisers depending on logistics and weather in the high valley.

Pshavi’s culture is one of the best-documented of Georgia’s mountain regions precisely because Vazha-Pshavela spent his short life transcribing its oral poetry, its disputes between clans, and its uneasy coexistence of Christian ritual and older mountain-spirit belief. His poems are not folklore collected at a remove; they were written by a man who herded livestock, farmed, and took part in the very customs he described, then carried that material into Georgian literary language at a time when Pshavi’s dialect and customs were little known outside the mountains.

Vazhaoba grew out of that closeness. Rather than a saint’s day transferred from the church calendar, it is a secular commemoration that nonetheless borrows the structure of a highland feast day — song, horse contest and shared table — because that is the form of gathering Pshavi has always used to mark anything important. The festival therefore functions on two levels at once: a literary tribute organised with schools, libraries and the Ministry of Culture, and a living instance of the very highland sociability that Vazha-Pshavela spent his life writing down.

Meaning and traditions

The day typically opens with readings from Vazha-Pshavela’s poetry at or near his family house in Chargali, often by poets, actors or schoolchildren from Pshavi and from Tbilisi. These are followed by Pshav folk songs, usually accompanied by the panduri (a three-stringed lute) or chonguri, and by displays of the region’s close-harmony singing style. The centrepiece for many visitors is asparezoba — a highland horse race or riding contest, from asparezi, meaning “arena” or “field of contest” — run on the open ground near the village, a direct continuation of the equestrian skill that once served Pshavi’s mountain defenders.

A communal meal, or supra, follows, with highland dishes such as khinkali (dumplings), mountain cheese, and local bread, along with toasts led by a tamada that typically honour Vazha-Pshavela, Pshavi, and the guests who have made the journey up the valley. Families from Pshavi and Khevsureti wear elements of traditional highland dress for the occasion, and some visitors combine the day with a visit to a nearby mountain shrine (khati), the sites of worship that recur throughout Vazha-Pshavela’s poetry.

When it happens

Vazhaoba has no fixed date on the church or civil calendar; it is set by organisers each year to fall on a weekend in mid-July, close to the anniversary of the poet’s death on 10 July 1915. It is not a national public holiday, and offices, shops and transport across Georgia operate normally; the effect is local, felt mainly in Dusheti municipality and among Georgia’s literary community. The 2026 edition was held in mid-July as usual; the 2027 edition is provisionally scheduled for 11–12 July 2027, with organisers to confirm the final dates closer to the event.

Where to experience it

The festival takes place at Chargali, a small village in the Pshavi valley of Dusheti municipality, reached from Tbilisi via the Aragvi valley road toward Zhinvali and then into the mountains toward Barisakho and Pshavi — a drive of roughly three to four hours depending on road conditions. Visitors can expect to see the poet’s house-museum, open-air readings and performances in the meadow below it, the horse race on a stretch of flat ground nearby, and a communal feast that continues into the afternoon. Dress should be practical and modest; if visiting a nearby shrine or church, cover shoulders and knees, and ask before photographing ritual activity. In private homes, it is customary to accept food or drink offered and to wait for a toast before drinking.

Did you know

• Vazha-Pshavela’s real name was Luka Razikashvili; he adopted “Vazha-Pshavela” — literally “the son of Pshavi” — as his pen name.
• He died on 10 July 1915, and Vazhaoba’s mid-July timing echoes this anniversary.
• In 1961, the centenary of his birth, his remains were moved to the Mtatsminda Pantheon of Writers and Public Figures above Tbilisi.
• Georgian polyphonic singing, the choral tradition heard at highland festivals including Pshav gatherings, is inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
• Pshavi and neighbouring Khevsureti preserve some of Georgia’s oldest mountain shrine customs, the khati cult that directly shaped the Christian–pagan tension running through Vazha-Pshavela’s major poems.

Practical tips for visitors

The road into Pshavi narrows and is partly unpaved beyond Barisakho, so a high-clearance vehicle or an arranged driver is advisable, particularly after rain; GTour can arrange a private driver or guide for the day. Mountain weather in July is generally mild but can turn cool and wet without warning, so a layer and a light rain jacket are worth packing. Accommodation in Chargali itself is limited to a handful of guesthouses, so visitors intending to stay overnight should book ahead or base themselves in Dusheti or Tbilisi and travel up for the day. Carry cash, as card payment is unreliable in the valley, and confirm the exact festival date with local tourism contacts in the weeks before travelling, since organisers finalise it only a short time in advance.

Combine it with

Pshavi sits within the wider Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, making it straightforward to combine Vazhaoba with a visit to the Aragvi valley’s monasteries and fortresses. Travellers continuing north can extend the trip into Kazbegi for the high Caucasus scenery, or return to Tbilisi to visit the Mtatsminda Pantheon where Vazha-Pshavela is buried.

Questions travellers ask

What does “Vazhaoba” mean?

It combines the Georgian feast-day suffix “-oba” with “Vazha,” the pen name of poet Vazha-Pshavela, so the word means roughly “the commemoration of Vazha.” It is a literary and cultural tribute rather than a religious feast.

Who was Vazha-Pshavela?

Born Luka Razikashvili in 1861 in Chargali, he became one of Georgia’s most important poets, known for narrative poems drawn from the life, conflicts and beliefs of the Pshavi and Khevsureti highlands. He died in 1915 and is buried at the Mtatsminda Pantheon in Tbilisi.

Is Vazhaoba a public holiday?

No. It is a local and cultural event, not a state holiday, so businesses, offices and transport across Georgia run normally on the day.

How do I get to Chargali from Tbilisi?

Chargali lies in Pshavi, Dusheti municipality, reached by driving north along the Aragvi valley toward Zhinvali and then into the mountains via Barisakho. The journey takes roughly three to four hours by car, longer on public transport, and a private driver is recommended for the final unpaved stretch.

Can tourists attend?

Yes, the festival is open to the public, and visitors are welcome at the readings, songs, horse race and communal meal. Most attendees are Georgian, so a guide or driver with local knowledge is useful for context and logistics.

What actually happens during the day?

The programme typically includes poetry readings at or near the poet’s house, Pshav folk songs accompanied by traditional string instruments, a horse race (asparezoba) on open ground, and a shared highland meal with toasts.

Is accommodation available nearby?

Options in Chargali itself are limited to a small number of guesthouses, so booking ahead is advised, or visitors can stay in Dusheti or Tbilisi and travel up for the day.

Does the date change every year?

Yes. Vazhaoba has no fixed calendar date; organisers set it for a weekend in mid-July, usually near the anniversary of the poet’s death on 10 July, and confirm the exact dates only shortly before the event.

Sources

• National Parliamentary Library of Georgia
• Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth of Georgia
• Georgian National Tourism Administration
• Government of Georgia
• UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
• Georgian National Museum