Gudauri Ski Resort

Gudauri is the largest ski 'resort' in Georgia. Located near Europe's highest peaks in the Greater Caucasus mountains, Gudauri provides superb backcountry skiing in serious alpine terrain. A bonus is the relatively short drive to Gudauri from Georgia's stunning capital city, Tbilisi.

Georgian culture and food add to what is already a fascinating ski destination. Whilst accurate information about Gudauri can be surprisingly hard to come by, we checked it out in February 2023 and sorted the truth from the embellishments! What we discovered was a ski area that promises a lot (it has modern lift infrastructure & new hotels) but delivers only marginally, leaving a great deal of room for improvement.

Outside the resort area, beyond the ski lifts is where the real Gudauri shines. Big mountain descents are possible with relatively short skinning and occasionally an obligatory taxi ride back to the ski lifts.

Pros & Cons for Gudauri Ski Resort

Pros

• High elevation ski area with generally cold temperatures.
• Modern lift infrastructure.
• Long skiable vertical (over 1,300m+)(if every lift is running).
• Lifted access to sensational freeride powder lines (if the lifts are running).
• Cheap lift tickets.
• Fantastic backcountry terrain and ski-touring opportunities.
• Fabulous food & wine.
• Ski-in ski-out accommodation available.
• Culturally, Georgia is an intriguing country to visit - more than just skiing.

Cons

• Only a few days’ worth of interest for any good skier or snowboarder stuck on the groomed piste trails.
• Lift opening times are on GMT (Georgian Maybe Time).
• The important upper mountain Sadzele chairlift rarely operates.
• Piste grooming is often not up to standard.
• All terrain is above the tree line, so storm skiing can (and is) challenging.
• Off-piste powder is increasingly sought by skiers from Western Europe and can get plundered quickly within the 'resort area'.
• Unregulated non-ski activities like snowmobiling are a real (& concerning) hazard on the slopes.
• Much of the accommodation & some restaurants are quite high-priced compared to the Georgian cost of living.
• Suffers from issues common to all Georgian ski areas: non-integrated resort infrastructure, lack of up-to-date information, non-existent ski buses, disinterested lift staff.

Pro or Con (depending on your perspective!)

• Like most places in Georgia, not easy to get on public transport (but private transfers are easy enough.
• Highly variable ski/snowboard instructor standards & lesson quality.
• Lack of ski servicing professionals that one would expect at such a large resort
• It is possible to eat far too much here!
• Avalanche danger in the backcountry (or even inbounds) can be high - take care.
• Whilst in the resort, if you ask why(?), get down and give me ten!
• Georgia is a fascinating country with some incredible people, but things can & do go wrong. Come here with your eyes wide-open!

Skiing & Snowboarding, Lifts & Terrain

Gudauri has a modern lift system and very cheap lift passes. Four gondolas, & six 6-seater chairs do most of the heavy lifting. Despite it relative modernity, a serious lift malfunction in season 2017/18 on the Sadzele chair resulting in injuries to skiers was observed with horror around the world. Sadly, this chair, which provides access to the resort’s premium off-piste terrain, rarely runs anymore, and if it does, only for very limited times.

The skiable vertical in the resort is well over the landmark 1,000m, but it feels a lot less on the front side. The high elevation should provide quality snow conditions, but often doesn’t. Terrain aspect is generally south, so most of the lifted terrain is in full sun all of the time. With an annual snowfall of around 5m, it gets significantly less than ski areas in the west of the country, so the best times to visit are often later in the season from mid-February through to early April. The most recently installed gondolas and the two chairlifts in the upper alpine zone provide good access to backcountry freeride powder, much of it shaded north-aspect with better snow-quality. With some boot packing, traversing & skinning, the freeride terrain is even more vast & impressive. The backside of Sadzele West is good for freeride, with big mountain descents. The lovely looking freeride sectors on Bidara and Mt Chrdili all require some effort to return to the ski lifts, so think about before heading there.

On-piste trails in the lower half of the mountain, despite being graded as beginner on the trail map, are more like intermediate or higher toward the end of the day. They can be heavily congested during peak season, and not a place for any beginner lacking confidence. The lower pistes often have ‘recreational’ snowmobiles wildly crossing the pistes too, adding to the cautionary tale for newer skiers & snowboarders. The best beginner slopes free of congestion are in the mid-mountain sector off the Snow Park & Kudebi chairs.

If the snow quality is good, the open off-piste sectors between all the runs can be fun, but consistent fall line & pitch is not great, so speed is often required to push through.

