Ushba Falls

The Ushba waterfall (or Shdugra) is formed by the fall of a river flowing from a glacier that is located on the slope of Ushba.

The waterfall arose hundreds of years ago as a result of the melting of the Ushba glacier. When the glacier retreated, four waterfalls were formed on the rocky cliff, the so-called plateau of waterfalls. Three of them are relatively small and the fourth, located in the south, is powerful: a powerful stream of water falls from a height of 35 meters with a deafening roar. The stream flowing out of Ushba waterfall on the left side merges with Dolra river.

There are many peaks in Svaneti Kavkasioni, which are covered with snow all the year round. Among them are three peaks: Shkhara (the highest peak in Georgia, 5203 m above sea level), Tetnuldi (4858 m above sea level) and Ushba.

The double-headed Ushba (4,700m on the south and 1,690m on the north) is not the highest among the named peaks, but it was given the highest category of complexity.

For the first time the northern peak was conquered by the British in 1888 after 20 failed attempts to climb it. And the southern peak in 1903 was held a joint expedition of German, Swiss and Austrian climbers. Until 1934, 60 times tried to climb Ushba, but only four attempts succeeded. In 1934, the first Georgian team climbed Ushba consisting of brother and sister Alexandra and Alyosha Japaridze, Gio Niguriani and Jagor Kazalikashvili.