Hiking in Svaneti

Kutaisi is the largest city and international airport closest to Svaneti. Therefore, the group gathers there, in a pre-booked hostel. If it is more convenient for you to fly to Tbilisi or Batumi, then allow 3-4 hours for the road between the cities. The time of arrival in Kutaisi does not matter; you can arrive even in the middle of the night. At the moment, the cheapest tickets to Kutaisi are with UIA (website flyuia.com). The flight Kyiv-Kutaisi costs about $200, and Moscow-Kutaisi (with a transfer in Kyiv) about 18,000 rubles. The price is similar for flights from St. Petersburg.

During the hike, you can leave unnecessary things (for example, clean clothes) for storage at the hostel. An overnight stay in Kutaisi costs about $6 per person. Taxi from the airport to the hotel is only 2.5 dollars per person. You can exchange currency for Georgian lari right at the airport (the exchange rate is surprisingly good there).

In the morning, the instructor checks the equipment and distributes food among the participants. After breakfast we travel by chartered minibus to Svaneti. The fare is about $20 per person. The road is long - a full 5 hours, half of which goes along mountain serpentines (anti-sickness pills?). Along the way we stop several times - buy fruit, take pictures at the giant dam on the Enguri River. Upon arrival in the village of Mazeri, we have a choice - to spend the night in one of the guest houses ($10 per person) or to go outside the village and pitch tents on the lawn overlooking Ushba.
Distance 2 km. Elevation gain: 80 m.

The tents are left waiting in the camp, and we, with light backpacks, go to the radial camp for the whole day. We take lunch, raincoats and documents with us (we are in the border area). We quickly run through an almost flat valley, cross the river and pass the border guards’ camp combined with the base camp of climbers going to Ushba. Next begins a steep climb past two gorgeous waterfalls. Trekking poles are highly recommended. Having gained height (about 2600 m), we wade or jump over a couple of streams and finally find ourselves on a moraine. In front, a river bursts out from under the ice sheet, and Ushba rises in the background. We have lunch near the memorial to the fallen climbers, take pictures in the snow and against the backdrop of the glacier, and begin our descent. For the night we return to our tents in Mazeri.
Distance 18 km. Elevation gain: 1500m.

We rent a car and move to Mestia - a large village, the “capital” of Svaneti. There we check into a guest house or camping ($2) and go on a radial journey to the beautiful lakes of Koruldi. If the weather permits, we will go even further - to the eastern Ushba glacier. On the way back from the lakes we climb one of the famous Svan towers. In the evening we go to a restaurant to get acquainted with Svan and Georgian cuisine (kubdari, khachapuri, etc.)
Distance: 9 km, elevation gain: 800m.

We rent a car again to drive up the Tetnulda slope. Now a ski resort is being actively built there and therefore the road has been built high into the mountains. Having gained altitude by car, we dismount and go away from the road, onto the picturesque paths that go around Tetnuld. Along one of them we traverse the slope and gradually descend to the half-abandoned village of Adishi. There are almost no residents left here, but during the season there is one guesthouse, so if you wish you can stay under the roof. Well, if the weather is good, then we will go up the valley of the Adishichala River to the sites located closer to the titanic glacier. The altitude of the overnight stay is 2200 meters.
Distance 12km, elevation gain: 400m.

To cross a very cold, deep and stormy river, we usually hire local shepherds with horses. For just $5 per person, you get a great attraction and fun photos, and the instructor gets rid of the headache of fishing you out of a mountain river. Horse crossing is cool :)
We put on our backpacks and begin the climb to the Chkhutnieri pass (2740m). Wet roadside bushes part from time to time and a stunning view of the glacier and the main Caucasian ridge opens up. At the pass you can take a long break and walk to the neighboring peak.
We descend into the valley of the Khaldeschala River and go downstream through the abandoned village of Khalde. We spend the night near the village of Iprali (1890m).
Distance: 14km, elevation gain: 900m.

We hire a jeep to drive to the Svan Ridge. This mountain range is an ideal observation deck for admiring the peaks of the Main Caucasus Range (even Elbrus is visible from here). We walk along the ridge for several hours, taking pictures against the backdrop of mountain lakes and bear tracks on their shores :) If the weather is good, we camp for the night at the first stream at an altitude of about 2500m. The sunrise over the mountains is worth the slight chill in the evening. If it’s not before dawn, then we’ll go straight down to Ushguli.
Distance 15km, elevation gain: 800m, drop: 863m.

We go down to Ushguli and set up tents on the outskirts of the village (or check into a guest house). Immediately after this we set off on a radial route to the Shkhara glacier, which will take about 6 hours. On the right side is the plateau of the Namkwani glacier, on the left is the Bezengi wall. At an altitude of about 2400 we pass a moraine ridge and climb to the edge of the glacier. Dinner. In the evening we return to Ushguli. At sunset, this medieval village (gloomy towers, narrow dirty streets with freely grazing piglets) is especially colorful.
Distance: 12 km. Elevation gain 500m.

We break up camp and take the first passing minibus to Mestia, and from there further to Kutaisi. The journey will take a significant part of the day. Overnight in a hostel in Kutaisi. The hike is completed, so if you wish, you can go to the sea in Batumi (3 hours from Kutaisi) or Tbilisi.

You can fly home. See you in the mountains!