The caucasus is one of the most biologically rich regions in the world. The ecoregion include Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as small portions of Russia, Iran and Turkey. Georgia is famous for incredible hikes and landscapes, Armenia famous for its old monasteries and Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan famous for its diverse architecture and willing to become a new Dubai. All those countries used to be Soviet Union and in the capitals you can see some historical traces such as deep subways, soviet architecture and trolley buses. It is not possible to cross overland between Armenia and Azerbaijan due to historical reasons. In this case either you fly or use Georgia as a connection overland.
Georgia (2 weeks)
A great start for your travel in the Caucasus is Kutaisi, the legislative capital of Georgia, and its 3rd most populous city. Using Kutaisi as a basis, you can explore the surroundings such as Oktase Canyon, Kinchkha Waterfall, and hike from Shovi to Glola (camping in Udziro Lake). From there you can head to the capital Georgia.
Oktase Canyon is located in Gordi, around 50km or 1 hour from Kutaisi. The buses leave from the main bus station in Mc Donalds and you go first to Khoni (2 GEL) then to Gordi (1 GEL). The entry fee of the park is 15 GEL and you buy it in the visitor center. Keep in mind that the park is closed on mondays. You can walk from there to the Oktase Canyon between 20-30 mins or you can hire local jeeps from 40-50 GEL. Indeed the best is to book tours from Kutaisi or Tiblisi.
From Okatse Canyon it is 5km to Kinchkha Waterfall where you can walk or take a taxi for 20-30 GEL. When I went there in 2018, a visitor center was under construction and I wasn’t allowed to enter the path to the falls. I could see them from far which wasn’t impressive. On the other hand I was allowed to walk in an open path to a river surrounded by white stones. It was a nice bath!
Back to Kutaisi you can set your camping gear for a 3-4 day hike between Shovi and Glola with a night in Udziro Lake. We drove to Shovi in the first day and ended up arriving late because of preparation and food shopping. We decided to visit a famous attraction, an abandoned holiday resort once used by the Kremlin’s elite.
The resort have been left neglected for years and in the past was described as the Georgian Switzerland.
We were looking for a place to camp and were lucky enough to be allowed to stay for one night behind this historical building. We asked the person responsible for the hotel in front of the abandoned resort.
