Tusheti trek: Omalo to Dartlo, Parsma and Girevi in the tower villages

The most beautiful villages in Georgia

Ask any Georgian where they consider the most beautiful place in their country, and a significant number will say Tusheti without a moment’s hesitation. Ask a foreign traveller who has been, and the answer is the same. The medieval tower villages of Tusheti — perched above gorges, clustered on ridges, presiding over river valleys that remain outside the reach of any paved road — occupy a place in the Georgian imagination somewhere between pride and reverence.

The Omalo–Dartlo–Parsma–Girevi circuit through the Pirikiti Alazani Valley is Tusheti at its most concentrated: a three to four day walk through a landscape where the medieval and the alpine coexist at such close quarters that the effect is almost hallucinatory. You walk out of a village that has stood since the 12th century and into mountain meadows where horses graze on slopes above 3,000 metres. You sleep in a tower-village guesthouse and wake to the sound of shepherds moving their flocks into the high pastures. You cross passes from which the Caucasus ridge extends in both directions without a road or a building in sight.

This is one of the finest multi-day treks in the Caucasus, and one of the most culturally rich. The towers are not ruins but living context — these are working communities, and the guesthouses are family homes. Walk this route, and you understand something about Georgia that no lowland experience can provide.

At a glance

Detail	Information
Total distance	45–55km (depending on route variant)
Duration	3–4 days
Elevation gain	2,500m+ cumulative
Highest point	Approximately 3,000m on ridge crossings
Difficulty	Moderate–Strenuous
Best season	June–October
Start	Omalo, Tusheti
Access road	Abano Pass, 2,926m (unpaved, 4WD essential)
Accommodation	Tower-village family guesthouses
Horseback option	Yes — widely available and popular

Getting to Omalo: the Abano Pass crossing

Tusheti is accessible by a single road, and that road crosses the Abano Pass at 2,926 metres. The pass is one of the most notorious driving routes in Georgia — a narrow, unpaved track of 72 hairpin bends cut into a vertiginous mountain face, entirely unmaintained in winter, and genuinely demanding in any season. The drive from the Kakheti lowlands (Telavi or Alvani) to Omalo takes 4–5 hours in good conditions; allow longer.

Vehicle: The pass requires a 4WD with high ground clearance. Standard saloon cars and most normal SUVs are not appropriate. The Georgian army occasionally closes the road after heavy rain or when there is rockfall risk; check current status before departing.

Season: The Abano Pass is typically open from June through October, dependent on snowmelt and first snowfall. It is closed entirely in winter. The opening of the pass in early June signals the beginning of the Tusheti season and is treated with some ceremony by locals.

Transport options:

• Organised jeep tour: The most comfortable option. Several Tbilisi and Telavi operators run guided Tusheti trips with proper 4WD vehicles and experienced drivers. Strongly recommended for first visits.
• Shared marshrutka: From Alvani village (near Telavi), shared 4WD marshrutkas run to Omalo in the season. These are crowded, unpredictable, and adventurous — the right choice for budget travellers and those who enjoy the process as much as the destination.
• Private hire: A 4WD and driver from Telavi or Alvani, arranged through guesthouses.

Book a guided Tusheti trekking and jeep tour from Tbilisi

The Abano Pass drive is an experience in its own right — the views from the ridge are extraordinary, and the descent into the Tusheti landscape, with the first tower villages visible below, is one of the great travel arrival moments in Georgia.

Omalo: your base and departure point

Omalo is Tusheti’s principal village and the administrative centre of the region — which gives some sense of Tusheti’s scale, since Omalo is a small settlement of two parts (Lower Omalo and Upper Omalo, the latter a historic tower complex above the village) with a combined population of perhaps fifty permanent residents.

Spend at least one night in Omalo before beginning the trek. The Upper Omalo fortress — a cluster of towers that served as the last defensive redoubt in medieval raiding seasons — is worth exploring. The views from the ridge above the village take in the full sweep of the Pirikiti Alazani Valley, the route you are about to walk laid out below in miniature.

Guesthouses in Omalo are the most developed on the circuit: several options, some with private rooms, meals arranged, and the possibility of organising horses and guides before departure. Sort all logistics here.

The route: day by day

Day 1: Omalo to Dartlo — 14km, 600m gain, 700m loss

The first day descends from Omalo into the Pirikiti Alazani Valley and follows the river downstream through a landscape of extraordinary beauty. The path alternates between the valley floor and the lower ridge, passing through small settlements and crossing the river on footbridges of variable confidence.

