Guria

Guria is a small, hilly region in western Georgia between Adjara and Imereti, on the Black Sea coastal plain. The regional capital is Ozurgeti. Guria is best known for its distinctive polyphonic singing tradition (one of the most complex in the Georgian canon), its dark humour, and its hazelnut orchards.

The Kobuleti resort on the Black Sea coast (technically shared with Adjara) is a quieter alternative to Batumi.

Summer for the Black Sea coast. Year-round for the pleasant Gurian countryside.

Ozurgeti is 4h from Tbilisi by marshrutky; 1.5h from Batumi.

• Kobuleti — Black Sea resort with good beaches; less developed and less expensive than Batumi
• Likhauri — Village famous for Gurian polyphonic choirs; the musical heartland of a distinct regional tradition
• Shorapani Fortress — Medieval fortress at the strategic Rioni gorge crossing

Gurian Pie (Guruli Khachapuri) — the Christmas-version khachapuri of Guria; shaped like a half-moon, filled with cheese and hard-boiled eggs; an unusual variation on the cheese-bread tradition.

Gurian Polyphony Performances: Occasional concerts and festivals featuring the distinctive three-part Gurian singing style; the most rhythmically complex regional tradition in Georgian polyphony.

Gurian polyphonic choir. Hearing a genuine Gurian polyphonic choir — three voices weaving complex rhythmic patterns that diverge and converge according to improvisational rules developed over centuries — is an experience of music as old as Georgian culture itself, and utterly unlike anything in the Western tradition.