Why go
Achkhyala is a high-altitude meadow and seasonal settlement in Upper Svaneti, perched above the Enguri Gorge near the village of Latali. For centuries, Svan families have driven their livestock here each summer, living in simple stone shelters while their animals graze alpine pastures beneath the eternal snows of the Greater Caucasus. The site embodies the transhumance culture that defined Svaneti's survival—moving between valley villages and mountain grasslands as the seasons turn. Today it serves hikers trekking toward the Shkhara glacier or crossing the Latpari Pass, offering a rare glimpse of pastoral life unchanged for generations. The silence here is absolute, broken only by cowbells and the wind off 5,000-meter peaks.