12 Best Hikes in Georgia (2026): Day Walks to Treks

Hikes

12

Longest trek

75 km

Highest pass

3,431 m

High season

Jul to Sep

The twelve at a glance

1. Mestia to Ushguli

The walk most people come to Georgia for, and it earns the reputation. Four days along the Enguri valley through the tower villages of Upper Svaneti: 16, 11, 19 and 12 km, about 3,100 m of climbing in all, over a pass of roughly 2,700 m above Adishi, sleeping in guesthouses in Zhabeshi, Adishi and Iprali, so no tent and a day pack that fits in 25 to 30 litres. The one real obstacle is the Adishi river on day three, forded early in the morning or crossed on a local's horse for 20 to 25 GEL. Budget about 450 GEL (about $170) for the trek and 30 to 70 GEL for the shared van from Ushguli back to Mestia. July and August are busiest; mid September is the month we would pick. Stage by stage in our Mestia to Ushguli guide.

2. Juta to Roshka over Chaukhi Pass

The best single day in the country if you are fit: about 18 km with 1,280 m of climbing and 1,360 m of descent, over Chaukhi Pass at about 3,340 m with the seven rock towers of the Chaukhi massif filling the view for the first half, then down past the three Abudelauri lakes (green, blue and milky white) into Khevsureti. Strong walkers do it in 8 to 9 hours; most people are happier camping at the lakes and finishing the next morning. Walk it from Juta to Roshka, never the reverse, and arrange a driver out of Roshka before you start, because that is the hard part. Getting to Juta from Tbilisi is about 80 GEL by marshrutka and taxi. The pass is usually open from late June to early October, with July to September the safe window. Timings, the hut and the exit in our Juta to Roshka guide.

3. Gergeti Trinity Church

The most photographed church in Georgia sits on a ridge at 2,170 m above Stepantsminda with Kazbek, a 5,054 m volcano, behind it. The walk up from town is about 7 km return and takes an hour and a quarter up; the alternative is a 4x4 for about 20 GEL a seat. Do it from a night in town, not from a day tour, which gives you about 30 minutes at the church. Stepantsminda is a 20 GEL marshrutka from Didube or a GoTrip driver from 210 GEL per car, about three hours up the Military Highway. The route step by step, and the valleys for a second day, are in our Kazbegi guide.

4. Koruldi Lakes

The big day walk from Mestia: 14 km out and back from the town centre at 1,400 m to three shallow glacial lakes at 2,740 m, with about 1,340 m of climbing and the whole Svaneti skyline, Ushba included, laid out from the meadows. On foot it takes 6 to 10 hours; the steep part is the first 2.75 km to the Cross Over Mestia at about 2,150 m, after which a jeep track eases up to the lakes. A 4x4 from town to the cross is about 100 GEL per car and to the lakes and back about 250 GEL, so many people ride up and walk down. Free, marked with red and white blazes, open June to October. Our Koruldi Lakes guide has the route and the 4x4 prices by section.

5. Truso Valley

The easy big valley near Kazbegi: a 21 km out-and-back on a jeep track from Kvemo Okrokana, 22 km from Stepantsminda, to the Zakagori fortress at the far end, with only about 340 m of climbing all day. About five hours walking; allow seven or eight with the mineral springs, the travertine terraces and lunch. No fee, no ticket, nothing to sleep in beyond a riverside camp, and the valley closes under snow from about November to late May. Take the Mountain Travel Agency's 45 GEL shared van from June or a 60 to 70 GEL taxi each way, carry your passport because it is a border zone, and turn round at the fortress. Details in our Truso Valley guide.

6. Chalaadi glacier

The short one from Mestia, and the only glacier in Georgia you can walk to in a morning. A taxi covers the first 8 km up the Mestiachala valley to the suspension bridge; from there it is 5.2 km there and back through pine forest with 270 m of climbing, about two hours, to the snout of the ice. Open April to November, which makes it the mountain walk for the shoulder months. Our Mestia guide has the taxi price and the other day trips.

7. Shdugra waterfall

From Mazeri, the village under Ushba (4,710 m) about 20 km short of Mestia, a flat track runs up the Dolra valley and then climbs to the Shdugra falls: about 8 km there and back from where the sealed road ends and at least five hours, with Ushba's walls above you the whole way. For something shorter, follow the same track for about an hour to the Hikers Inn cafe, which bakes trout in dough with Svan salt, and walk back with the mountain in front of you. Mazeri is the natural first night of the Svaneti loop and is covered in our Svaneti guide.

