Hiking in Georgia on your own

Introduction

Hiking in Georgia on your own is an adventurous challenge for those who want to explore this unique country without a guide or tour operator. Hiking in Georgia is a very popular activity and many tour operators offer hiking tours in different regions.

However, there are also many people who prefer to organise and carry out their trips themselves, without the help of tour operators or local guides.

In this blog, we would like to provide practical information for these travellers and share the advantages and disadvantages of hiking in Georgia on your own based on our experience.

This information should help you to make the right decision about whether you want to go on your hiking trip in Georgia alone or with a guide.

Where can you go hiking in Georgia?

Georgia is a mountainous country that offers hiking opportunities in almost all regions. Whether with a tent or in accommodation, hiking is possible everywhere. Nevertheless, there are some particularly popular regions where most guests go hiking. The most famous hiking areas in Georgia are

Svaneti

Svaneti offers a wide range of hiking opportunities. Depending on their preferences and level of difficulty, guests can choose between hiking routes in Upper and Lower Svaneti. It is also possible to combine both regions.

The most famous route in Svaneti is the classic route from Mestia to the village of Uschguli, which takes four days and includes the most important Svaneti attractions. The longer, 11-day tour that starts in Lentechi in lower Svaneti and ends in the village of Ezeri in upper Svaneti is also very popular. This tour also includes the Mestia-Ushguli route and is considered by guides to be the most beautiful hiking tour in Svaneti.

The route from Becho to Ushguli is also a good option for hikers in Svaneti.

Tusheti

Tusheti in Georgia is a well-known mountain region famous for its unique landscape and traditions. In addition to horse riding, jeep and mountain bike tours, the region is particularly popular with hikers.

Here you can take tours lasting from one day to eight or nine days. A classic is the 11-day hike, during which hikers make a large circuit through this beautiful area.

Khevsureti

The mystical mountainous region of Khevsureti in Georgia is part of the famous trekking route that starts in Stepantsminda and crosses the famous Atsunta Pass to Omalo in Tusheti.

Stepantsminda/Kazbeg

There are easy and challenging routes in the area around Stepantsminda. In addition to the well-known route that starts here, there are other beautiful routes for day trips. The hikes in the Trusso Valley and Sno Valley to the Tschauchi Massif are popular.

One day tour leads to the glacier’s base camp and back, although this hike can also be extended to a two-day tour if you hike to the base camp. The hike to Lake Kelitsadi is also well known, which is a bit more demanding and requires good hiking experience.

National parks in Georgia

Georgia’s national parks offer a wide range of hiking opportunities. Here are some of the most famous:

Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park

Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park in southern Georgia, in the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus, was established in 1995 and is the most visited park in the country. It encompasses a total of two regions – Imereti and  Javakheti.

The park covers approximately 107,083 hectares and is characterised by its diversity of rare flora and fauna. With a total of 12 different routes, it offers opportunities for activities such as hiking, snowshoeing, horse riding and mountain biking.

The trails are well marked and in good condition. You can take hikes here that last from one day to a week, staying overnight in huts or tents. The most famous routes are:

• Shepherds Route
• Meghruki Gorge
• Nikolos Romanovs Route
• Panoramic Routes

The Lagodekhi National Park

is located in the far northeast of Georgia on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus. The diversity of flora and fauna in this park is astounding, as it encompasses a large number of climate and landscape zones.

Similar to Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, the infrastructure and trails in Lagodekhi National Park are well maintained and offer many different attractions where hiking and horse riding trips can be organised. Cabins are available for guests who do not like camping.

Some of the routes that can be discovered here include:

• Nino Gorge waterfall – 1 day
• Machi Fortress – 1 day
• Rocho Gorge waterfall – 1 day
• Black-Rock Lake – 3 or 4 days

Best time to go hiking in Georgia

The best time to go hiking in Georgia varies depending on the region and the type of hike, but it is generally between May and the end of October. For more information about the best time to go to Georgia, please click here.

Accommodations

Georgia offers a wide range of accommodation and hotels, especially in the more tourist-friendly places such as Mestia, Omalo and Stepantsminda. Here it is not difficult to find and book any type of accommodation.

There are both good, slightly more expensive hotels and simple but affordable guesthouses. Accommodation can be booked with or without meals, and platforms such as Booking.com or Airbnb can be very helpful.

It is a little more difficult to find accommodation in small villages. These are usually very basic and it can be difficult to organise the booking and communication. Nevertheless, these hostels usually offer hot showers and delicious food.

Thanks to our many years of experience, we know many reliable hotels and guesthouses in different regions of Georgia and are happy to help with bookings.

Camping

Pros and cons

There are pros and cons to hiking in Georgia on your own. We would like to briefly explain these from our experience and introduce them to the reader.

Advantages

• Price difference

Travelling on your own, regardless of the destination or the tour, is of course cheaper than booking a trip with a travel agent or tour operator.

• Flexibility

Travellers who plan everything themselves and travel without a group are much more flexible than those who have a fixed programme and have to follow everything to the letter.

Disadvantages

• Organising everything yourself

Organising and undertaking a trip yourself is certainly a great challenge and costs a lot of time, nerves and energy. In reality, trips planned from information found on the internet are not well and completely planned and various problems arise during the trip that make the trip unpleasant.

• Signage

Although Görgene has long been a popular destination for hikers, the infrastructure is not very good and the markings and signs are either old or non-existent. The hiking trails are partially overgrown or washed out, which you should be aware of to avoid slipping.

• With a hiking guide, you will learn more

The guide is not just someone who shows the way. Our guides and I take great care to tell our guests a lot about the Swans, their culture, history, geography, traditions, etc.

With the help of the guides, guests can come into close contact with the locals in the villages and experience the everyday life of the Swans. Thus, guests who travel with a guide see, experience and enjoy much more than those who hike through Svaneti on their own.

• Safety – dogs

Safety is the be-all and end-all when hiking in Svaneti. Domestic animals such as dogs in the villages can be dangerous for hikers. Of course, the guides know how to deal with such problems.

Therefore, safety is much more guaranteed with a guide than when travelling alone. Safety can also refer to situations in which you are unfamiliar with local customs and behave in a way that could lead to conflict with the locals.

• Language and communication

In remote places, communication with locals in foreign languages (English, German, French, etc.) can sometimes be problematic. Older people hardly understand any European languages; the only language they understand to some extent is Russian.

Summary

For these and other reasons, we believe that hiking in Georgia on your own is not a good idea and we always recommend to our customers and other interested parties to book such trips in Georgia through a travel agency or a tour operator and to go on such trips with a guide.