The photo museum in Ushguli gathers images that show how Svaneti looked and lived in the last century: the towers, the yards, the faces, the work, the feasts. Photography works better than a display case here: comparing the frames with what is outside the window shows what changed and what stayed. The collection is small but dense in its subject.
The museum is in Ushguli, a community of several villages at the head of the Enguri, at the foot of Shkhara. Around it are Svan towers, stone houses and the glacier at the end of the valley. Ushguli counts as one of the highest permanently inhabited places in Europe.
The doors are open through the day, but in the mountains everything depends on the season: the road from Mestia is passable roughly from late spring to early autumn. A phone number and a website are listed, and in winter the visit is better arranged in advance. Half an hour is enough.
Tips
- Plan the trip for summer, the road from Mestia closes in winter
- Allow a day for Ushguli, besides the museum there are the towers and the Shkhara view
- Drive a four wheel drive, the stretch from Mestia is rough
How to get there
- East from Mestia along the dirt road, about two hours in a four wheel drive
- A full day from Zugdidi via Jvari, Khaishi and Mestia
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