The Gergeti Trinity Church above a glacier valley — Georgia's most photographed image and, in winter, a near-complete wilderness
Stepantsminda (also known as Kazbegi) is a small town in the Greater Caucasus at 1,750m, the last main settlement before the Georgian Military Highway crosses the Jvari Pass into Russia. The town sits in a wide valley floor carved by the Terek River between 5,047m Mount Kazbek (a stratovolcano and the third-highest peak in Georgia) and the surrounding high-Caucasus ridges. The Gergeti Trinity Church (Tsminda Sameba, 'Holy Trinity'), a 14th-century church on a promontory at 2,170m directly above the town, with Kazbek's glacier behind it, is one of the defining images of Georgia and remains act…
The Greater Caucasus has been inhabited since Paleolithic times, with the high valleys serving as refuges during invasions of the lowland kingdoms. The Gergeti Trinity Church was built in the 14th century as the repository for the Cross of St. Nino (brought to Georgia in the 4th century by the woman who converted the kingdom to Christianity), which was moved here from Mtskheta for safekeeping during invasions. The Georgian Military Highway through the Darial Gorge below Stepantsminda was one of the most strategically contested passes in Caucasian history — fought over by Persians, Ottomans, R…