According to Georgian legend, the Georgians were given the most beautiful country on earth by God. According to Richard Bærug, author of Svaneti, the Essence of the Caucasus, the most beautiful part of the Caucasus is, and always will be, Svaneti. And he should know. He has lived and worked there for the last 10 years, run ski touring, biking, horse and hiking trips, opened a hotel in partnership with locals ‘The Grand Hotel Ushba.’

This book is the fruit of this experience – containing 96 detailed tours, usable for walkers, horse riders and skiers. It is also a grand volume of photographs, many of them from rare and hard to reach positions, taken en route, or at the top. This substantial book would sit well on the coffee table of any who want to understand this superb part of Georgia. As Richard says, ‘when I first arrived in Georgia, l was always asking locals the way. Now it is they who are asking me.’