Hidden places in Georgia

Ghebi

Racha-Lechkhumi

Ghebi is one of the most remote and atmospheric villages in Upper Racha, tucked deep in the mountains where the road all but ends. Traditional stone houses sit scattered across a steep valley, surrounded by forest and high peaks, with a quiet that few places in Georgia still have.

Truso Valley

Mtskheta-Mtianeti

A wide alpine valley near Kazbegi, dotted with mineral-spring travertine formations and the ruins of an abandoned village, with the border ridge to South Ossetia rising just beyond it.

Tobavarchkhili Lakes

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti

A chain of high-altitude lakes in the Egrisi Range, reached only on foot: one of Samegrelo's least-visited corners and a full day's hike from the nearest road.

Chaukhi Massif

Mtskheta-Mtianeti

A jagged wall of granite peaks above the Juta valley, often called the "Georgian Dolomites": dramatic even by Kazbegi standards, and a favourite for hiking and drone photography alike.

Mount Kazbek

Mtskheta-Mtianeti

Mount Kazbek (Mkinvartsveri), 5,054 m, is the snow-covered peak above Stepantsminda and the best-known summit in Georgia. The usual route climbs past Gergeti Trinity Church to the Bethlemi Hut at about 3,650 m, then over the glacier to the top: a technical climb with crampons, ice axe and rope.

Abudelauri Lakes

Mtskheta-Mtianeti

Three small glacial lakes above Roshka in Khevsureti, each a different colour: Blue, Green and White, the last under the rock wall of the Chaukhi massif. From Roshka the first lakes are about an hour and a half on foot; over the Chaukhi Pass the trail links them to Juta in Kazbegi: the classic Juta to Roshka trek.

Udziro Lake

Racha-Lechkhumi

A high lake in Upper Racha at about 2,800 m, on a plateau above Shovi. Its name means "bottomless" in Georgian. The trail from Shovi climbs through forest and alpine meadows, about 6 to 8 hours up, and the lake is frozen from November to May.

Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park

Samtskhe-Javakheti

One of Georgia’s largest protected areas, in the Lesser Caucasus between Borjomi and Kharagauli: old forest, alpine meadows and shepherds’ summer cabins. The Shepherds’ Trail crosses it in about 51 km over three days, from Likani via Lomismta and Amarati to Atskuri. You register at the park visitor centre in Borjomi first.