Svaneti or Svanetia is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia. Running along the Greater Caucasus range, Svaneti is one of the most mountainous regions of Georgia. It is largely inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians.
Chazhashi in 2016
View of the Caucasus Mountains in Svaneti.
A typical Svanetian tower
An 11th-century fresco of the Svan nobleman Mikael Chagiani from Adishi.
Svan is a Kartvelian language spoken in the western Georgian region of Svaneti primarily by the Svan people. With its speakers variously estimated to be between 30,000 and 80,000, the UNESCO designates Svan as a "definitely endangered language". It is of particular interest because it has retained many features that have been lost in the other Kartvelian languages.
Road sign in Svan language, that contains only Svan-specific letters, and romanized variant