Grand Georgia Traverse

2nd – 13th September 2023
12 days/ 11 nights
USD 3500 (may need updating)
Single Supplement USD 600 – but we are happy to pair you up into twinshare
12 pax max

Tbilisi – Gori – Bakuriani – Tabatskuri – Akhalkalaki – Vardzia – Akhaltsikhe – Godedzi Pass – Batumi – Svanetti – Ushguli (highest village in Europe) – Ushba Glacier – Mestia – Mount Shkhara – Prometheus Cave – Tbilisi.

Georgia; balcony of Europe, cross roads of the Caucasus, and museum of medieval culture.
Tiny churches sit atop dramatic snowy mountains, at home in any fairytale book. Imposing watch towers line up under the mountains separating Russia and Chechnya from a culture that has its own alphabet and completely unique culture unrelated to its neighbours.
Cave cities offered refuge from the Mongols, who still dream about Georgia as a land of milk and honey.
Mosques and palaces remain from the Ottomans, the Azerbaijanies and Armenians along the southern borders.
Stalin was born in Gori, Prometheus was chained to his rock Kazbegi, and the Golden Fleece of Jason and his argonaughts originated in the traditions of Georgians using sheep skins to pan the gold carrying snowmelt of Svanetti – one of the most beautiful Alpine regions in the world.

The oldest recorded wine vessels are from Georgia – and the wine is everywhere and delicious.

Trust us, this route is the bomb and a great combination of the best you can get on a bike – with transfers across the anything remotely mundane so you see more of the Georgiousness.

Stalin, Babushkas, wild flowers and hill top chappels

Itinerary

Day 1
Welcome to Tbilisi, balcony of Europe, ancient caravanserai on the Caucasian Silk Cross-Roads. For those arriving early, visit the Citadel for a birds eye view of this pretty city, with its mountain back drop, river bank setting and golden spires of Christendom.

Explore the buzzing cafes, wine bars and art scene. Steam yourself on a marble slab in an ancient bath along the Tbilisi River, then join us for your group meeting, and your first Georgian feast on the this trip. Expect Cheesy bread and fabulous wine, and hearty stews.
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Day 2 – Birthplace of dictator Jospeh Stalin, Gori გორი memorialises the famous despot with museums, statues and a city little changed since the days of the soviet union. Getting there is beautiful 70 km low-caucasus backroad from Tbilisi. From Gori, we drive 100 km to the 19th Century mountain resort of Bakuriani, for mountain views and a fun descent the following day.
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An 8000 year old wine culture, often centred on the local monastery.

Day 3. -Bakuriani to Tabatskuri to Akhalkalaki is 55 km descent through Alpine meadows with many crystal water springs. on jeep roads, with wide views onto distant snowy peaks. Akhalkalaki lies on the edge of the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau, 30 km from the border with Turkey with a large ethnic Armenian population. Overnight in a comfortable country hotel.
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Day 4. The approaches to Vardzia are magical – narrow arid gorges and ribbon like green valleys leading to an cave city engineered by Queen Tamara in the 123th Century as a sanctuary against invading Mongols. Well off the beaten track – this 500m, 13 tiers high, 6,000 individual grotto-apartment complex with irrigation, churches, throne room – is a historical and archaeological treasures that you’ll be glad to have visited before everyone else discovers it!

The cycling distance is 67 km, mostly descent. We overnight in Akhaltsikhe near the restored islamic copper domed Rabat castle.
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There’s a completely charming old worldiness to much of Georgia’s culture.

Day 5. In the morning we transfer 34km to the top of the Goderdzi pass for a 69 km descent through the lush coastal lands of the capital of the Adjara region and down i into Black Sea resort town of Batumi. Batumi is a party town, and has been since the days of the belle Epoch from where avant guards architectures evolved in weird but not unrelated ways.
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Day 6. -Batumi is the perfect place to let loose. Turkey is just across the sea and there’s a real feeling of the middle east in town – unlike anywhere else in Georgia. There’s a great restaurant cafe and wine bar scene, and big pebble beaches to show off your lycra tan lines before double-deniming it up at the clubs and casinos. The 14 km bike track along the coastline is also fun if you cant keep away from the bike.
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Day 7
We set of early morning to our trail head in Svaneti.

