Tusheti is a long-lost land in the midst of the Greater Caucasus, a place where goat farming and drystone architecture is still the norm, where grass-clad peaks dominate the horizons and mysterious animist faiths still reign strong. In fact, so isolated is Tusheti that it's only accessible by road in the summertime, when the snows thaw on the nigh-on 3,000-meter-high pass of Abano.

If you do make in, then get ready to be wowed. Tusheti tour guides can reveal a region where time has stood still for centuries. Little villages like Omalo, Diklo and Dartlo are the only clues to human habitation. They cling like stone limpets to the ridges, topped with distinctive towers (koshkebi)that look like something out of a fantasy novel. You will encounter sheep farmers and hardy Tush peoples, all while gawping up at the outline of snow-mantled peaks like Tebulosmta – the highest in the Eastern Caucasus.

Talking about mountains, they are the second big drawcard here. Hikers flock to conquer the countless trails that weave into the remote Tusheti National Park. Babbling rivers and vast empty valleys are what await those who make the long journey from Tbilisi, not to mention otherworldly mountain lakes like the blue-hued Oreti.