| Official Name: | Mestia |
| Native Name: | მესტია |
| Settlement Type: | Townlet |
| Pushpin Map: | Georgia#Georgia Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 280 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Mestia in Georgia |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Georgia |
| Subdivision Type1: | Mkhare |
| Subdivision Name1: | Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Mestia |
| Population As Of: | 2014 |
| Population Total: | 1973 |
| Timezone: | Georgian Time |
| Utc Offset: | +4 |
| Coordinates: | 43.0456°N 42.7297°W |
| Elevation M: | 1,500 |
| Blank Name: | Climate |
| Blank Info: | Dfb[1] |
Mestia (Georgian: მესტია in Georgian pronounced as /mestʼia/) is a highland townlet (daba) in northwest Georgia, at an elevation of 1500m (4,900feet) in the Caucasus Mountains.
Mestia is located in the Svaneti region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti province (mkhare), some 128km (80miles) northeast of the regional capital of Zugdidi. Mestia and the adjoining 132 villages form Mestia District (raioni). Its area is 3044km2; and its population is 9,316 (1,973 in the town itself), according to the 2014 Georgia census. It was granted the status of a townlet (Georgian: daba) in 1968.
Historically and ethnographically, Mestia has always been regarded a chief community of Zemo, or Upper Svaneti province. It was formerly known as Seti (სეტი). The population is mostly Svans, a cultural and linguistic subgroup of the Georgians. Despite its small size, the townlet was an important centre of Georgian culture for centuries and contains a number of medieval monuments, such as churches and forts, included in a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Mestia is served by the Queen Tamar Airport, which is operated by the state-owned company United Airports of Georgia since 2010.
The townlet is dominated by stone defensive towers of a type seen in Ushguli and Mestia proper ("Svan towers"). A typical Svan fortified dwelling consisted of a tower, an adjacent house (machubi) and some other household structures encircled by a defensive wall.
Unique icons and manuscripts are kept in Mestia Historical-Ethnographic Museum. Mestia is also a centre of mountaineering tourism.
The town is the starting point for the popular Mestia-Ushguli trail. Most hikers complete this route in four days, sleeping in guesthouses or in local farmhouses.[2]
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Mestia is the host of the International Short and Mountain film festival.
