Caucasus Georgia Wild Camping

Racha Region, Georgia · Georgia

Moderate7 daysAsia~£400 est.

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Overview

Racha is the Georgia that even Georgians describe with a sigh: a high, green province of beech forest, alpine meadows and stone villages beneath the wall of the central Caucasus, where wild camping is legal everywhere and shepherds will fix your dinner plans by insisting on them. Walk from Shovi or Ghebi into the headwater valleys — the trail towards Udziro Lake at 2,800m is the signature route, with Caucasian tur on the screes — then descend to Ambrolauri for the 11th-century dome of Nikortsminda Cathedral and a glass of Khvanchkara, the semi-sweet red that made the valley famous. Self-sufficiency is the deal: waymarking is thin, weather turns fast above 2,500m, and villages sell bread and cheese but not gas canisters, so arrive provisioned from Kutaisi or Tbilisi. A chacha toast with strangers is a when, not an if. June to September is the window; late September adds autumn gold. £400 funds a generous week of marshrutkas, guesthouse nights either side and total freedom in between.