Svaneti or Tusheti: which one to walk

So here is the comparison on the six things that actually differ: the road in, the season, the walking, where you sleep, what you see, and who each region is for.

The comparison

Upper Svaneti

Svaneti is the accessible one and that is not a criticism. It is the region we put into most Georgia itineraries, and it is what we suggest to anyone who wants a serious mountain trip without spending two days in a vehicle.

Getting there. The road from Zugdidi to Mestia is paved and normal, and Mestia is reachable most of the year. There is also a small aircraft from Tbilisi in season, which saves most of a day and cancels in weather, so we treat it as a bonus rather than a plan. The road on from Mestia to Ushguli is the rough part: part surfaced, part not, about two hours for 30 miles (48 km) in a 4×4, and unreliable outside summer.

The walking. Four routes carry most of the value.

The Chalaadi glacier walk from Mestia is about four hours return on an easy graded track through birch forest to the snout of the glacier, and it suits anyone reasonably fit.

The Koruldi lakes track climbs steeply above Mestia to a set of small tarns at around 9,200 feet (2,800 m), with the Ushba twin peaks in front of you. Six to eight hours return with about 4,300 feet (1,300 m) of ascent, and it is the best single day in the region.

The Mestia to Ushguli traverse is the classic multi-day route: four days through Zhabeshi, Adishi, the Chkhutnieri pass at around 9,200 feet (2,800 m) and the Adishi river crossing. You sleep in village guesthouses, your bag goes ahead by vehicle or on a horse, and you walk with a day pack. This is the Georgian trek most people mean, and it deserves the reputation.

The Ushguli to Shkhara glacier walk is a flat five hours return up the valley to the base of the Shkhara wall, and it is the reason to sleep in Ushguli rather than day-trip it.

Where you sleep. Mestia has real guesthouses, some with private bathrooms and reliable hot water, plus a few small hotels. The villages on the traverse have family guesthouses with a private twin room and shared facilities. Ushguli, at about 7,200 feet (2,200 m) and usually described as one of the highest continuously inhabited settlements in Europe, is simple: hot water depends on the generator, heat comes from a stove, and there is no luxury option at any price. The food is very good, and kubdari, the Svan meat bread, is worth the walk on its own.

What it is actually like. Stone defensive towers built between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, standing in clusters under glaciers. It is one of the most photographed places in the Caucasus and in July and August you will not have the main trails to yourself. That is the trade for the road.

Tusheti

Tusheti is the harder one, the emptier one, and for people who can cope with getting there, the more memorable of the two.

The road in, honestly. From Pshaveli over the Abano Pass at about 9,350 feet (2,850 m) to Omalo. Single-track gravel cut into a hillside, with drops, no barrier, and passing places you reverse into. Four to five hours to cover about 45 miles (72 km). It is driven in a local 4×4 by a driver who does that road for a living and nothing else, and we will not put you on it in a rental car.

It is genuinely rough and a small number of our travellers find it frightening. We describe it in full before anyone books, and if it is not for you we build a Svaneti route instead. Our founder Doron Reichman has driven it repeatedly and the notes in our documents are his.

The season. Absolute and short. The pass usually opens some time in June and stays open until the first heavy snow in early October, and the opening date is set by the snowpack rather than by a calendar. We will not sell a fixed early-season Tusheti itinerary without a written alternative attached. There is no winter Tusheti.

The walking. Tusheti’s trails are less waymarked and less trodden than Svaneti’s, and there are longer gaps between places to sleep.

Omalo to Shenako and Diklo is a good first day, four to six hours along the ridge with the fortress at Keselo above Omalo at the start.

Omalo to Dartlo is the classic, about four hours down the valley to a village of slate houses with defensive towers, and on to Kvavlo above it for the view back.

Dartlo to Girevi and Chesho goes deeper towards the Chechen border district, and it needs a guide and a check on current access.

The Atsunta pass route over to Khevsureti at around 11,150 feet (3,400 m) is the serious one: three to four days, remote, with river crossings and horses carrying the load, and no exit points in the middle. It is not a first trek.

Where you sleep. Simple guesthouses in Omalo, Dartlo and Shenako. Shared bathrooms are normal, hot water is generator-dependent, heat is a wood stove, and the electricity may go off in the evening. There is no cash machine in Tusheti and guesthouses do not take cards, so carry lari. The sheep cheese, guda, aged in a skin, is strong and excellent.

What it is actually like. Shepherds moving flocks, slate roofs, shrine towers you should not approach without asking, and horses everywhere. In August there are visitors in Omalo and Dartlo and effectively none beyond them. It is the emptiest inhabited landscape we work in outside Central Asia and Mongolia.

Which one, in one paragraph each

Choose Svaneti if this is your first Caucasus mountain trip, if you are travelling with anyone who would be unhappy on the Abano Pass, if you want a multi-day village-to-village trek with your bag carried, if you want glaciers, or if your dates are outside high summer.

Choose Tusheti if you have walked in mountains before, you want a landscape with almost nobody in it, you are travelling in July, August or September, you are comfortable with two of your days going to the drive, and you would rather have sheep cheese and a wood stove than a private bathroom.

Do both if you have twelve days or more and walking is the point of the trip rather than a part of it. Our Svaneti and Tusheti route does exactly that, in that order, so that the road is at the end when you are used to Georgian mountain driving rather than at the beginning.

Practical notes for both

• Fitness. Five to six hours of walking on hills, on consecutive days. Nothing here is high enough for altitude to be a factor, so fitness is the only requirement. Preparing on hills rather than on a treadmill is the useful thing.
• Weather. Caucasus weather changes fast and afternoon storms are normal in summer. Waterproofs and a warm layer go in the day pack even in August.
• Dogs. Flock guardians are working animals and are not pets. Do not approach them and do not walk between a dog and its sheep.
• Guides. We put a local walking guide on the multi-day routes in both regions. In Tusheti it is not optional on anything beyond Dartlo.
• Cash. Mestia has cash machines. Ushguli and all of Tusheti do not.
• How we run it. GO EAST staffs its own offices in Japan, Vietnam, India and the Philippines. Georgia runs through a Tbilisi partner we have worked with for years, and the mountain 4×4 drivers and walking guides are theirs, briefed by us.

Plan this trip

Tell us how much walking you want, how you feel about a rough mountain road, and which weeks you have. A Georgia specialist will tell you which of these two regions to book. Free first outline, no obligation.

Start planning

Keep reading

• Georgia: the complete guide to planning your trip
• Georgia month by month
• The best two-week route through Georgia
• Trekking in Asia compared
• Svaneti and Tusheti, 12 days
• All our Georgia trips

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