8. Black Rock Lake, Lagodekhi

The east's answer to Svaneti, with almost nobody on it. Lagodekhi is a 24,451-hectare reserve of beech forest, gorges and alpine lakes on the Caucasus slope where Georgia meets Azerbaijan and Dagestan, 158 km east of Tbilisi, protected since 1912. The Black Rock Lake route is 48 km over three days (11.5, 25 and 11.5 km) to a lake on the Dagestan border, open June to October, sleeping in the agency's shelter for 30 GEL a night or a tent; register at the visitor centre on Vashlovani Street with a copy of your ID. For a day, the two waterfall walks are 8.5 and 9.5 km and the Machi fortress trail 10.5 km. A GoTrip driver from Tbilisi is 212 GEL per car; guesthouses in town start around 60 GEL. Everything, including the fee list, in our Lagodekhi guide.

9. Omalo to Shatili over the Atsunta Pass

The hard classic: 75 km in four to five days from Omalo in Tusheti over the Atsunta Pass at 3,431 m into Khevsureti, ending at the fortress village of Shatili. Hiking shelters at Kvakhidi and Khidotanis exist since 2024 but are not always open, so carry a tent; the route is unmarked in places, has no signal and weather that turns fast, so go with a guide. Border guards decide when the pass opens (July in 2025 and 2026), which makes July and August the season. Both ends are no-rental-car regions with their own road dramas. The easy Tusheti day, if the traverse is too much, is Omalo to Shenako and Diklo fortress, about 11 km one way with 660 m of climbing. Our Tusheti guide and Shatili guide cover each end.

10. Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park

The forest alternative to the Caucasus: about 85,000 hectares of spruce, pine, beech and high meadow between Borjomi and Kharagauli, founded in 1995 and opened in 2001, with twelve marked trails, basic shelters, designated campsites and a highest point of 2,642 m. Register free at the visitor centre at 23 Meskheti Street in Borjomi with your passport, compulsory for every trail. The 3 km Information Trail is the two-hour taster; the 17 km Footprint trail from Likani to Kvabiskhevi over a 1,770 m pass is the full day; the 31 km Panorama loop from Atskuri sleeps at the Amarati shelter; the 40 km Nikoloz Romanov trail from Likani to Marelisi takes three days between shelters. Borjomi itself is 2.5 hours from Tbilisi by the 12 to 15 GEL van from Didube. Trails and prices in our Borjomi guide.

11. Kojori to Tbilisi

The hike that turns city walkers into hikers. Bus 380 from Freedom Square climbs to the hilltop village of Kojori in about 40 minutes for 1 GEL. Scramble up Azeula fortress, walk through the village to Udzo monastery on the ridge, then follow the dirt trail downhill through forest and meadow all the way to Turtle Lake: 16 km and 4 to 4.5 hours, moderate, and you finish with a cable car or a Bolt home. The same page has the Tbilisi National Park loops (11 km and 15 km) and ten more walks without a car: our day hikes near Tbilisi.

12. Birtvisi canyon

A day trip south-west of Tbilisi into a limestone canyon with a ruined medieval fortress on its cliffs: 5 to 8 km one way depending on where you turn, 2 to 4 hours, moderate to hard with scrambling. Get there on the Tsalka marshrutka to Tbisi or with a driver, carry two litres of water, and download the route before you go. It is the one on this page that most surprises people who thought Tbilisi was a city break.

When to hike

Getting to the trailheads

Kazbegi is a 20 GEL marshrutka from Didube or a GoTrip driver from 210 GEL per car; Truso and Juta are then a 45 GEL shared van or a taxi. Mestia is best reached from Kutaisi: one marshrutka a morning for 45 GEL, a GoTrip driver from 334 GEL per car, or the Vanilla Sky flight from Tbilisi when the cloud allows. Lagodekhi is 212 GEL by GoTrip driver. Tusheti has no rental cars and a road that opens in June; Borjomi is a 12 to 15 GEL van. The trip planner prices every leg. On the trails themselves nothing takes a card: draw cash in Tbilisi, Kutaisi or Mestia at a TBC or Bank of Georgia machine before you leave the towns.

Kit, water and where you sleep

Mistakes

Keep planning

Hiking

Mestia to Ushguli Trek 2026: Stages, Costs, Transport

The four-day Mestia to Ushguli trek in 2026: each stage with distances and climbs, the Adishi river crossing, guesthouse prices, and transport at both ends.

14 min read

Hiking

Juta to Roshka via Chaukhi Pass: Route, Costs, Transport

Juta to Roshka over Chaukhi Pass (3,340 m) stage by stage: timings, the Abudelauri Lakes, camping and the hut, guesthouse prices and how to get out of Roshka.

15 min read

Hiking

Day Hikes Near Tbilisi: 12 Trails Without a Car (2026)

Twelve day hikes in and around Tbilisi by metro, bus, cable car or a fixed-price driver: distances, difficulty, transport costs and what each trail is like.

14 min read