Discovering the Caucasian slopes 2021

Arrival at Tbilisi International Airport (TBS) and transfer to your hotel in the city. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

After having breakfast, around h. 10.00 meeting with our correspondent and day dedicated to visiting the historic city center. Free meals and overnight at the hotel.

Early breakfast and transfer of about an hour to the town of Jorjiashvili, where the horses await. We will set off on the saddle through oak forests that cover gentle hills, then again open spaces covered with colorful wild flowers. We will ford the Algeti river towards the village of Tetri Tskharo. Picnic lunch along the way and in the afternoon we will arrive at the village of Gudarekhi, at the top of the hills where the camp set up for the night awaits us. Dinner and overnight in a tented camp.

Breakfast and disassembly of the tents before getting on the saddle towards the Gudarekhi monastery; an imposing 12th century building now uninhabited with a fairytale atmosphere. Picnic lunch in the cool of the walnut forest surrounding the monastery. In the afternoon we will pass by green pastures where we will meet local shepherds with their flocks or herds. In the afternoon we will arrive in Ivanovka for dinner and overnight in a guest house.

We will leave through further forests and pastures to the village of Menkalisi where we will stop for lunch. In the afternoon we will climb more and more up to a point where the view opens onto the Caucasian mountains. Crossing the hill we will begin to see the complex of the monastery of Pitareti, where, after several years uninhabited, some monks have returned to live. The camp is set up not far away and for the more courageous there is the possibility of taking a dip in the frozen source. Dinner and overnight in a tented camp.

Departure to Dmanisi: we will pass by a fort of the seventh century restored in the seventeenth of which we can visit the secret tunnel. We will ford the Khrami River and and stop for lunch near the spring of Darbasi village. In the afternoon we will pass again by vast plains and some land planted with corn, beans and wheat. We will begin to see Dmanisi, where one of the most famous fortresses of Georgia stands on a volcanic plateau between two rivers. We will descend through the gorge crossing the Mashavera River to the fortress. Dinner and overnight in a beautiful guest house obtained from the ancient archaeological site.

After having breakfast,we will visit the archaeological site of Patara Dmanisi, discovered by a famous local archaeologist. We will visit a fortified medieval town dating back to the 6th century, a basilica and the oldest remains of Homo Erectus ever discovered in Europe to date, dating back to 1.7 million years ago. Lunch at the guest house before briefly riding back to Ukangori where we will spend the night in a tented camp.

we will be on the saddle towards the summer pastures of the Azerbaijani area in the direction of Bolnisi Sioni. Break for lunch in the town of Poladauri and then cross the river of the same name and arrive in the afternoon at the ruins of the ancient church of Saint Tevdore where we will set up camp for the night.

After having breakfast we will ride through acacia woods, a lush area for honey. The landscape will then open onto the 12th-century Tsugrugasheni monastery and the 4th-century church Bolnisi Sioni, the oldest in Georgia. Typical example of a church with three naves. . Break for lunch and then ford the Poladauri River and Mashavera. The road continues through the hills to the village of Didveli and then descends towards the Khrami River where the camp will be set up for dinner and overnight.

We'll head back to the stables today. We will pass the village of Samshvilde, of which we will explore the ruins and the fortress overlooking the gorge of the Khrami River. After having lunch ,we will ride to Tsintskaro and finally arrive at the stables in the afternoon after the last ford of the Algeti river. We will say goodbye to the horses and transfer to Tbilisi (possibility of sulphurous baths - for a fee) for the last farewell dinner of typical dishes. Overnight at Hotel.

After having breakfast, transfer to the international airport in time for your flight to Italy.