Bike up in Engurri Damn and warm up with a 22 km cycle to Khaishi, picnicking amidst fields of wildflowers with views up to Ushba, famed amongst mountain climbers as the Matterhorn of the Caucasus for its spire shaped double summit.

From Khaishi we drive 2 hours into the Becho Valley, cycling the last 8 km to our traditional Guesthouse in Mazeri, the base camp for climbing attempts on Ushba.
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Svaneti – over the mountains there be Russia.

Day 8
Enjoy an early morning (6km) hike to the enormous Ushba Water fall, returning to the guest house for our luggage and then biking 25 km to Mestia, famed for it’s stunning watch towers cascading down the mountains of Upper Svaneti’s largest town. In the evening time we can jeep- drive to Koruldi lakes if the weather is OK and the jeep-tracks are passable. This is a great opportunity for those who like a mountain bike ride – with a nice single track downhill ride back into Mestia.
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Day 9
The ‘capital’ of Upper Svaneti, mestiza comprises 10 hamlets, with their iconic Svan towers; the Svan being the traditional guardians of the mountain passes to Russia. Traditionally each house of these blood feuding herding families was a fortress. The oldest of the hamlets, with most of the towers, are above the river on the northern side of town: Lekhtagi in the northwest, and Lanchvali and Lagami to the northeast. We visit the Historical and Ethnographical Museum in Mestia for an understanding of the unique Georgian Svan before biking up for our 38 km ride to the even more remote village of Ushguli, sleeping in our own watchtower Guesthouse in Europes highest inhabited village.
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Humans of Ushguli, highest village in the Caucasus and Europe.

Day 10
Enjoy early morning views of Mount Shkhara with a coffee and our host Rezza’s delicious home baked cheesy bread known as kachapuri – and definitely one of Geoprgia’s finest.
From the Zagaro pass 7km up the road (you can cycle but easier to transfer up), are the best views of the Shkhara, Georgia’s highest mountain, and the eastern anchor of a heavily glaciated massif known as the Bezingi Wall, separating Georgia from Russia. Its then a 65 km decent through the Korundashi and Tskhenistskali Valleys to Lentekhi. famed for its mineral water. Overnight in Lentekhi enjoying the milder climes of Lower Svanetti.
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Day 11
Kutaisi is a pretty 3000 years old city and famed for Jason’s Golden Fleece ( traditionally Svanetians use a sheeps flee to sieve gold from their rivers). Light a candle in the Gelati Cathedral and explore the cobbled streets of the town on your way up to the ruins of Bagrati palace and citadel.
Drive back to Tbilisi for a final dinner in the old Armenian quarter at the fabulous Pur Pur Restaurant, with champagne on ice to toast the Georgians and any members of our group celebrating special occasions.
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Day 12 – Departure day. Transfer to Tbilisi International Airport.
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USD 3200
Includes transfers, accommodation, bikes, support vehicle, meals as indicated BLD, guide and entries.

Not included: Lunch in Batumi ( its something of a free day) and final night dinner which people may want to go to town on.

Getting there and away

Tbilis is the start and finish point of our Grand Georgia Traverse.

Direct flights to Tbilisi are operated from the following cities: Munich, Vienna , Amsterdam, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Tel-Aviv, Athens, Istanbul, Donetsk, Kiev, Baku, Astana, Alma-Ata, Odessa, Simferopol, Minsk, Tashkent, Riga, Larnaca, Dubai.
From many other places in the world, transit flights are offered by International airlines like:
AIR BALTIC, DEUTSCHE LUFTHANSA, QATAR AIRWAYS, TURKISH AIRLINES, UKRAINE INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES, AEROSVIT AIRLINES, CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES, BELAVIA, CZECH AIRLINES, PEGASUS AIRLINE,