Dartlo, at day’s end, is the visual climax of Tusheti: a cluster of stone towers and houses stacked on a slope above the river, the composition so perfectly arranged that it resembles a painting more than an inhabited village. The towers here — a dozen or more — are in excellent condition, many still used for storage or seasonal habitation. The guesthouses sit among the towers and the dinner tables face the valley.

The walk between Omalo and Dartlo is moderate rather than strenuous, making it an excellent acclimatisation day. Save energy — the following days are harder.

Day 2: Dartlo to Parsma via Chesho — 12km, 800m gain, 600m loss

From Dartlo, the route continues downstream toward Chesho — an abandoned tower village across the valley, reached by footbridge and a short climb. Chesho is the most atmospheric of Tusheti’s ghost villages: uninhabited since the Soviet collectivisation period, its towers and stone houses slowly returning to the mountain. The views back to Dartlo from Chesho’s ridge are superb.

Beyond Chesho, the path climbs over a shoulder of the valley before descending to Parsma, a smaller village than Dartlo with a handful of guesthouses and a situation above the river that provides excellent morning light. The day involves real elevation gain and the terrain underfoot becomes rougher; trekking poles are earning their keep by now.

Parsma is the quietest of the circuit’s overnight stops. Evenings here — the valley in shadow, the peaks still lit, a fire in the guesthouse stove — have the quality of genuine remoteness.

Day 3: Parsma to Girevi — 10km, 500m gain, 400m loss

The third day climbs away from the Pirikiti Alazani Valley proper onto higher ground, crossing a ridge from which the Caucasus main range comes fully into view to the north — the Russian border follows that ridge, and the mountains beyond it belong to Chechnya. The scale and wildness of the view from this high point is one of the route’s defining moments.

Girevi sits on a plateau above the valley, a small village with views in three directions and the sense of being higher and more exposed than the preceding stops. The tower architecture here is less concentrated than Dartlo but the setting arguably surpasses it. Spend the afternoon walking the surrounding meadows — the plateau above Girevi, at around 2,500m, is good terrain for wildlife: chamois, deer, and in the far distance, the occasional movement of larger animals.

Day 4 (optional): Girevi back to Omalo or onward

The return to Omalo can be made via the valley floor (roughly 15km, following the river) or via a higher ridge route that adds an additional pass crossing and extends the day considerably. Both are beautiful; the ridge variant is for those with a fourth day and the energy for it.

Alternatively, Girevi to Omalo can be managed on horseback for the final return — a fitting way to end a Tusheti trek, and a good option for tired legs.

Horseback trekking: the traditional alternative

Horses are integral to Tusheti’s culture and economy. Until the road was cut over the Abano Pass in the 1980s, horses were the only means of reaching many parts of the region; the tradition continues in the seasonal movements of shepherds and their flocks to the high summer pastures.

Horseback trekking on the Omalo–Dartlo–Girevi circuit is popular and well-organised. Horses with handlers (who will also manage packs and navigate) can be hired in Omalo for the full circuit or for individual days. Costs are typically 80–100 GEL per horse per day, including handler. This is not riding lesson territory — the horses are mountain animals that know the paths, and the handlers walk alongside; your role is to stay on and look at the view.

The horseback option makes the circuit accessible to those who prefer not to walk eight to ten hours per day, and riding through a medieval tower village on a mountain horse, with the Caucasus above, is among the more memorable ways to experience Tusheti.

Guesthouses in Tusheti

Tusheti’s guesthouses are family operations, almost universally, and they operate as a genuine extension of Tushetian hospitality rather than commercial enterprises. The food — corn bread, bean soups, sheep’s cheese, wild herb dishes, mountain honey — is some of the finest rural Georgian cooking anywhere in the country.

What to expect: shared rooms (some private in Omalo and Dartlo), full board around 60–80 GEL per person, house-produced chacha offered freely, variable electricity via solar or generator, and hot water reliable in Omalo and Dartlo but less so further along.

Advance booking in July and August is important — Dartlo fills quickly. Book through Tbilisi tour operators with Tusheti contacts, or directly via WhatsApp numbers circulated in the trekking community.

Self-guided vs. guided

The Omalo–Dartlo–Girevi circuit is manageable self-guided for experienced multi-day trekkers with good navigation skills and offline maps. The paths between villages are generally followable and the route involves no technical terrain. That said:

A guide adds: cultural interpretation of the towers and their histories, confidence on the less-obvious sections between Chesho and Parsma, and a contact network that simplifies guesthouse arrangements. Horse handlers on the horseback option effectively double as guides — they know the route, the villages, and the people. Guesthouses in Omalo are the best local referral source.

