Man, 84, sole resident of Europe’s highest and most remote village, tells why he continues to live there even after everyone has left

The sole resident of Europe’s highest and most remote village has said it is a strong sense of duty that drives him to continue living there.

Irakl Khvedaguridze, 84, is the only licensed doctor in Georgia’s remote Tusheti region, which covers about 970 square kilometers.

While everyone has left his village, Bochorna, Irakl has stayed with his faithful horse, Bichola, his only companion for the year.

In a YouTube documentary by filmmakers Yes Theorythe octogenarian explains how he is committed to keeping the last remnants of life in the mountains alive.

Asked if he ever considered leaving Bochorna, which is 2,320 metres above sea level, he replies: ‘You have to think about the well-being of others too.

Irakli Khvedaguridze, 84, is the only licensed doctor in Georgia’s remote Tusheti region, which covers about 970 square kilometers

While everyone has left his village, Bochorna, Irakl has stayed with his faithful horse, Bichola, who serves as his only companion for the entire year

In a YouTube documentary by filmmakers Yes Theory, the octogenarian explains how he is committed to keeping the last remnants of life in the mountains alive

Asked if he ever considered leaving Bochorna, which is 7,694 feet above sea level, he replies: ‘You have to think about the welfare of others too’

“I’m going to help people who are sick. Even if I’m sick myself, I’m going to put on my hat and get on that horse.”

Tusheti has been inhabited for thousands of years and the main industry is sheep farming.

But as the traditions slowly but surely disappeared, many people left the mountainous area.

According to the Georgian Travel GuideThere are 40 abandoned villages and 10 villages that are very sparsely populated.

Of the remaining communities, the majority have only one or two permanent residents, such as Bochorna.

Most villagers leave Tusheti in late September, as winter conditions at high altitude can be harsh, with temperatures dropping well below freezing and snowfalls of over two metres, sometimes lasting for months.

However, Irakli still lives in his simple farmhouse in Bochorna, where the wood stove is burning so he can respond to any emergency calls.

The dedicated doctor was born in the exalted village and in a 2022 interview with National Geographiche explained the hold the old enclave has on him.

He told the publication: ‘My father, my grandfather, all my ancestors were born here. This area was ours.’

In another short film about his life, Irakli’s Lantern, Irakli tells that in 1949, when he was in first grade, he remembers nine families living in Bochorna. Over time, these families disappeared and even his own children left to live a more modern life.

Irakli left his parental home to study medicine in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, where he got his first job in a hospital elsewhere in the country.

When the previous doctor serving Bochorna and the Tusheti region left in 1979, he started doing internships and instead of retiring, he moved to Bochorna full-time in 2009.

In the new YouTube documentary, Irakli talks about the future of Georgia’s mountain communities and says that “things are going in the wrong direction.”

He continues: ‘The lifestyle [has] changed. Nobody wants to work in the villages anymore.

‘If this continues, there will be no more winter tourism.’

Tusheti and the villages in the region have been inhabited for thousands of years, with the main industry being sheep farming.

Irakli left his home to study medicine in the Georgian capital Tbilisi and then went to work in a hospital in another part of the country.

In a new YouTube documentary about what the future holds for Georgia’s mountain communities, Irakli says ‘things are going in the wrong direction’

Irakli, who is partially blind, would not say whether there is someone who could replace him

Thomas Brag, filmmaker at Yes Theory, says: ‘Part of me hopes that younger generations will see the beauty here and reverse the inevitable disappearance of these kinds of villages’

Irakli says the hardest part about his job and working in such a remote place is, “When you have a very sick patient, you want to help him/her, but you can’t.”

He reveals: ‘I’ve had a few cases like that. A 14-year-old boy had a cut in the middle of his palm – there was blood everywhere, it was pouring out of the artery like a fountain.

‘We held his palm firmly so that the bleeding would stop and thank God Shamila, the pilot, immediately flew over and took the child away.

“It was really crucial for me, when you want to help a dying child, but you can’t.”

Irakli, who is partially blind, would not say whether someone is ready to replace him.

After having some wine and food with the Yes Theory camera crew, the doctor walks with them to a church next to his house.

Inside the stone structure, which dates from the 19th century, he lights some candles and says a few prayers ‘for the glory of my family.’

After saying goodbye to him, the Yes Theory team heads out to a few more villages in the area, driving over dangerous roads along the way.

In a dilapidated village they find a couple living there alone.

They explain that their son is a pilot and that he occasionally helps out with transporting goods, but that they are generally self-sufficient.

After researching Georgia’s declining communities, Yes Theory team member Thomas Brag concludes: ‘Part of me hopes that some of us, the younger generations, will see the beauty here and reverse the current inevitable disappearance of these kinds of villages.

‘But maybe that’s just me holding on to a romanticized view of what life must be like in places like this. Time is inevitable and trying to resist it can be a hopeless quest.’