Stepantsminda Tusheti Kakheti Samtskhe-Javakheti We will drive from Tbilisi to Stepantsminda near the border to Russia, the drive will take three to four hours minimum because we will stop on the way in Ananuri, Passanauri and Gudauri, which are interesting places along the old Georgian Military Highway. Lunch we will have on our way. In Stepantsminda we will drop off your luggage in our guesthouse and explore the town, which was birthplace of Alexander Kasbegi, one georgian writer. The rest of the evening will be free, dinner is in our guesthouse. Distance is 105 kilometer. For early riser there is the chance to see the sunrise above the Kasbek peak, from our guesthouse. After breakfast we will drive to Darial gorge and go for a hike. Lunch will be in Stepantsminda before we drive up to Gergeti church near Stepantsminda. From there we can hike a bit further or back to Stepantsminda. Dinner will be in guesthouse in Stepantsminda again. Evening is free. Driving distance is about 80 kilometer. This day we will drive after breakfast to the village Juta, which is the starting point for hiking tours direction Roshka village, Juta is located near Chaukhi mountains in a very beautiful spot. From there we will drive via Tianeti to the village Kvemo Alvani, winterplace of the tush people. If you are comfortable using an outdoor toilet for a day, we can stay with a local family which would give you the chance to learn how to make two of the main Georgian dishes, Khinkali and Khachapuri. If you prefer the comfort of indoor plumbing we can go to Telavi and stay the night there. But for the next days in mountains of Tusheti it will be a good preparation to stay in Kvemo Alvani. Driving distance is about 250 kilometer. We can explore the near by hidden treasures, which are only known to local people, normally you dont find information about them anywhere, only about the well known touristic spots, though I want to show you a different Georgia. Accomodation in Kvemo Alvani. In Kvemo Alvani we will load the rest of the gear we will need for our off the beaten path tour. We will be on our way to Tusheti. Off road through the Stori gorge, big forests, serpentines, waterfalls with stops for photos on the way. Abano pass is 2950 meter, its the highest drivable mountain pass in Caucasus. The drive from Kvemo Alvani to Chiglaurta, the home village of my Tushetian partner, will be about 5 hours. Driving distance all together is 80 km, altitude is around 2050 meter. In Chiglaurta, which is for most of our tours starting point, we will stay in his house, dont expect comfort, the village has no electricity. But the view from the balcony is worth it. You can see the mountain ranges, which separate Tusheti from Daghestan and Chechnya, with some 4 to 5 thousand meter peaks. After breakfast we will load the luggage on packhorses and hike direction the village Natskikhari with a small church and than turn right to the ridge leading into Gometsari valley. This will take us about 3 hours maximum. On our way down to the river we will make short break, you can already see the village where we will stay for night, Gogrulta, with one of the craziest outdoor toilets I ever have seen, before we cross the river to go up on the other side, which is very steep but it will not take much time, This is one of the most beautiful hikes in Tusheti, because a lot of time we will pass meadows and forest and no people running around, no cars roads as well. All together we will hike for about six hours. Accomodation in Gogrulta, where maybe one time in a month some people show up, mostly only with us. Distance 15 km. Again the view from the place I have chosen for you, is beyond language. We will hike to the village Dochu which we could already see from Gogrulta, this hike is a bit more difficult, because of steepness of the path, and river crossing, but dont worry, its a beautiful one, and rarely used by tourists. After lunch break in Dochu unfortunately we will have to continue on the cars road. On our we will see a lot of farms before passing Bochorna, the highest inhabited village in Georgia before we reach Mirgvela guesthouse. We will hike about 18 km. From Mirgvela we will move to Omalo and visit the fortress Keselo there. And than we will head back to Chiglaurta, using a shortcut via village Khakhabo, this trek is rarely used, not very difficult, but the trees have overgrown a bit, but its a nice one, trust me in this. Lunch break we will do somewhere between. Distance 15 km. After breakfast we will start to drive down to Kakheti, with the chance to take a bath in the hot water spring after the Abano pass, which has medical effects as well, with its minerals inside. Maybe after few days out of civilization not a bad idea at all. In Kvemo Alvani break for lunch before we will drive you direction Signagi our next destination. We will stop for Gremi and Nekresi on our way to Signagi, the – City of Love – on the Gombori range, the view is over the kakhetian plain to the high peaks of the Greater Caucasus. The city is almost complete restaurated and beautiful. There is the chance for wine degustation in Signagi, driving distance is about 220 kilometer. In morning we drive to David Gareja, the cave monastery in Kakheti on the border to Azerbaijan, which is inhabited since the 6. century, founded by Father David one of the 13 Assyrian missionaries who came to Georgia. Nearby are a lot of caves, which we can visit as well, some of them have paintings on the walls. Exploring David Gareja and the area nearby will take about 2 to 3 hours. Lunch break will be in Udabno or Sagarejo before we go to Tbilisi, where we stay this night. Driving distance about 200 km. From Tbilisi we’ll head towards Vardzia in Samtskhe-Javakheti via Tsalkia. This areas used to have a small German population and is now mainly inhabited by Armenians. We’ll pass landscapes that are very different from anything we have seen so far. We will have lunch on the way and then visit Vardzia, the 12th century cave complex hewn out of rock wall by monks (some of which live there to this day). We will also visit some hidden spots nearby. We’ll end our day in accomodation near Vardzia. Driving distance: about 250 km. After breakfast we’ll make our way to Akhalstsikhe to visit its fortress Rabati, followed by lunch. On our way back to Tbilisi we’ll visit the Green Monastery which has a very interesting history and is located in the middle of a forest near Borjomi. This is followed by a short stop in Borjomi, a town famous for its mineral water spring with healing effects. We end our day back in Tbilisi. Driving distance: 260 km. This tour is not for the inexperienced because of the hiking involved, and only possible from the middle of June until the end of September. I hope you enjoyed reading the tour description, I tried long to find the perfect design, but please don’t judge so hard on me, English is not my native language, friends helped me proofreading. Same goes for the design, I am not professional designer either, just did it in a way I thought I would enjoy to read. I added mostly my own photos which are mostly unedited. Due to the fact I havent taken photos everywhere, I used photos of friends as well, not downloaded ones..