Svaneti Region, Racha - north-west Georgia
Duration of the trip: 11 days
An ideal time for trek: End of May, June, July, August, September
Brief introduction: This trip taks you to Svaneti, a beautiful mountain region in the northwest of Georgia, which offers not only beautiful nature, but also a large number of historical monuments. On the trek, we will pass under the highest giants of the Caucasus, such as Ushba or Shkhara. We will look into the highest situated, permanently inhabited village - Ushguli. Weĺl explore the center of Mestia and taste the delcious local cuisine in Becho. Then we reach the remote and rarely visited area of Racha, with beautiful forests and views of the Caucasus glaciers.
Trek route: (Tbilisi) - Kutaisi - Zugdidi - Khaishi - Becho - Mestia - Kala - Ushguli - Lentekhi - Ambrolauri - Oni - Glola - Tkibuli - Kutaisi - (Tbilisi)
Price includes:
- Accommodation in Kutaisi in hotel - 2 nights;
- Accommodation in local guesthouses during the cycle route - 8 nights;
- Three times a day meal on the trek;
- Warm breakfast and dinner during crossings, lunches in well-tested restaurants along the way or in the form of lunch boxes;
- Accompanying the guide throughout the program;
- Accompanying vehicle throughout the tour;
- All transfers by the plan;
- Permission to enter the border zone
Price does not include:
- Accommodation in Tbilisi in ** hotel - 1-2 nights (in case of arrival to Tbilisi) - a diversion from the main tour route
- Beverages (alcohol) and food not included in the main menu;
- Transport to Georgia: international flight to Tbilisi or Kutaisi.
Detailed itinerary:
Day 1 Arrival in Kutaisi, overnight at the hotel
Day 2 After breakfast, drive to the Enguri dam to the beginning of the valley that leads to Svaneti and from there up the valley of the river Enguri to the village of Becho, a beautiful place below the top of Uschba. Accommodation in a guesthouse, dinner.
Bike route: 82 km (you can ride a bike from Zugdidi, then the route is 120 km!)
Day 3 In the morning after breakfast departure to Mestia - center of Svaneti, tour around Mestia, accommodation in a guesthouse, in the afternoon departure to the lookout ridge above the town to the ski resort Hatsvali, the route leads through beautiful mountain trails and goes around the Zuruldi massif to the Ugviri pass, descend to Mestia. Dinner, overnight
Bike route: 70 km
Day 4 After breakfast departure over the Ugviri pass (2190 m), the village of Kala to Ushguli - the highest permanently inhabited village in Europe, afternoon tour of the local monastery, then through the valley below the Schara glacier, back to Ushguli. Accommodation in the guesthouse, beautiful views of the Shchara massif - the highest mountains of Georgia
Bike route 60 km
Day 5 In the morning departure from Usguli, over the Zagaro pass (2670m) to the lower Svaneti, from the pass a long descent to the center of the lower Svaneti-Lentekhi, accommodation, dinner
Bike route: 72 km
Day 6 After breakfast departure from Lentekhi through the valley of the river Tsenitskhali Tsageri, then by mountain roads off the main road to Ambrolauri, the center of the Racha region and the place of cultivation of the famous Khvanckhara wine, accommodation in a wine guesthouse, overnight.
Bike route: 85 km
Day 7 In the morning departure through the valley to Oni and further to the center of the mountain Racha region, to the Glola village. Accommodation in a guesthouse, dinner, overnight.
Bike route: 52 km
Day 8 Radial bike of the Glola village by a mountain road to the border zone, through Shovi to the guard place where the border zone begins, then through alpine meadows to the Tbilisa and Buba glaciers. The same way back to Glola or on the other side to the historic villages to Ghebi, Brili and back. We choose the route on this place according to tiredness and the weather. Overnight accommodation.
Bike route: 52 km
Day 9 Departure from Glola through the Rioni valley to Oni, from there a new mountain road, over a mountain ridge with magnificent views of the Caucasus ridge and the whole of Racha region, to the town of Sacchere, dinner and overnight in the guesthouse.
Bike route: 70 km
Day 10 Departure from Sacchere to the mining town of Chiatura. We will pass through the city through serpentines and ascend to a plateau, which will take us to the entrance to a beautiful limestone canyon. We pass through the canyon through an unpaved forest road to the village of Mukhura. From there, along a concrete path through serpentines to the pass, from which we descend to the city of Tkibuli. The rest of the way to Kutaisi by car. Hotel accommodation, dinner.
Bike route: 70 km
Day 11 Departure home.
Recommended equipment:
- Possibility to rent an electric bike for a discounted price!
- Mountain bike and bicycle equipment (inflator, keys, repair kits, spare tubes, etc.);
- Cycling clothing for warm and colder weather;
- Cycling gloves, helmet, drinking bottle;
- Underwear and socks;
- Trekking shoes;
- Waterproof jacket and trousers;
- Fleece or softshell jacket;
- Caps and gloves;
- Sunglasses;
- Cycling backpack;
- Headlamp;
- Sun cream + basic pharmacy;
- Insurance;
- We also recommend sandals, swimwear;
- T-shirts, shorts, pants with detachable leg
Transport during the tour :
By air: flight ticket to Tbilisi (Kutaisi) and back… NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE!
By car: a support vehicle will be available for the entire duration of the trip, in the case of your tiredness or bad weather a support cat will pick you up
During the trip, your personal belongings will travel in the support vehicle and will always be available to you at the final destination. Things you will not need on the trip (clean clothes, etc.), you can leave in Tbilisi at the hotel, you will have them ready again when you return to Tbilisi.
Additional services:
THERE IS A POSSIBIITY TO ADAPT THIS TRIP FOR GROUPS, SHORTEN OR EXTEND IT BY SPECIFICATION AND AGREEMENT.
THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF RENTING AN ELECTRIC BIKE FOR A DISCOUNTED PRICE IN OUR RENTAL IN GEORGIA !!
• Complete service material, spare batteries are included in the rental price
