Omalo

Omalo is the main village of Tusheti, in Akhmeta Municipality, at about 1,880 m above sea level and split into a lower and an upper part. Above Upper Omalo stands Keselo fortress, built by the Tush in the 1230s during the Mongol invasion; five of its original thirteen towers have been rebuilt with traditional methods since 2003. Lower Omalo holds the administration and visitor centre of Tusheti National Park, established in 2003 and covering 83,453 hectares, and is the trailhead for the tower villages of Dartlo, Parsma and Girevi. The 2014 census recorded 37 permanent residents, though the population multiplies in summer. The only road in crosses the Abano Pass at 2,850 m — 4x4 only, and usually open from June to late September.