THE SIGN HUNTERS

GEORGIA: Mestia and the Chalaadi Glacier

Written by Laszlo, 12 May 2018

Almost mid-May, so it is time for us to share some photos taken during our latest journeys. It was already foreseen this January that The Sign Hunters would return to the picturesque Caucasian treasure-box, Georgia. This time, of course, we discovered different parts and areas of the country. This is how it happened; we spent a few days in Mestia, which is located in the Svaneti region and it is known as the highest lying settlement in Georgia, situated at an elevation of 1500 m in the Caucasus Mountains.

Mestia is a fantastic place with a picturesque view of the surrounding mountains. There are plenty of routes one can take from here to discover a beautiful natural environment in the proximity of the settlement. We had one full day, so our choice was to go up to Chalaadi Glacier as we had never walked on a glacier before. After this trip, we can finally say that we have and we even had our lunch on the back of the slow-moving ice river.

It takes about 6-8 hours to walk from Mestia centre to the glacier and back. The walk is majorly on a dirt road and this was our preference as well. Many tourists just simply take a taxi from Mestia, but this was not an option for us as we went to Svaneti to see it closer and in details, a taxi would have spoilt it for us. Although, on the way back, we were picked up by a Russian couple which, after walking 20 km, was a great relief. The overall hike is around 24 km but if you start the trip from the suspension bridge (the end of the dirt road), the hike to the glacier and back is only about 3 km. You can find more about it (and other hiking options too) by visiting Caucasus Trekking's website >>> click here.