GeorgiaOfficial tourism
Girevi

Where stone towers meet alpine silence

Girevi

Why go

Girevi is one of the last continuously inhabited villages in upper Tusheti, a cluster of medieval stone towers and slate-roofed houses that have withstood centuries of isolation. Unlike the more visited Omalo, Girevi remains stubbornly authentic—no guesthouses, no paved roads, just a handful of families who still summer their livestock here as their ancestors did. The village sits at the confluence of wild rivers beneath the 3,000-meter peaks of the Dagestan border, its defensive towers built during the blood-feud era when every household needed refuge. What draws the rare visitor is this intactness: Girevi is not preserved for tourists, it simply persisted.

On the ground See

  • The 16th-century Keshelashvili tower, one of the best-preserved defensive structures in Tusheti with original wooden floor beams
  • The ancient terraced fields above the village where families still cultivate barley and potatoes using animal-drawn plows
  • The trail to the abandoned village of Dano, a three-hour hike revealing medieval ruins and views across the Avaro-Kakheti border ridge

Practical Know before you go

Accessible only June through early October via 4WD on the unpaved road from Omalo (roughly 25km, 2 hours); snow blocks the Abano Pass the rest of the year.

Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · reviewed quarterly