Gometsari Valley
Khakhabo
According
to a legend, a man from Khevsureti resettled here, establishing a village.
Today, it is a typical place inhabited by only a few families and mainly comes
back to life during religious festivals in summer time. There are remains of a
tower (Khakhabos Tsikhe, see the picture). The village is a good starting point
for a trip to Gogrulta over the ridge. Visitors are recommended not to go up
Mt. Kekhi, rising over Gometsari Alazani Valley and dominating Upper Omalo.
There is no marked tourist trail and there are two shrines inaccessible for
women, one on the way near the place called Kerelovani and the other at the
top.
Dochu
A
characteristic village below the road between Omalo and Verkhovani is a
starting point for trails in southern Tusheti (Ori Tskali Valley, Gogrulta, a trail
to Khakhabo). Taking a path from the road a splendid view of the village and
Gometsari Alazani Valley opens in front of you. Above the village you will pass
by an 8m high waterfall.
Iliurta
One
of the villages above Gometsari Valley (turn from the main road) that can be a starting
point or the end of the trail to Gogrulta and Khakhabo. The main landmark in
Iliurta is the preserved Orthodox church of St. George that still keeps the
register of inhabitants.
Tsovata
[OBRÁZEK 42] Tsovata Valley. Photo: Slavomír Horák
A specific group of nowadays deserted villages in the valley of the river Tsovatistskali (tributary of the Gometsari Alazani) encompasses settlements of Indurta, Sagirta, Tsaro, and Etelta. The Tsova Tushs (in some resources named the Bats, based on their ethnonym batsbo nah) distinguished from the other Tushs (Chaghma Tushs) with their own tongue (more details on Tsova Tushs see the chapter on history). The abandoned villages have their distinct atmosphere. Tsaro with its preserved tombs guards the entrance to the valley while Indurta, Sagirta, and Etelta lie in the valley completely enclosed by the mountains. Tsova Tusheti is also a starting point for the traverse to the valley of the Alazanistavi, the spring area of the river Alazani. You can plan a trip for a single day or more from Jvarboseli or Verkhovani. The summer Dadaloba festival is a traditional annual event that revives the dead villages. The only possible way to get there today is on foot using the yellow trail starting from the hotel Jvarboseli at the end of the road from Omalo. The road for cars is blocked by landslide several hundred meters behind the ford beyond the village of Jvarboseli and is resumed usually for a few days during the festival. The footbridge was destroyed by flood in 2019 and has not been repaired yet. The best option is to hire a car from (hotel Jvarboseli might help you) to cross the river (about 1 km from the hotel) and continue on foot (yellow trail mostly follows the road up to Tsovata).
