{"id":420,"date":"2026-02-22T10:24:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T09:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/?p=420"},"modified":"2026-02-22T10:24:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T09:24:54","slug":"mestia-to-ushguli-trek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/mestia-to-ushguli-trek\/","title":{"rendered":"Vandring fr\u00e5n Mestia till Ushguli: allt du beh\u00f6ver veta"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my absolute favourite experiences in Georgia was the 4 day Mestia to Ushguli trek up in the stunning Svaneti region. I will list my itienaries as a solo traveller as well as y recommendations for getting there and where to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Getting to Mestia<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The easiest way to get to Mestia is probably by a marshruthka from Kutaisi, the bus was meant to set off at 9am but it left already at 8:30am as it was full. In high season they normally run 2 buses but make sure you get there early to grab your seat. I had planned to buy some breakfast before heading off but nothing had opened properly so bring snacks and breakfast with you to the bus station. We arrived in Mestia at around 14:30 after also stopping twice to buy food\/use the toilets and one stop just for the driver to have a cigarette and for us to take pictures. The drive there though was absolutely stunning and is just a taste of the breathtaking views that are waiting for the hike. It was also on this bus ride that I met two other solo travellers that had the same plan as me and that I ended up hiking with. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Back in 2025 there was also a marshruthka that went from Tibilisi to Mestia and back. But it’s a very long drive and they are thinking of suspending this due to tired drivers. I took the Mestia to Tbilisi direct route back and it left from Mestia, as always when it was full, but around 8am and we reached Tibilisi at 16:30. You buy the tickets at the ticket office in Mestia and in my experience it was quite chaotic even though we had tried to reserve tickets directly with the driver a few days before. The first part of the trip I slept as I was quite tired from the 4 days of trekking but as we got closer to Tibilisi the driver was quite obviously tired and his driving did not feel safe and controlled. So I would return back to Kutaisi and connect there rather than go the entire 8 hour plus drive with the same driver. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accomodation<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Mestia is a very cute village and there is plenty of accomodation around. Most of the accomodation will also have some sort of luggage storage, especially if you have booked a night with them as you return from the hike. There are plenty of restaurants and shops to buy snacks to bring with you on the trek. On the trek there are a some snacks that you can buy in the little villages as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In high season I would book the accomodation online for the villages ahead of time. Partly because it is nice to know where you are going straight away as you arrive and also to ensure there is space so you don’t have to continue walking to the next village. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also possible to camp along the trek and simply stop in guest houses and ask if you can have dinner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiking day 1: Mestia to Zhabesi<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We started our first day with a big breakfast and set off on our trek just after 9am. There was a fairly steady stream of people leaving from around 8:30am and some after us as well of course. So you will definately see other people on the way. We had stayed in Hotel Elite House<\/a> which was close to the start of the trail. You simply continue past the hotel out of town, cross the bridge and turn left and you basically follow the path. There are sign posts as you start climbing up for today’s hike towards Zhabesi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

There is a small meadow that you reach at first and when you continue you reach an even bigger meadow with views over the valley. There was also a small portal coffee shop that had been set up for the high season and where a lot of the hikers stopped for a break. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

After the meadow you start hiking down and that’s where you decide if you want to do the upper or lower trail. The upper trail is normally less crowded but then also a bit longer. The one thing that we hadn’t expected was to reach quite a strong stream on this route. The cars were able to drive across the road but as it was quite wide and with strong currents we decide to go down a little bit to try and find an easier way to cross. We didn’t really and finally we got caught up with other hikers. Together we managed to find an old wooden plank that we put across to rocks and managed to cross. We took off our backpacks and had one person throw them over as the rest of us balanced our way across. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

We made it to the cute village of Lakhari and also here was clearly marked which way we should continue through the village. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

The last part of the trek for the day was not particular scenic once we had crossed the bridge over the river and was along a paved road through the village of Cholashi before reaaching Zhabesi around 15:00. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

The crossing of the stream slowed us down with almost an hour or so and our total hiking time for the day ended up being 6 hours, covering 17km. The climb today was only 760m and our highest point was 1910m. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stayed at Guest House Tengo<\/a> which was run by an amazing family that was very sweet and that served an amazing dinner for 30 GEL, there was so much food I couldn’t eat it all! <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

I thought the views were incredible on tody\u00b4s trek but it just kept on getting better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Hiking day 2: Zhabesi to Adishi<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Last night was an early night but we had decided to meet up at 9am to start our hike. I paid 100 GEL for my night in Guest House Tengo with a huge dinner and massive breakfast. The breakfast was so big that I could have brought some leftovers for lunch if I hadn’t already brought snacks for lunch with me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

The hike started where we had stopped last night, just across the bridge and by the signposts to the guest houses. But today we continue up along the river, it was quite a steep and long ascent but it was in a forest so we were covered from the sun. There was a small opening in the forest were we stopped for a small break before continuing our climb. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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As we arrived out of the forrest part there was a small portable bar where most of our fellow travelers had stopped for a cold drink and we joined them, sitting there chatting, taking photos for almost an hour before continuing our climb. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

