A "Dadaloba-related" Update

View towards Tsovata. (From the Gometsari Valley, perhaps?)

For those of you who have been reading this blog, and who - by some miracle! - are contemplating joining in on the fun in Tsovata for Dadaloba, you should know that the date of this festival has been moved forward by a week: It will now take place on Sunday 29 July (and not on Sunday 5 August, as previously reported).

"Batsta" - The Tsovata Valley

The Abanos Pass (c. 2,900m) on the Road to Tusheti. "Don't look down!"

One will need an extremely sturdy vehicle to reach Tsovata - a Lada Niva, or that Soviet monster the "Kamaz" 6x6 truck - but even the sturdiest of these cannot reach Indurta, as there is no road. First one must drive from Kakheti to Omalo over the Abanos Pass (aka The Only Road to Tusheti), then from Omalo along the Gometsari Valley to Jvarboseli, where the track ends. From Jvarboseli onwards it is (apparently) a short 5-10km walk or ride to Tsovata.

Indurta, "The Capital of Tsovata", where Dadaloba will take place.

List of things to bring: Beans, Rice, Bread, Cigarettes, Vodka, Sugar, Coffee, and Warm Clothes. (NO PORK & NO EGGS! It is forbidden by tradition to bring these meats to Tusheti.)

(These Photographs courtesy of Pridoni Beroshvili at Indurta.com)

The Road from Jvarboseli (at the western end of the Gometsari Valley) to Indurta. Approximately 5-10km long, it is apparently impassable to automobiles.