Mestia
Town in northwest Georgia
title: "Mestia" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cities-and-towns-in-samegrelo-zemo-svaneti", "populated-places-in-mestia-municipality", "kutaisi-governorate", "svaneti", "ski-areas-and-resorts-in-georgia-(country)"] description: "Town in northwest Georgia" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mestia" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Town in northwest Georgia ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| official_name | Mestia |
| native_name | მესტია |
| settlement_type | Townlet |
| image_skyline | {{multiple image |
| border | infobox |
| perrow | 1/2/1 |
| total_width | 290 |
| align | center |
| caption_align | center |
| image1 | Gold of Svaneti.jpg |
| image2 | Mestia - ulica.jpg |
| image3 | Streets of the city of Mestia. 2017.jpg |
| image4 | Mestia. General view.jpg |
| pushpin_map | Georgia#Georgia Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti |
| pushpin_mapsize | 280 |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location of Mestia in Georgia |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | Georgia |
| subdivision_type1 | Mkhare |
| subdivision_name1 | Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti |
| subdivision_type2 | District |
| subdivision_name2 | Mestia |
| population_as_of | 2014 |
| population_footnotes | |
| population_total | 1973 |
| timezone | Georgian Time |
| utc_offset | +4 |
| timezone_DST | |
| coordinates | |
| elevation_m | 1,500 |
| blank_name | Climate |
| blank_info | Dfb |
| :: |
|official_name = Mestia |native_name = მესტია |settlement_type = Townlet | image_skyline = {{multiple image | border = infobox | perrow = 1/2/1 | total_width = 290 | align = center | caption_align = center | image1 = Gold of Svaneti.jpg | caption1 = | image2 = Mestia - ulica.jpg | caption2 = | image3 = Streets of the city of Mestia. 2017.jpg | caption3 = | image4 = Mestia. General view.jpg | caption4 = |pushpin_map = Georgia#Georgia Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti |pushpin_mapsize = 280 |pushpin_map_caption = Location of Mestia in Georgia |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Georgia |subdivision_type1 = Mkhare |subdivision_name1 = Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti |subdivision_type2 = District |subdivision_name2 = Mestia |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |population_as_of = 2014 |population_footnotes = |population_total = 1973 |population_metro = |population_density_km2 = |timezone = Georgian Time |utc_offset = +4 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |coordinates = |elevation_m = 1,500 | blank_name = Climate | blank_info = Dfb |website = |footnotes = Mestia (მესტია ) is a highland townlet (daba) in northwest Georgia, at an elevation of 1500 m in the Caucasus Mountains.
General information
Mestia is located in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province (mkhare), some 128 km northeast of the regional capital of Zugdidi. Mestia and the adjoining 132 villages form Mestia District (raioni). Its area is 3044 km2; and its population is 9,316 (1,973 in the town itself), according to the 2014 Georgia census. It was granted the status of a townlet (Georgian: daba) in 1968.
Historically and ethnographically, Mestia has always been regarded a chief community of Zemo, or Upper Svaneti province. It was formerly known as Seti (სეტი). The population is mostly Svans, a cultural and linguistic subgroup of the Georgians. Despite its small size, the townlet was an important centre of Georgian culture for centuries and contains a number of medieval monuments, such as churches and forts, included in a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Mestia is served by the Queen Tamar Airport, which is operated by the state-owned company United Airports of Georgia since 2010. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Mestia_to_ushguli.jpg" caption="Mestia to Ushguli trail. Second day from Zhabeshi to Adishi"] ::
Architecture and attractions
The townlet is dominated by stone defensive towers of a type seen in Ushguli and Mestia proper ("Svan towers"). A typical Svan fortified dwelling consisted of a tower, an adjacent house (machubi) and some other household structures encircled by a defensive wall.
Unique icons and manuscripts are kept in Mestia Historical-Ethnographic Museum. Mestia is also a centre of mountaineering tourism.
The town is the starting point for the popular Mestia-Ushguli trail. Most hikers complete this route in four days, sleeping in guesthouses or in local farmhouses.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Mestia.jpg" caption="1890 photo of the village of Mestia"] ::
Twin towns
- ITA San Gimignano, Italy (since 1975)
Born in Mestia
- Mikheil Khergiani (1932–1969), a mountain climber
References
References
- {{Georgian census 2014
- "Mestia climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Mestia weather averages - Climate-Data.org".
- "Mestia to Ushguli Trek (a complete guide)".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::