Pshavi borders upon Khevsureti to the north (the two regions were historically grouped together under the name of Pkhovi); the western fringe of Tusheti and the northernmost tip of the Pankisi Gorge to the east; the Iori Valley and Tianeti to the south-east; the Zhinvali Reservoir and the Georgian Military Road to the south and south-west; and south-eastern Mtiuleti and Gudamakari to the west.

The region can be divided into three main parts (valley systems): In 2016, the Georgian government began investigating the possibility of officially granting the historical region of Pshavi "Protected Landscape" status, which would support conservation efforts while allowing the sustainable use of natural resources and the development of eco-tourism.

[1] Like many other regions of the world, particularly mountainous ones, the population of Pshavi has dropped significantly as a result of a process of rural exodus which began in the nineteenth century; many former villages nowadays consist of no more than a few houses.

Nominally Georgian Orthodox, the Pshavs have, however, like other mountain tribes preserved some of their pre-Christian beliefs, which a handful of people continue to profess in a syncretic form at the region's numerous shrines.

[3] The popular Georgian poet Luka Razikashvili (1861-1915), best known by his pen name "Vazha-Pshavela" ("a lad from Pshavi"), was born in the village of Chargali, where his home has been turned into a "house museum".