Svaneti, Georgia

Hiking through Svaneti is a privilege in itself — ridgelines running along the Russian border, five-thousand-metre peaks towering over grass-covered ridges already 3,000 metres up. All of that changes once you leave the Mestia–Ushguli trek behind — the fully-mapped, downloadable version everyone already knows — and go further, into terrain that isn't planned out for you.

It starts at a homestay at the edge of the trail — the best meal of the whole trip, bread broken together, more fresh food from their own garden than you could finish. The first days pass through farming settlements, some big enough for a school, others just a single house standing alone, guarded by centuries-old stone towers that still watch over the valley. Wild horses graze loose on the ridgelines, and everywhere, locals who stop to actually greet you.

The nature never stops impressing, and it's not only the altitude that takes your breath away. Some of the best spots take a bit of bushwhacking to reach — worth every bit of it. Get caught in an afternoon thunderstorm near a ski slope, and a hut warden might let you sleep the night on nothing but old lift-line padding, tell you to help yourself to whatever's in the fridge, and send you off in the morning expecting nothing in return. That's the hospitality here.

If there's time, a city at the foot of the Caucasus is worth the detour — genuinely rich history, almost Mediterranean in feel in a way you wouldn't expect this deep in the mountains, with abandoned Soviet-era resorts once reserved for the elite if you like a bit of urban exploring, or, if that's not your thing, some genuinely excellent wine tastings instead. Want more time in the mountains, or a stop in the city on the way out? Tell me and we'll build it in.

Free route plan — my variant vs. the standard line