Join our 2025 Supporters’ Trek in Svaneti & Racha, Georgia!
Ten-day itinerary:
Monday, August 4 – Wednesday, August 13th, 2025
Join the Transcaucasian Trail team for a trek across Svaneti & Racha, Georgia
The trek across north-west Georgia through Svaneti & Racha is one of the most spectacular walks in the world. You can support our work to preserve and protect this incredible landscape by joining our exclusive 10-day tour of these remote and fascinating regions of northwest Georgia.
From the deep forests near the Black Sea, we will trek over high passes with views of 5,000 meter peaks, through the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Upper Svaneti – a fascinating region with a unique language and culture protected for centuries by the surrounding mountains – and end our journey in Racha, discovering local culture and wine while exploring some of the newest sections of the TCT.
These tours will be led by members of the TCT team in Georgia who have helped map, build, and maintain these sections themselves. We will stay in local guesthouses and see up close the work of the TCT and why it is important for the people and landscapes of the region. All proceeds from your participation are invested directly back into our work in the region, helping ensure the future of this world-class long distance trail.
Itinerary Overview
2025 dates:
Monday, August 4 – Wednesday, August 13
Day 1: Travel from Tbilisi to Svaneti, overnight in family guesthouse
Day 2: Hike from Etseri over Bak Pass to Mazeri, overnight w/family
Day 3: Hike to the Shdugra Waterfalls, overnight w/family
Day 4: Hike Guli pass to Mestia, guesthouse
Day 5: Visit cultural sites in Mestia, guesthouse
Day 6: Hike to medieval villages of Adishi and Khalde, family guesthouse
Day 7: Hike above UNESCO world-heritage site of Ushguli, family guesthouse
Day 8: Travel to Racha, overnight at family-owned winery
Day 9: Hike to King Tamar Cliffs, overnight at family guesthouse
Day 10: Return to Tbilisi
A tour with an impact.
The Transcaucasian Trail crews have worked for the past several years to expand the trail network in Svaneti and Racha beyond a few highly-visited walks, helping to create new opportunities for sustainable tourism in the region. You’ll be among the pioneering few to walk these new trails, and you’ll be doing it with the team that built them.
This trek is undeniably impressive: we’ll follow ancient paths through traditional mountain villages, past 12th century churches and the unique defensive towers of Svaneti, and over high passes surrounded by mountains taller than any in the Alps or the Rockies.
We’ll visit families that we have worked with in these communities and hear about life in Svaneti and Racha, how it has changed over the years, and how the Svans and Rachans are trying to protect their unique natural and cultural heritage. We’ll also see the work of the Transcaucasian Trail crews first-hand and learn about the design and construction of the trail and plans for the future.
As with all of our fundraising treks, 100% of the profits go back into our work in the local area, helping ensure the future of this world-class long distance trail.
A combination of history, culture, and natural beauty like nowhere else.
Get ready for ten days full of incredible hiking, delicious meals, fascinating history, excellent local wine, and friendly people. Svaneti and Racha have it all.
Our itinerary is very active. We’ll be hiking almost every day, and a few of the days are long. But you’ll have a delicious home-cooked meal and a cozy bed at the end of each day. We will be staying in family run guesthouses in the mountains, and we’ll have luggage transfer between the guesthouses, so we don’t have to carry all our stuff. Read the itinerary below for more information about distances and elevation gain. If you are wondering about the difficulty of the hikes or the fitness level required, feel free to send us an email at [email protected]
Here are the details:
Day 1: We leave Tbilisi in the morning, and make our way across Georgia to Svaneti, stopping by some historical sites along the way. We’ll arrive in the late afternoon to Etseri, a picturesque village that has only recently become a destination thanks to its proximity to Bak Pass and location along the TCT. We’ll sit down to a hearty dinner with a local family and stay the night.
Day 2: As we warm up our legs, the hike over Bak pass rewards us with views of the south peak of Mt. Ushba (4,710m), a rugged shard of granite carved by immense glaciers. Those who want a higher vantage point can summit Mt. Bak (3,170m) while the rest of the group descends through alpine meadows, past another 12th century chapel, to the Becho valley. (16 km, +1,000m/-1,000m)
Day 3: From the picturesque village of Mazeri, we’ll hike deeper into the valley towards magnificent Mt. Ushba. We’ll have lunch beneath cascading waterfalls coming down the mountain’s rocky cliffs before returning to our guesthouse for the night. (11km, +500m / -500m)
Day 4: The steep climb over Guli Pass is demanding but rewarding as we pass directly under Ushba and the mountain’s north peak comes into view. We descend to Mestia, the regional center of Svaneti with its dense collection of medieval Svan towers. (Hiking: 22 km +1,600m/-1,700m)
Day 5: Our “rest day” in Mestia will be full of cultural sites including: the Svaneti Museum to see the treasures of Svanetian culture, from prehistoric metalworking to medieval Christian art, the Mikhael Khergiani Museum for an insight into the history of alpinism in the region, and a beautifully frescoed church tucked away in the back alleys.
Day 6: We will make our way through the incredibly picturesque villages of Adishi and Khalde as we walk in the shadow of Mt. Tetnuldi and under the Shkhara massif, a wall of rock and ice made up of some of the tallest peaks in Europe. We’ll stay in a guesthouse in Ushguli. (Hiking: 15 km +700m/-1,100)
Day 7: We’ll use a little-known trail to hike to an alpine lake above Ushguli, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a collection of stunning defensive towers nestled below Shkhara (5,200m), the highest mountain in Georgia. (Hiking: 12km +900m/-900m)
Day 8: After time to explore the village of Ushguli in the morning, we drive to Lower Svaneti and Racha, the neighboring mountain region, and then end our day at a small, family-run organic winery in the famed micro-climate of Khvanchkara.
Day 9: After a hearty breakfast at the winery, we’ll drive up to a mountain pass and finish our hiking adventures on a new section of the TCT. We’ll hike to the dramatic King Tamar cliffs, where TCT crews have re-opened a historic trail connecting the ridge with the villages below, and – if weather is on our side – admire dramatic views of the whole Greater Caucasus range. We’ll stay our final night in a guesthouse in Racha, learning more about the culture of this region.
Day 10: We’ll drive back to Tbilisi and return in the afternoon before celebrating our journey with a final dinner in the city.
Cost:
$3,150 USD per person
(See price in GBP / EUR / GEL)
Includes 1-year membership of the Transcaucasian Trail Association!
Already a member? Did you know your fee counts towards your place on this trek? Find out more
Hiking Boots At The Ready!
So you’re interested in joining us? Get in touch using the form below! Places are offered on a first-come first-served basis, so register now to secure your spot.
If you prefer not to use the online form, you can contact us directly at [email protected].
What happens after I click the big green button?
This is an enquiry form, not a booking form, and using it neither obliges you to take part in the trek or guarantees you a place! We first want to make sure that you’re fully informed about the experience and that your expectations match what we’re offering. Our team will respond to your message by email or phone to go over the details of the trek and ask you a few more questions relating to your level of hiking experience and fitness. If all is well, we’ll ask you to pay a deposit to secure your place on the team. We’ll be in further contact with you before your departure, and we’ll always be on hand to answer any questions you may have during that time.
