What to Know Before You Go

Day 3: From Adishi to Iprari

• Distance: 19 km (11 miles)
• Total elevation gain: 860 meters (2,820 feet)
• Time: 7-8 hours

Note: Iprari is also sometimes written as ‘Iprali.’ Weird, I know. Whatever it’s written as, they’re both the same place.

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Today is the most difficult one. It’s also maybe the most beautiful one. And it’s definitely the most varied one.

Most people, when you ask their favorite day of the Mestia to Ushguli walk, will tell you it’s today. I don’t have enough of a backbone to make a choice, but today is definitely a contender.

Anyway, you start today by leaving Adishi. You follow a trail through fields, as you walk parallel to a river for around an hour or a little longer. Sometimes, you’re close to the river; sometimes you’re far from it. The meadow-like views are nice here, and you pass a lonely church.

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Around 60-90 minutes after leaving Adishi, it’s time to cross the river I’ve already told you about. Here, you’ll find local people with horses. Give them 25 lari, and they’ll put you on a horse, and that horse will cross the river.

There’s a small chance you’ll be able to cross the river without the help of a horse. To do so, you’ll want to take off your shoes, roll up your trousers, and head a little downstream. Using hiking poles, check to see if it’s crossable by foot. It probably won’t be, but it’s worth checking.

Anyway, after you’ve crossed the river by whatever method you’ve chosen to cross the river by, get ready for the steepest part of the entire hike. Right after crossing the river, you’ll hit forest, and start heading uphill. After around an hour, the forest will open up and you’ll see Adishi Glacier. Have a little break here, cos the steep uphill continues.

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The rest of the steepness is open, instead of forested. You get excellent mountain views; this is one of the prettiest parts of the whole trek. After around one more hour, you’ll reach Chkhunderi Pass. Sitting at 2,655 meters (8,710 feet), it’s the highest point of today’s trek, and the highest point of the entire walk.

Stop here for food, before heading downhill, and into the next valley. After around 90 more minutes of walking along a pretty river, you’ll hit Khalde village. Stop here for your final break of the day, before then following a road for around one hour. This road (sometimes dirt track, sometimes asphalt) will lead you to Iprari, where you’ll spend the night.

Pro Tip: When you’re sitting at Chkhunderi Pass, you might decide to take an extra detour for some extra views. To do so, head northeast along the ridge, to go higher over the glacier. Going there and back will take around 45 minutes. Apparently, this gives you better views of the glacier and the mountains—but cos I’m a jaded cynic, I struggle to believe how that could be true. Try it for yourself and see.

Pro Tip #2: Although every day of the hike has lots of descent (and although today has lots of ascent), today is the most descent-heavy day. So if you have trekking poles (which you should!), today is definitely the time to use them.