Okay, so if you’ve found this post with the hope that it’ll give you a comprehensive km-by-km guide to the Mestia – Ushguli hike, it’s not going to be too helpful. It’s more of a everything you need to know before setting off the Mestia to Ushguli.
When I was researching the trek online, there was so much information about each part of the route, what to pack etc, but I struggled to find the most basic answers to my questions, like where to store my luggage, how much cash I would need to take with me, if the end of September was going to be a suitable time to hike, etc.
So if you keep on reading (which I hope you will), you’ll find all the information I think is the most useful for you to be able to plan and set realistic expectations of the hike.
What is the mestia to usghuli hike?
You’ve likely found this post through a Google search, but if you’ve also stumbled across it from another blog post, I’ll give you a quick summary.
Mestia to Usghuli is, I’d say, THE most famous hike in Georgia, right up in the Upper Svaneti Mountains. It takes three to four days, depending on how fast you want to go. But it takes you through small, remote Svaneti villages (serious Game of Thrones vibes) and after completing the hike, I can confirm it was the most beautiful hike I’ve ever been on.
The trail is well-looked after and although it has a fair share of ascents, it definitely is suitable for all levels.
So having finished the hike, I want to share with you all the information I would’ve found useful before I set off!
11 helpful tips on hiking Mestia to Ushguli, Georgia
1. shoulder-season is the best to hike.
We hiked the Mestia to Ushguli trek end of September. I was a little worried that it would be too cold and not as enjoyable, but it ended up being perfect. The trail was nice and quiet, and because of that, we ended up speaking to every single hiker we passed. The small amount of hikers also meant that the prices are the guesthouses were low, and we didn’t need to book too far in advance, or even at all!
Also, by going in September, you get the autumn colours, which are out of this world beautiful. I never experienced anything quite like it.
2. Yes, you can leave your luggage at any guesthouse in Mestia.
If you stay in a guesthouse before the Mestia to Ughguli hike, most guesthouses are happy for you to leave any luggage there while you do the hike, as you don’t wanna be lugging up all the weight for no good reason.
We packed everything we needed for three-days into one bag and left our other bag at our guesthouse, Nadia Guesthouse.
3. Cash is king: take more cash than you think.
Before you set off from Mestia, be sure to go to the ATM to get out any cash for the four days. There are no ATMs along the route, not even in Ushguli.
If you’re staying in guesthouses and eating breakfast and dinner there, the minimum you’ll need per night is 80 -100GEL. Be careful, as the estimated prices you’ll read on blogs might be wrong. Guesthouse prices and food are increasing rapidly as the hike increases in popularity. For the latest prices (from September 2023), see my post:
4. There is wifi and data coverage: don't be fooled
I’m sorry to burst your bubble if you were hoping to be offline the whole time. Yes, the hike is so remote, and you’d expect there to be no data coverage, but there’s Wi-Fi in basically every guesthouse along the route (even Adishi!), and the data coverage is really good (especially if you have a Magti sim).
Of course, you can actively choose to be offline, but don’t expect to have no choice.
5. You don't need to be too fit.
While there are big ascents, the hike is split up into manageable chunks so I can definitely recommend it to hikers with all levels of fitness. Don’t let the scary number of ascents put you off from doing one of the most beautiful hikes in the world. If you opt to stay in guesthouses like the majority of hikers, you won’t need to carry a heavy backpack with camping gear and food, etc.
6. Bring snacks
One of our regrets on the hike was not bringing any snacks. There are virtually no shops along the route and because breakfast is early, we were craving some snacks to keep up going until dinner.
The guesthouses always offer some tea and coffee but I’d definitely recommend stocking up on nuts, chocolate or whatever you like to keep you going throughout the day.
7. Bring entertainment for the guesthouse
Unless you’re a snail, you’ll likely reach your guesthouse at around 2 pm every day. Dinner isn’t normally served until 7 or 8 pm, so you’ll have lots of time. After taking in the sights of the tiny village, you might want to read, journal, play cards, or download a few Netflix episodes (we watched the Vikings, and it was so on point).
8. The Adishschala River crossing isn't that bad.
If you haven’t read about the river crossing after Adishi, well, you have now! Adishschala River is a much-talked-about part of the trail. You’ll likely come across it on Day 3 at Chkhunderi Pass.
If you cross the river at around 9-10 am, there will likely be men with horses waiting to charge you to cross. But in all honestly, when we reached the river last month (in September), it was very shallow, and we could walk across it slowly without paying for the horse. It was shallower than it looked, albeit the water was freezing.
To cross by horse (which takes only a few seconds) costs 25 GEL, which has doubled in price when I compare it with some 2019/2020 blog posts.
