Lagodekhi Nature Weekend
Forest trails Alazani Valley Eagle Gorge and Khornabuji in two days.
- days
- 2 / 1 nights
- Total distance
- 310 km
- Total driving
- 06:30
- