Tusheti 4x4 Adventure
By 4x4 over the high Abano Pass into Tusheti, Georgia's best-known mountain drive, then on foot to the Keselo towers, Shenako, Diklo and Dartlo.
TelaviPhoto: Jelger Groeneveld, CC BY 2.0High in north-east Georgia, Tusheti can only be reached on one dirt road, which crosses the Abano Pass at roughly 2,850 m. It is passable only from around June to early October, and the 4x4 journey from Kvemo Alvani takes three to four hours of hairpins and sheer drops. Over the pass are tower villages and slate-roofed stone houses, sheep grazing the summer pastures, and the Tush themselves, a small farming people who spend the warm months up here and the winter down in the lowlands. You spend three nights in Omalo, the main village, and walk or drive from there to Keselo Fortress, Shenako, Diklo and Dartlo.
The road demands a head for heights, yet the walking is moderate: three to six hours a day on village paths and farm tracks. You stay with a family whose guesthouse kitchen turns out Tushetian staples such as kotori, a pie stuffed with sheep's cheese, plus khinkali and guda, a cheese matured in sheepskin. Tusheti has no cash machine and patchy phone coverage, so bring enough cash. Departures run from late June to September.
Highlights
- Crossing the Abano Pass, roughly 2,850 m, in a 4x4
- Three nights in Omalo beneath the towers of Keselo
- A walk from Omalo over to Shenako and on to Diklo
- Slate-roofed stone houses and the Kvavlo tower at Dartlo
- Kotori pies, khinkali and Tushetian cheese at a family table
- A stop at Alaverdi Monastery while crossing Kakheti
Tour facts
The 4x4 reaches Omalo, Dartlo and the road head near Diklo, so you can see the tower villages from the vehicle and short level stretches. The ride is long and jolting, and the walks to Keselo, Shenako and Kvavlo are on steep, uneven paths with no handrails.
Places on this tour
8 places · tap any place to read its guide
- 1Through Kakheti to Kvemo Alvani, with Telavi and Alaverdi
- 2The Abano Pass road to Omalo
- 3
- 4Dartlo, Kvavlo and the upper Pirikiti Alazani
- 5Return over the pass and on to Tbilisi
Day by day
01Through Kakheti to Kvemo Alvani, with Telavi and AlaverdiOvernight: Kvemo Alvani (guesthouse)
Set off from Tbilisi in the morning and head into Kakheti. Your first stop is Telavi, where you visit Batonis Tsikhe, the walled residence of King Erekle II. Next comes Alaverdi Monastery, an 11th-century cathedral standing high above the vineyards with the wall of the Caucasus behind it. By afternoon you arrive in Kvemo Alvani, down on the plain, where many Tush families spend their winters and where the 4x4 drivers who work the Tusheti road are based. Over a dinner of local food at your family guesthouse, you meet the driver who will take you across the pass tomorrow.
02The Abano Pass road to OmaloOvernight: Omalo (guesthouse)
An early start in the 4x4 for one of the Caucasus's best-known mountain drives. The unpaved track winds up through beech woods and past waterfalls, with long stretches carved into cliff faces above deep gorges, until it tops out at the Abano Pass, about 2,850 m and often above the cloud. You then drop into Tusheti past summer sheep pastures to reach Omalo. After lunch, climb to Keselo Fortress above Upper Omalo, a cluster of defensive towers first raised in the 13th century and partly restored.
03On foot from Omalo to Shenako and DikloOvernight: Omalo (guesthouse)
Leave Omalo on foot, dropping through pine forest and crossing the river before climbing to Shenako, whose stone houses have wooden balconies, and its little Holy Trinity Church on a grassy spur. The trail then traverses the hillside to Diklo, close to the border with Dagestan and among the most remote villages in Georgia. Scramble up to the ruins of Diklo fortress for a view across the valley. Your driver picks you up in Diklo for the ride back to Omalo. Expect about five to six hours of walking in total.
04Dartlo, Kvavlo and the upper Pirikiti AlazaniOvernight: Omalo (guesthouse)
Follow the Pirikiti Alazani valley by 4x4 to Dartlo, where slate-roofed stone houses, many of them 19th-century, surround a circle of stone seats once used by the village elders for their council. A climb of about 200 m takes you to the Kvavlo towers above the village and a wide view up and down the valley. If you still have time and energy, continue by car or on foot toward Chesho and Parsma, whose towers cling to steep slopes. Back in Omalo, round off your last evening with Tushetian beer or chacha around the guesthouse table.
