Kazbeki, Northern GEORGIA

I'm exploring the mountainous area around Kazbeki, Georgia, in the Northern Caucasus region. Kazbeki is a small mountain town along the Georgian Military Highway en route to Russia. From here its a couple of minutes drive to the Russian border which takes you into the troubled Chechnya region of south western Russia.

The mountains are impressive, still some snow and glaciers around even though its mid summer. Pretty stone villages such as Gergeti, monasteries and churches. One of the main reasons I came here, is to photograph the little impressive church of Tsminda Sameba, perched high on top one of the nearby mountains behind the village of Gergeti. It's quite a hike up the mountain but the lush vegetation and sea of colourful wild mountain flowers made the hike very memorable. The mountain air is fresh, the sun is blazing, and I could easily set up home, right here, right now. I'm off to enjoy Georgian food and then continue my hiking around the mountains.