Hiking in the Caucasus: Three day trek from Mestia to Ushguli
- Alice
- Aug 12, 2017
- 4 min read
Should you Google the details of this trek, you’ll be presented with colourful images of alpine meadows, blue skies, and snow-capped mountains. However, it being June - Georgia’s wettest month - our experience was rather different: the ground was utterly sodden, low-lying clouds wholly obscured the surrounding peaks for the duration, and it rained heavily each afternoon. Nonetheless, these were three very enjoyable days for us, offering some great hiking, and what felt like a very genuine snapshot of rural, Svan culture.
The trek commences in Mestia, the capital of Svaneti, and follows a well-marked path East through several rural hamlets, to Ushguli. Of course, it can be walked in reverse, though Mestia makes for a better base having more shops to pick up supplies. We found the Tourist Information office in Mestia (7 Seti Square, open daily from 10:00-18:00) exceedingly helpful in planning the trek, and they offer free, 1:50,000 maps detailing each section of the route.
It should be noted that the trek is traditionally split over four days, with each day’s route concluding at a hamlet: Zhabeshi on day one, then Adishi day two, Iprali on day three, and finally on to Ushguli. This works well if you intend to stay with local families in one of the many homestays dotted along the hike. We had decided to camp, and so originally did not feel bound to this timescale. However, having departed with only a single day’s food, we soon realised we were indeed reliant on the homestays for sustenance, there not being any sort of shop along the route*. As we found the four-day timescale rather leisurely, we decided to push on to Iprali on our second day. This meant our distance that day totalled 25.2km, which admittedly proved quite tiring with full packs.
Below is a brief description of the route:
Day 1 (14km, altitude at start: 1400m, altitude at finish: 1650m, highest point: 1900m)
Generally, a gentle day’s walking. There is one particularly steep section of the ascent out of Mestia (just after the meadow), and we were forced to make a detour due to landslides on the descent. We pitched our tent in the garden of ‘Dodo’s Guest House’ in Zhabeshi, where we were treated to the most wonderful hospitality by Dodo (who speaks basic English, Italian and Greek) and her husband (who does not). We had intended to push on to Adishi that afternoon, but after polishing off a lunch of bread, cheese, soup, spaghetti, tomato salad, yoghurt and jam (we only asked for bread and cheese!), we decided we would stay. That evening we enjoyed what was hands down the best khachapuri (a round bread filled with cheese, see image) in Georgia. In total, for a vast quantity of food, and camping, we paid Dodo 40 Georgian Lari.
Day 2 (to Adishi: 10.2km, altitude at start: 1650m, altitude at finish: 2080, highest point: 2500m; Adishi to Iprali: 15km, altitude at start: 2080m, altitude at finish: 1950, highest point: 2722m)
This day was a little tougher, made even more so after we missed a way marker due to the fog and ascended an extra 200m (excluded from totals above). There is a wide river to cross a few kilometres outside of Adishi, which we managed on foot (hiking boots strung around our necks) though others arranged horses from the village. After so much rain, the water was thigh-deep, fast-flowing and painfully cold. Getting to the other side with dry packs definitely called for a high five!
Following the river crossing, the climb uphill is steep and slippery when wet, but on a clear day one can imagine the views would be particularly rewarding at the top. The descent to Iprali felt very drawn out and we were more than ready for the cold beers available from the friendly Usha Guesthouse situated here. We camped in their garden for 10 Lari, and bought some bread and cheese from the owner at a very reasonable price.
Day 3 (9.7km, altitude at start:1950m, altitude at finish: 2160, highest point: 2200m)
We descended to the road and followed this the remaining distance to Ushguli. There is a footpath if you’d prefer a quieter option, but the waymarkers were poor and we missed the turn off. Taxis from Ushguli to Mestia are expensive (the going rate appears to be 200 Lari per car), so we hitched a lift for the 45km journey. We were picked up by the first drivers that passed – a friendly American expat and his Georgian wife - despite the fact that our feet were caked in mud and we can’t have smelt too fresh.
On arrival in Mestia, we were more than ready for a hot shower and some dry clothes, but had no regrets at all.
This is often described as the most popular trek in Svaneti, and it certainly appeared to be the route of choice among the tourists we met embarking on a mutli-day hike from Mestia. Nonetheless, for the vast majority of the hours we spent walking, we didn’t pass a soul. And when the rain relented, the views were really striking.
The locals we met along the way were unreservedly friendly, welcoming and kind**. In winter, snow isolates these hamlets entirely, and to witness such a self sufficient existence in this day and age was humbling.
*We did pass some houses advertising tea, coffee, beer and bread along the way. There is also a ‘market’ of sorts at the Usha Guest House in Iprali.
** We did hear stories of some owners of a guesthouse in Adishi getting quite aggressive with tourists who had arranged accommodation in advance from Mestia, but on arrival in the hamlet decided to stay somewhere else.
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