Shatili

Shatili is the best-known fortress village of Khevsureti, set at about 1,400 m above sea level in the Arghuni gorge on Georgia's north-eastern border. Some sixty stone towers and fortified houses of three to five storeys are terraced into the slope and linked into a single defensive chain, making it one of the most complete medieval fortress settlements in the Caucasus. Only 22 residents were recorded in the 2014 census, although a handful of families still live here year-round. About three kilometres downstream stand the Anatori crypts, while Lebaiskari fortress guards the approach road. Shatili has been on Georgia's UNESCO World Heritage tentative list since 2007; the only road in crosses the Datvisjvari Pass (2,676 m) and is closed by snow in winter.