Stepantsminda

Stepantsminda, still widely known as Kazbegi, is the administrative centre of Kazbegi Municipality — a small town on the Georgian Military Road at 1,740 m above sea level, 157 km north of Tbilisi. Above it, at 2,170 m, stands the 14th-century Gergeti Trinity Church, one of Georgia's most recognisable landmarks, about half an hour on foot from town. Mount Kazbek rises to the west and Mount Shani (4,451 m) to the east. The 2014 census recorded 1,326 residents. Surrounded by Kazbegi National Park, Stepantsminda is the base for hiking, the Gveleti waterfalls and the Truso and Juta valleys, and is reachable all year.