As we were climbing up the gravel road we were busy chatting so we missed the sign post showing the classic route to the right and so without knowing we have chosen to upper route again today. But we bumped in to a couple that seemed to have chosen this route on purpose and this route is what All Trails had referred to as the “bad route” but it was also absolutely stunning! <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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We also reached another stream today but this was jumpable or as I did, simple waded through it with my hiking boots as it was quite shallow. The descent to Adishi was quite steep though and we could definately feel it in our knees. The upper route added another 400m in altitude and 3km on today’s trek which got us to 13km and a 6,5 hour day. reaching the village around 16.30. We had a total climb of 1163 m and our highest pointof the day was at 2747m. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Adishi is a small but very cute village and we stayed in Koba Guest House<\/a> which was basically a tree house on top of their stone houses which you reached by climbing a ladder. It was also the local bar and snack shop of the village where most people came by throughout the afternoon and evening for a drink or to stack up on snacks. It was a lovely afternoon and evening chatting to fellow hikers. Adishi was my favourite village as it was so cozy and it felt like everything came togehter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Hiking day 3: Adishi to Ipari<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I didn’t have the best sleep, I recommend Koba Guest House for their location, nice balcony hang but the beds and the sleep wasn’t the best for me. We decided to start today earlier then the other days as today was meant to be the longest and hardest day with a 19km hike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

We set off just after 8am and it was about a 5km fairly flat hike along the river to the infamous river crossing. No matter what time we had all left it felt like we all gathered at the river crossing at the same time. Some people tried to walk across it and managed but the water was freezing and I didn’t trust myself to not be falling over on the rocks. It took us probably another hour to organise ourselves and make a decision on how to cross. In the end I paid 26 GEL took a horse across the river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

After the crossing we had a 3km uphill climb ahead of us, it was stunning as we were overlooking the Adishi glacier and we could hear the sound of an avalanche and turned around just in time to see the snow coming crashing down the glacier. We were higher up and definately far away for us to stay safe. This part was probably the most crowded part of the trek as everyone kind of got stuck together at the river crossing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

But as we reached the top we decided to another like 1km hike to the furthest top to see if we could get better views and we definately did! We were all alone up at the edge and it was truly stunning looking out over the glacier and valley below us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

We had an almost 10km descent ahead of us and it was lovely. After around 5km we decided to jump in to one of the smaller waterfalls along the way to have a dip and my feet were so thankful for that! Around half way there was another smaller village where you could also stop if you want to shorten the day, the village was called Khalde and was located on the mountain side with views over the river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

We reached Ipari village which was one of the smaller and more spread out villages. I thought this was the hardest to find a good accomodation and as it turned out our guest house was about 2km away from Ipari. We managed to borrow a phone so we could call our guest house and they came with a car to pick us up. It was quite nice as the car took us down the last part of the decent and back along the river. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today’s hike ended up being 19km and took us 7 hours to complete. We climbed 1044m and our highest point was at 2814m. As an alternative to Ipari I would book accomodation in Lalkhori instead as it <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiking day 4: Ipari\/Lalkhori to Ushguli<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Day 4 was the least scenic day and one that could be skipped if you are running out of days. Our guest house drove us to Lalkhori village, which was just below Ipari where we decided to be dropped off to continue our hike. Some other hikers decided to catch a ride from Ipari to Ushguli and instead to a glacier trek for the day to Shkhara glacier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

We decided to go back up from Lalkhori village to do a more scenic route rather than just walk across the road to Ushguli. It ended up being a 10km hike which was the easiest day of them all. The first 7km were lovely but the last 3km were along the road. It took us 3 hours and we only climbed 637m with a maximum altitude of 2154 m. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

We had received bread from our guest house that we had as lunch in Ushguli before we jumped in a taxi back to Mestia. It was about a one hour drive and we paid 40 GEL for it. The hikers that had done the glacier hike had a bit more problem getting a taxi as they arrived back a lot later than us, they were there around 16:00 whereas we left around 13:00. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

If I would have done it again I would have booked accomodation either in Ipari or Lalkhori and just have a little bit of a closer look at where it is located on the map, alterantively if there is not a lot of options as it was for me, try to make it to Ushguli instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to bring<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Make sure you bring sunscreen, good hiking boots, sneakers will not be enough as the road is uneven and there will be streams that you have to wade through. Bring some long trousers for the evenings as well as a long jumper. For the hike I had shorts and t-shirt\/singlet and I also washed my socks and tops in between the days to freshen them up a bit. There are showers in all the guest houses but you will still long for your big bag with fresh clothes and a change of shoes. I also brought some flipflops to walk around the village in during the afternoon and evening. We didn’t need it but I did bring my rain jacket and trousers as we did have a small thunderstorm one of the nights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in all, this 4 day hike was absolutely spectacular and something I can thouroughly recommend. The people that ran the guest houses were lovely, the food great and the views incredible. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of my absolute favourite experiences in Georgia was the 4 day Mestia to Ushguli trek up in the stunning Svaneti region. I will list my itienaries as a solo traveller as well as y recommendations for getting there and where to stay. Getting to Mestia The easiest way to get to Mestia is probably […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,20],"tags":[81,80,82,24,9],"class_list":["post-420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hiking-guide","category-travel-guides","tag-georgia","tag-hiking","tag-mestia-to-ushguli","tag-solo-travel","tag-travel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/605270ab-34b3-4f40-88aa-e45038f5896d-2-1-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":458,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420\/revisions\/458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wanderlusttravels.eu\/sv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}