Combining with Abano Pass and Kakheti

The most satisfying Tusheti itinerary pairs the drive over the Abano Pass with two to four days on the circuit, then returns via Telavi into the Kakheti wine region. The contrast is complete: medieval towers and wilderness above, vineyards and ancient monasteries below. A Kakheti wine tour pairs well with the physical intensity of the Tusheti trek.

Gear

The Tusheti circuit is a multi-day mountain route. Gear accordingly:

Footwear: Waterproof hiking boots. The paths include river crossings on variable bridges, rocky ridge sections, and the potential for mud in wet weather.

Clothing: Full mountain layers. Evenings at Parsma and Girevi (both above 1,800m) are cold even in August. A down jacket, waterproof shell, and warm base layers are essential.

Poles: Useful on the steeper ridge sections, particularly on the descent from the Chesho–Parsma ridge.

Navigation: Wikiloc has tracks for the main Tusheti trails. Maps.me with offline Tusheti data is a reliable backup. Mobile signal is intermittent throughout — never count on it.

Cash: Bring everything you need from Tbilisi or Telavi. There are no ATMs in Tusheti.

Satellite communicator: Strongly recommended for any solo trekker or group without a guide. Tusheti has no mobile emergency network beyond the village guesthouses.

Best season

June through October is the window, determined by the Abano Pass.

June: The pass opens (check current season with operators). The high meadows are in early-season flower, the light is long, and the region is quiet before the main visitor season. Snow may remain on the higher ridge sections of the circuit.

July and August: Peak season — maximum colour, most stable weather, most visitors. Dartlo and Omalo fill on weekends with Georgian domestic tourists as well as international trekkers. Advance booking essential.

September: The finest trekking conditions of the season. Stable high-pressure weather, exceptional visibility, and the first hints of autumn colour in the valley birches. Fewer visitors than August. The pass reliably open.

October: The season is closing. The pass can be blocked by first snowfall in October (sometimes late September). Guesthouses begin shutting down. For those who time it right — a golden week in early October before the first snow — conditions are magical, with almost no other visitors and the full autumn palette in the forests.

Safety

• The Abano Pass road: Do not attempt in a standard vehicle or in fog, heavy rain, or snow. Vehicle failure on the pass is a serious situation; ensure your vehicle is properly maintained and carry basic breakdown supplies.
• Register your route: With your Omalo guesthouse before each day’s walk.
• Weather: Afternoon thunderstorms in July–August. Be off exposed ridges by early afternoon.
• River crossings: The footbridges on this route are basic; some are damaged by winter floods and not immediately replaced. Check with local guides or guesthouses on current bridge condition before crossing.
• Bears and wolves: Present in Tusheti. Standard precautions apply.

Frequently asked questions

Is Tusheti suitable for first-time multi-day trekkers?

The Omalo–Dartlo circuit is among the more accessible multi-day routes in Georgia’s highland regions — the terrain is demanding but not technical, guesthouses provide full board so you carry only a day pack, and the walking distances are manageable. However, some prior hiking experience is recommended. Complete beginners would benefit from a guide and the horseback option for longer sections.

How do I deal with the Abano Pass if I’m not confident driving it?

Book transport rather than driving yourself. The pass is routinely crossed by experienced local drivers in proper 4WD vehicles; the danger is largely for the inexperienced or improperly equipped driver. Letting a local handle it while you look at the view is the right call for most visitors.

Can I do just the Dartlo section without the full circuit?

Yes. Driving from Omalo to Dartlo (possible in a 4WD, rough road) and doing the Chesho day walk from Dartlo is an excellent two-day Tusheti experience requiring no multi-day trekking. Many visitors combine this with the drive-in experience of the Abano Pass.

Is mobile signal available in Tusheti?

Very limited. Georgian network providers have minimal coverage in Tusheti; some spots in Omalo and Dartlo catch occasional signal, but do not rely on it for navigation, communication, or emergencies. Inform someone in Tbilisi of your itinerary and expected contact dates.

Related guides

• Tusheti destination guide — all you need to know about the region
• Best hikes in Georgia — the full ranking of Georgia’s top trails
• Svaneti vs Tusheti — comparing Georgia’s two great highland regions
• Kakheti wine tours — combine the trek with wine country below
• Jeep tours in Georgia — 4WD access to Tusheti and beyond
• Horseback riding in Georgia — equestrian options across the country
• Trekking itinerary — the 14-day Caucasus trekking circuit
• Adventure itinerary — the 10-day active Georgia itinerary