9. In low season, you don't need to guesthouses book in advance
Don’t feel pressure to book everything in advance; in low season, you can easily go into the villages and scope out what guesthouse looks good. Sometimes, on booking.com, something may look nice, but when you get there, you may be disappointed (and that’s a polite way for me to put it).
10. The guesthouses are basic but they'll have everything you need
Don’t worry about bringing towels and soap, as the guesthouses have these. All of them also offer dinner, and let me tell you, I was pretty impressed. The best dinner we had was at Sesali Guesthouse in Adishi. The picture above was a meal for two of us!
11. You can easily hike without a guide
We met a few people who opted for a guide, but I promise you, it’s definitely not necessary. You can follow the route on maps.me or All Trails, and there are also white and red markers along the rocks to help you out.
12. Stop in iprali if you like, you can catch a ride back from there
So, we actually didn’t go all the way to Ushguli. At the end of day 3, we stopped in Iprali and caught a ride back to Mestia with some other hikers we met on the trail (shoutout to Colin and Lydia).
This was because we had limited time, and after speaking to a few hikers in Mestia who had done the trek, they told us that day 4 to Ushguli was short and not scenic at all (basically, walking along a road). They told us they wished they’d stopped in Iprali, so we did just that, and I’m happy with your decision.
13. Try and organise a ride back from ushguli beforehand
If you do decide to go all the way to Ushguli, try and organise a ride back with your guesthouse in Mestia.
You might have already heard about the “taxi mafia” in Ushguli charging ridiculous prices and threatening any locals trying to pick up any hitchhikers. While we didn’t end up in Ushguli, we met people along the hike who told us they organised a pick-up in advance with their guesthouse in Mestia. They were charged only GEL 30, which is great in comparison to what the taxi drivers will charge you in Ushguli.
So be prepared and organise a ride beforehand.
14. Be careful about relying on taking a flight from mestia
So you might have heard that it’s possible to catch a flight from Mestia to other destinations in Georgia with Vanilla Sky. Yes, its true but you need to book tickets very far in advance as there are limited seats on board the flight (it’s a tiny aeroplane).
Even if you manage to secure tickets, the flight is very often cancelled last minute due to the unpredictable weather in the mountains. Our two friends who he met on the hike, had a flight cancelled last minute due to bad weather and ended up being kinda stuck in Mestia for another day as the only marshrutka’s leaving Mestia are at 8am.
If you do want to take your chances and fly with Vanilla Air, keep a day or two in your travel plans for flexibility just in case.
So I hope all my advice is useful for you and you feel better prepared to take on the Mestia to Ushguli hike! Enjoy the incredible Georgian mountains and hospitality!
As always, big love to you all.
4 thoughts on “Mestia Ushguli Hike | Everything You Need to Know (2023)”
Hello, thank you for all your the informations you are sharing with us!
We are planning to go to Georgia and do the Mestia Usghuli hike on the beginning of May and were wondering if it was possible to do the Ushguli Mestia trek beginning by Ushguli?
Thank you for the answer!
Ikram C
Hey Ikram! Exciting, I think May will be a nice time to hike. Yes, you can definitely begin in Ushguli, but its more uncommon. On our hike in September, we only saw two groups of people that were hiking the opposite direction. One of the best things about the hike is connecting with people along the way, so if thats important to you, I would start in Mestia.
Don’t hestitate to reach out if you have any more questions,
Jules
Hi Jules, thank you for this post, it definitely answers some questions I still had even after reading plenty of other trip reports around the Internet!
I was wondering if you did any preparation for the hike in terms of muscle building or if you’re a pretty avid hiker/athlete in general? My partner and I are thinking of doing this hike, but we are still a bit concerned if it’s not too hard for us. We regularly (as in, almost weekly) go on 2 hour hikes, but this is obviously a whole different ballpark. So when people say “you don’t have to be too fit”, I always wonder what their baseline is!
Thanks in advance and thanks again for the post! Anne
Hi Anne! So glad it gave you a better impression of what to expect from the hike.
Generally, I’m an avid hiker but that’s all the sport I do! I wouldn’t say I’m extraordinarily fit. I think if you’re hiking regularly (almost weekly), you’ll be fine. And if you leave nice and early from the guesthouses every day, you can go as steady and slow as you like.
My best advice would be to take only a small backpack. We saw quite a few people carrying huge 60L backpacks, and to be honest, this was excessive. Unless you’re planning on camping, you only need the bare minimum, like clothes, hiking poles, some snacks, etc. We had small 30L’s and left a lot of unnecessary items at our guesthouse in Mestia.
Give me a shout if you need any further advice!