Zugdidi

Understand

Zugdidi is a city of about 43,000 (2014) inhabitants. While Zugdidi is not a very popular city with tourists for itself, many pass through it on their way up to Mestia in Svaneti. It does have a few things to see, though, and is located near a national park. Zugdidi is also the gateway to Abkhazia.

apparently lived in Zugdidi for a while somewhere between 1876 and 1885, and some locals will proudly mention this fact to you.

Buy

There is a 24/7 small supermarket just at the crossroad with the road to Mestia.

The bazar in the center of town next to the main bridge sells all kinds of fresh food, home produce and sundry. There exist other market in Zugdidi as well.

There are a number of second hand shops here selling good quality clothes at a fraction of the cost of what they sell for in the bigger cities.

Sleep

There are a few hotels and one hostel in this town.

Connect

It can be hard to find Wi-Fi access in town, except in a few cafés.

Go next

Tsaishi – Hot mineral sierra springs (not so much for taking a bath though), the Museum of Iona Meunargia, a Georgian poet and well known public person, the Old Tsaishi Church, picnic on the mountain Urta with amazing view to the Great Caucasus chain. Jvari – A small town with a couple of great attractions nearby, namely Enguri Dam and Silver Lake. The latter is one of the most impressive alpine treks that you can do in Georgia. Martvili – Popular for canyoning and white water rafting. Mestia – The "capital" of Svaneti and a UNESCO World Heritage site. 25 lari for marshrutka. Kutaisi – At least one marshrutka per day, or you can catch the train for 2 lari.