Georgia’s Stepantsminda among world’s most “breathtakingly beautiful” small towns

Georgia’s valley town of Stepantsminda is listed among the world’s top 20 small gorgeous towns that are marked only by the teeniest print on world maps but should certainly be visited.

The United States online media brand that covers food, drink, travel and entertainment, Thrillist, advises travelers to discover the world’s most beautiful small towns and among them is Stepantsminda.

With the famous hilltop silhouette of Gergeti Trinity Church and the towering snowy cone of Mount Kazbek looking down from the west, Stepantsminda (commonly known as Kazbegi) is a base for some wonderful walking and mountain-biking tours.

Architecture and natural beauty rarely make out this passionately. All eyes in this valley village face the hilltop 14th-century Gergeti Trinity Church and its neighboring belltower, both of which enjoy glacier-capped 16,560-foot Mount Kazbek as their backdrop,” read the article.

Natural beauty aside, it’s the perfect base camp for exploring Kazbegi National Park’s hot springs, waterfalls, and acidic or carbonated lakes. You’re mere miles from the Russian border, which is not a merry conversation topic among these newly liberated, ultra-friendly Orthodox Christians. Better instead to debate white vs. red in this winery-mad country with more than 500 grape varietals and only 3.5 million souls to partake,” wrote journalist Bruce Northam.

The article also recommended Italian, Spanish, Brazilian, German, Australian, Japanese small towns.