05Return over the pass and on to Tbilisi
After breakfast you say goodbye to Omalo and cross the Abano Pass again, pausing for photos on the summit and once more beside the waterfalls on the descent. At Kvemo Alvani you change to your regular vehicle and carry on across the Alazani Valley toward Tbilisi, breaking the journey for lunch. You should reach the capital in the early evening, around seven hours after leaving the mountains. We drop you at your hotel or at the airport. Flying out the following morning? Just ask, and we can book you a room close to the Old Town for that last night.
Prices
Price per person for a private tour, by the size of your group. Sample prices
| Group size | Per person | Whole group |
|---|---|---|
| Solo traveller | $1,865 | $1,865 |
| 2 travellers | $1,130 | $2,260 |
| 3-4 travellers | $905 | from $2,715 |
| 5-8 travellers | $745 | from $3,725 |
| 9-15 travellers | $620 | from $5,580 |
Room and children
- Single room supplement: $150
- Children under 6 free (sharing a bed); ages 6-11 pay 70% of the adult price.
- Prices change with hotel level and season; your quote is final.
Popular add-ons
- Tbilisi airport transfer (car, 1-3 people)$30
- Extra night in Tbilisi with breakfast$90
- Supra dinner with folk music$50
What's included
- Transfers from and back to your Tbilisi hotel or the airport
- A private guide who speaks English
- Private car and driver as far as Kvemo Alvani
- A seasoned local 4x4 driver who knows the Tusheti road and its side valleys
- Four guesthouse nights with families, breakfast included
- Meals as shown in the day-by-day plan
- Entry to Tusheti National Park
- Drinking water in the car
- Flights to Georgia and home
- Your travel insurance
- Drinks at mealtimes
- Optional horse riding in Tusheti
- Tips for your guide and drivers
Good to know
Who it's for
- Travellers who want the drive over the Abano Pass as much as the destination
- Moderately fit walkers who like village-to-village days of three to six hours rather than summit climbs
- Anyone curious about shepherd culture, Tush cheese and life in a valley cut off for much of the year
- Couples and small groups happy with simple family guesthouses and patchy phone signal
If steep unguarded drops make you anxious or you get carsick on long dirt roads, take the Kazbegi Day Trip instead, which reaches high mountains on a paved highway.
What to bring
- Lari in cash to cover every meal, drink and tip up there: there is no cash machine and cards are rarely accepted
- Travel sickness tablets for the three to four hours of hairpins on the Abano road
- Light hiking boots or trail shoes with good grip for the path down to the river below Omalo and the climb to Diklo fortress
- A warm fleece and a rain shell, as mornings at about 1,900 m are cool even in August and the pass can sit in cloud
- A head torch for evenings, since village lights are few and power can drop out
- A power bank, because charging points in guesthouses are limited
- The Abano Pass road opens only after the snow is cleared and shuts with the first heavy snowfall. We confirm the dates before you book and do not drive it after strong rain.
- If the road is closed by a landslide on your dates, we offer to move the tour or swap to the Kazbegi area; helicopter seats can be requested but are never guaranteed.
- Diklo is near the border with Dagestan in Russia. Keep your passport with you on the walking days.
- Tushetian guesthouses share bathrooms in many cases, and hot water depends on solar panels or a wood boiler.
Walking days in numbers
| Day | Distance | Up | Down | Hours | Highest point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 km | +200 m | −200 m | 1-1.5 | 2,100 m |
| 3 | 10 km | +650 m | −350 m | 5-6 | 2,200 m |
| 4 | 3 km | +200 m | −200 m | 1-2 | 2,150 m |
Guest reviews
Questions about this tour
Is the road to Tusheti dangerous?
The Abano Pass road is narrow, unsealed and exposed, with long drops and no crash barriers. In dry weather, with an experienced local driver and a well-maintained 4x4, the journey is safe, and thousands of people make it each summer. We do not attempt it after heavy rain.
When is the Tusheti road open?
Snow is normally cleared from the road in late May or June, and it stays open until the first big snowfall, often in early October. The exact dates shift from year to year, so we confirm them before you travel.
Can I fly to Tusheti?
On some days a helicopter flies between Kakheti and Omalo, mainly for local residents. Seats are few and weather cancellations are common. We can try to reserve places for you as an option, keeping the road as the fallback.
What is there to eat in Tusheti?
Expect filling mountain cooking: kotori, a thin pie with a sheep's cheese filling, khinkali, grilled lamb and guda, the local cheese aged in sheepskin. Almost everything is brought over the pass, so menus are short, but the food is excellent.
