Svaneti has one season on paper and a better one in practice. July and August bring the walkers, the festivals and the full guesthouses; by the first week of October the beech woods above Mestia have turned, the shepherds are moving down, and the valley belongs to the people who live in it. Ask anyone who has spent a winter up here which fortnight they would keep, and they will not say August.

The light is the real argument. In October the sun drops behind the Shkhara ridge earlier every afternoon and comes back late, so the towers hold a low amber glow for an hour at a time. Photographers chase this for years. It also means shorter walking days, which suits anyone who would rather sit on a guesthouse balcony with a glass of Svan wine than cover twenty kilometres before lunch.

The walking is still good — better, in some ways. The trails from Mestia to Zhabeshi and up toward the Chalaadi glacier are dry and quiet, and the guesthouses that turn people away in August will cook for you twice a day in October. What you lose is the high passes: the Zagari route to Ushguli usually closes with the first serious snow, so plan Ushguli by road, not on foot.

Practically speaking: October in Svaneti runs between 4 and 16°C, and the weather turns fast, so pack a proper shell and boots you trust on wet stone. Guesthouses thin out but do not close, and flights into Mestia are the first thing to book — they are small planes and they fill. Build in a spare day at each end; the mountains decide the schedule, not the itinerary.

The best seasons are the ones locals keep for themselves. Early October in Svaneti is one of them — and it will not stay quiet for long.