Mestia to Ushguli

The classic Caucasus trek, crossing Upper Svaneti from the town of Mestia to Ushguli, a cluster of hamlets under Shkhara and among the highest permanently settled places in Europe. The path runs through villages of medieval Svan defensive towers, along the Adishi glacier and over the Chkhunderi pass, with the main Caucasus ridge on the skyline the whole way. [Route details] Start: Mestia (1,403 m) · End: Ushguli (2,080 m) 55.7 km · west to east · up to 2,709 m at the Chkhunderi pass (34 km) Usually four days, village to village [The four days] - Mestia → Zhabeshi 15.5 km — through Zhamushi and Chvabiani - Zhabeshi → Adishi 10.5 km - Adishi → Iprari 17.5 km — over the Chkhunderi pass, past Khalde - Iprari → Ushguli 12.2 km — through Kala and Davberi [Good to know] - Guesthouses in each village, so no tent. The season runs roughly June to October, and the pass holds snow into early summer. - The Adishi river below the glacier is forded, not bridged, and horses wait there for it. - Assembled from three OpenStreetMap stage relations: the Transcaucasian Trail's Mestia-Adishi, then Adishi-Iprali and Iprari-Ushguli. - Elevation is sampled from a terrain model.