Kazbegi (Stepantsminda): the town under Mount Kazbek

What is Kazbegi?

Kazbegi is a mountain town in the Greater Caucasus of north-east Georgia, below Mount Kazbek and Gergeti Trinity Church. It stands at 1,740 metres on the Georgian Military Highway, about 160 km north of Tbilisi and about 10 km south of the Dariali Gorge. The town is the centre of Kazbegi Municipality in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, in the historic province of Khevi, and it had 1,326 residents at the 2014 census. Kazbegi National Park surrounds it with alpine meadows and forest.

Is it Kazbegi or Stepantsminda?

Both. Stepantsminda is the town’s official name, restored in 2006 after decades as Kazbegi, and the older name lives on in Kazbegi Municipality and in everyday use, so the two are used side by side. Stepantsminda means Saint Stephan, after a monk who built a hermitage here. The town stands at 1,740 metres, about 160 km north of Tbilisi.

Is Kazbegi worth visiting?

Yes. Kazbegi puts a 14th-century church at 2,170 metres under the 5,054-metre summit of Mount Kazbek within a day’s drive of Tbilisi, and the side valleys of Juta and Truso give walking for several more days. The drive up the Georgian Military Highway, past Ananuri and over the Jvari pass, is part of the reason to go.

What to do in Kazbegi

The best things to do in Kazbegi are the walk or drive up to Gergeti Trinity Church, a day in the Juta or Truso valley, and the shorter walks around the town, with Ananuri and Gudauri to stop at on the way up.

Walk or drive up to Gergeti Trinity Church

Gergeti Trinity Church stands above the town at 2,170 metres, with Mount Kazbek behind it, and dates from the 14th century. The walk up from Stepantsminda takes about 1.5 hours, and a road also climbs to the church if you would rather be driven.

See Mount Kazbek, and who climbs it

Mount Kazbek is a dormant volcano of 5,054 metres whose summit lies directly west of the town, just south of the border with Russia. The standard route is a snow and ice climb for mountaineers, made in the warmer months; for everyone else, the mountain is the view from the town and from Gergeti.

Hike into the Juta valley towards Chaukhi

Juta is a village in a side valley below the jagged Chaukhi massif, reached on an unpaved road from the highway. Its trails do not usually open until the end of May.

Walk the Truso valley

The Truso valley is the high valley where the Terek River rises, inside Kazbegi National Park. Most of its villages were abandoned after the wars of 1991 to 1992 and 2008, and only about 29 people live there, mostly seasonally. The valley’s trails do not usually open until the end of May, and it is closed to visitors in winter, when the border guards move their checkpoint close to its entrance.

Go to the Dariali Gorge and its monastery

The Dariali Gorge begins about 10 km north of the town, where the highway runs on towards the Russian border, and a newly built monastery stands in it.

Walk to the Gveleti waterfall

The Gveleti walk is a short, easy stroll to waterfalls at the two ends of the forked Gveleti valley, off the highway north of the town.

Visit Sno village

Sno is a village in the valley that leads to Juta. It has a field of large carved stone heads of figures from Georgian history, and an old tower house known as Sno Castle.

The other Kazbegi hikes

The classic long day walk from the town is the Gergeti glacier hike, which climbs past the church to the foot of the glacier at about 3,200 metres. It needs a full day and a night in Kazbegi before it.

Stop at Ananuri and Gudauri on the way

Ananuri is a castle complex on the Aragvi River, about 72 km from Tbilisi, whose larger church was built in 1689. Gudauri is a ski resort on the highway just south of the Jvari pass, the highest point of the road at 2,379 metres.

Kazbegi as a day trip, or stay the night?

Stay the night if you can: a day trip works, but a night in Kazbegi gives you the early morning at Gergeti and time for a proper walk. A day trip means about 3 to 3.5 hours of driving each way before any stops, which leaves a few hours in the town, and the FCDO advises taking particular care on Georgian roads at night. For a single day, our shortlist of Kazbegi day trips compares a private car day and a 4x4 day into the Truso valley.

How many days do you need in Kazbegi?

One night is the minimum for more than a quick visit to Gergeti, and two or three nights let you add Juta or Truso and the Gergeti glacier walk.

How to get from Tbilisi to Kazbegi

You get from Tbilisi to Kazbegi by road, on the Georgian Military Highway, in about 3 to 3.5 hours without stops. There are four ways up.

Whichever you choose, check the road first: the highway is the only road in, and it is also the lorry route to Russia.

Is the road to Kazbegi open?

Usually, yes, but the Jvari pass between Gudauri and Kazbegi often closes for short periods in winter, and the road can be restricted for lorries when it is open to cars.

The Jvari pass in winter

The Jvari pass is the highest point of the Georgian Military Highway, at 2,379 metres, and the stretch between Gudauri and Kazbegi is prone to avalanches in winter and rockslides in spring. Take care between December and early April. Work on a 23 km bypass with a 9 km tunnel, to take the road around the pass, began in 2021 and was still under way on 24 September 2026.

Lorries queuing for the Upper Lars border

The highway is the lorry route to the Upper Lars border crossing with Russia, and in winter long queues of trucks often line one side of the road. The Roads Department of Georgia can hold lorries and trailers while it lets cars through, as it did on the Gudauri to Kobi section in January 2026.

How to check the road before you set off

Check the Roads Department of Georgia before you leave: it publishes traffic restrictions for each region, including the Mtskheta to Stepantsminda to Larsi road. If the pass is closed, wait in Tbilisi or Gudauri rather than drive up to the barrier.

Kazbegi or Gudauri?

Kazbegi is the town for Gergeti Trinity Church, the side valleys and summer walking; Gudauri, south of the Jvari pass, is the ski resort. In winter the pass between them can close, so a skiing trip and a Kazbegi stay are better planned as separate nights.

When to visit Kazbegi

The best months to visit Kazbegi are late May to mid June and September, when the side valleys are usually open.

• Winter (December to early April): the town is reachable most days, but the Jvari pass closes for short periods and the Truso valley is closed.
• Spring (April to May): rockslides are the risk on the road, and the Juta and Truso trails do not usually open until the end of May.
• Summer (June to August): July and August are the high season for hiking, with all the trails open.
• Autumn (September): one of the two best windows, with the valleys still open.

Bookable picks in Kazbegi

Our picks for a single day, a private car day and a 4x4 day into the Truso valley, are on the Kazbegi day trips shortlist. For several days of walking, or a guide of your own, start below.

• 

  Guided trekking tours

  Guided hiking and trekking tours in Svaneti and Kazbegi compared on price, stages, group and how hard the walking is.

• 

  A private guide for the day

  Three private tours of Georgia compared on price, days, what is included and how late you can cancel.