Trail Map & New Lifts

Trail maps of Gudauri were notoriously out of date for a few years, but they seem to have been updating more regularly recently. See below for the most recent version of the ski trail map for the resort. We are hearted to see that the trail map finally shows all the ski lifts, trails and terrain, including the backside of Kobi. Bodes well for the ever improving professionalism in the ski resort.

Gudauri Ski Trail Map

Due to the resorts blossoming popularity, congestion at the gondola base in New Gudauri village has fast-tracked the installation of two new chairlifts from season 23/24. Whilst a new chair out of the village will improve uphill movement, the alignment of the lifts adds only a little to the resort’s terrain options. A simpler outcome would have been having lift operations staff managing the lift queue at the gondola (i.e. simple things like opening on time and getting people to take their skis & boards off before entering the gondola cabin!). Perhaps moving the ticket office from its current location (where anyone waiting interferes with the flow of skiers in the lift queue) to where the ’Dunkin Donuts’ stand is would have also helped too.

Worth noting is that the stated lift opening time is 10am, which allows all the late risers to be there in the lift line with you on a powder day! Bummer.

The best way to explore Gudauri and its amazing backcountry ski touring is via one of our hosted tours (see listings at the bottom of the page) or hook up with a local guide once you are there.

Where is Gudauri Georgia?

The Gudauri ski resort is around 120km north of the capital Tbilisi. For the country’s largest ski area, it is surprising difficult for the uninitiated to get too. The closest major international airport is Tbilisi (TBS), 140km or 2½hr drive to the ski resort. We do not recommend using Kutaisi (KUT), further to the west, to access Gudauri. Use our flight search engine to book flights from major & secondary European airports.

We recommend arranging a private transfer as the best and means of travel from the Tbilisi airport to Gudauri. Your tour operator or hotel will generally assist with such arrangements, otherwise use the reliable & affordable services from the listing below.

Anyone travelling ‘under their own steam’ & on the cheap can still organise a local taxi to make the journey, but make sure you agree on price before doing so. Public transport options from the airport to Gudauri are near non-existent. A train & buses connect the airport to the Tbilisi city centre from where it is possible to take a minibus (known locally as a marshrutka) to Gudauri. The marshrutka leave from a hectic bus station in Didube, which is near the subway train station of the same name. Signs on the buses tend to be in Georgian, so you will have to ask. Let’s just say that if you head down this path, you have courage. Enjoy!

For more information about getting around the country, see our Travel to Georgia page.

Gudauri Accommodation

Gudauri has no shortage of choice & availability when it comes to accommodation. A recent building boom (some would say 'seemingly unregulated over-development'!) has seen a host of new boutique hotels & low rise, ski-in apartment complexes added to the ski area; many of which are available for rent (but do vary greatly in quality!). Further down the hill in the original part of the ski resort, more hotels dot the landscape. Many of these newer hotels do come at a higher cost, albeit for less than their western European equivalents. Note that the location of accommodation is a very important factor in one’s enjoyment of the ski area. Road noise from the passing trucks on the Military Road (hopefully soon remedied by a new bypass tunnel under construction), plus distance to the ski lifts & shops can make or break a ski holiday here. Regardless of where you stay, if you need to organise a safe, cost-effective airport transfer, use the listing above.

For a prime location next to the base of the ski lifts, we can recommend staying at the consistently good Marco Polo Gudauri Hotel. Of the newer stock, try the Gudauri Inn, the well located Gudauri Lodge with its huge outdoor jacuzzi, or the good value, slopeside & ski-in/ski-out Gudauri Hotel Loft. Further up the road is the sublime boutique offering at Ati Ambavi Hotel, plus the intriguing Quadrum Hotel, but the location on the highway marks both with an asterisk for possible road noise & accessibility to the slopes.

Older hotels & apartments plus traditional guesthouses are throughout the resort & tend to be as cheap as chips (i.e. good value).

The 'New Gudauri' village, and the widespread older parts all suffer from a lack of integrated services (footpaths, village bus, snow-clearing, safety, litter etc.) which over time can only improve.

Search & book all Gudauri ski accommodation.

Review

The Powderhounds were intending to review Gudauri in 2020, but things change & so did our plans. We did a comprehensive journey through Georgia in February & March 2023. Whilst we loved elements of skiing in Georgia, we were constantly bemused at the lack of professionalism in the ski resorts. Thankfully that is improving every year. For better skiers & snowboarders, to get the most out of a trip to Gudauri, heading out of bounds is essential. Click on the review link in the left column (or top of the page if on a mobile) to read all the reviews.

See how Gudauri compares to the rest of the Georgian ski resorts on the Georgian ski resort ratings page, or compare to the rest of Europe on the European ski resort ratings page.

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