Town in Mtskheta-Mtianeti2 h 55 min by car from Tbilisi5 h 30 min by car from Kutaisi7 h 40 min by car from BatumiPopulation 1,326
Stepantsminda is a town in Mtskheta-Mtianeti — a region of Georgia, about 2 h 55 min by car from Tbilisi, 5 h 30 min from Kutaisi and 7 h 40 min from Batumi. Home to about 1,326 people.
Stepantsminda — still widely known as Kazbegi — is a mountain town at 1,750 metres on the Georgian Military Highway, ten kilometres from the Russian border. Above it, on a bare ridge at 2,170 metres, stands the fourteenth-century Gergeti Trinity church, with the glacier and 5,054-metre summit of Mount Kazbek behind: the single most recognisable view in Georgia.
The church is reached by a short drive or a two-hour walk from town. Beyond it lie the Gveleti waterfalls, the Dariali gorge with its monastery at the border, and the valleys of Juta, Truso and Sno — day hikes among alpine flowers, mineral springs and abandoned tower villages.
Stepantsminda is three hours from Tbilisi and pairs naturally with Ananuri and Gudauri on the way. Summer and early autumn are best for walking; in winter the pass can close briefly after heavy snow, and the church in snow is unforgettable.
