Visit mineral waters in Georgia. The best resorts. Resorts of Utsera and Shovi.

The picturesque Utsera is located in Zemo Racha. 10 km from the city of Oni. The name of the village is associated with the name of the great Georgian queen Tamara. Once, when she and her retinue toured the kingdom, visiting these places in Racha, she exclaimed: "What an indescribable beauty here!". The word "indescribable" (in English. "agucereli") with phonetic changes was assigned to this place, now a locality.

In Utsera, 28 types of natural mineral springs come to the surface of the earth. Vakhushti Bagrationi also wrote about them in his writings. One of these waters — "Gviriti" — was discovered at the end of the XI century by the Gamkrelidze brothers. This water flowing out in their estate helped one of the brothers to get rid of acute stomach pains. The Gamkrelidze brothers invited medical specialists from Tbilisi, who confirmed that the water has medicinal properties. In 1913-1914, one of the French commercial companies became interested in exporting Utsera Waters to Europe and offered the Gamkrelidze brothers to lease their estate for 45 years. The brothers agreed, but on the condition that the local population would use the water for free. The French did not agree, and the deal did not take place.

Currently, the mineral waters of Utsera are used both for domestic consumption and for baths. The resort of Utsera is surrounded by coniferous and mixed forests (where spruce, fir, oak, beech, hornbeam, chestnut, etc. grow), the air of which has a beneficial effect on the treatment process.

In the near future, the creation of the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti nature conservation areas is planned. The area of the territory is expected to be 229,532 hectares and cover the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti National Park, 12 natural monuments and 4 nature reserves. In Georgia, this is one of the best regions from an ecological point of view.

In Zemo Racha, 16 km towards the Mamisoni ridge (Changchakhi), between the highest and middle parts of the Greater Caucasus - on the southern slope of the Racha Caucasus is the climatic and balneological resort of Shovi (Onsky municipality). The resort stretches on a plain surrounded by coniferous and mixed forests (spruce, fir, pine, oak, beech, hornbeam, dogwood and alder trees are found here) and eternally snowy peaks. In addition to mountain air, 16 mineral water sources are significant therapeutic factors of Shovi, each of which differs in chemical composition and is used in the treatment of various diseases.

The beauty of the nature of Shovi and its mineral water were known in ancient times both to residents of nearby territories and to travelers who were heading from Racha through Shovi and the Mamisoni ridge to Samachablo. The initiator of the creation of the resort here was the doctor Shamshe Lezhava, who at the beginning of the twentieth century, as a student at the University of Vienna, walked around Alland, Davos, Wilduigen, Baden-Baden, Carlsbad and set out to create a European-level resort in his native Racha. He considered Shovi to be the most suitable place for this. The development of the resort began in the 20s of the twentieth century. Beautiful buildings were built (sanatoriums, hotels, a power plant, residential buildings for the resort staff). Many of these buildings are currently in need of rehabilitation.

Shovi also has interesting places for mountaineering enthusiasts — in this part of the Caucasus Mountains there are several peaks exceeding 4000 meters, which have not yet been trodden by a human foot. Lovers of hiking tours will be interested in the trail leading to the Mamisoni ridge (2825 m), which follows the beautiful valley of Changchakhi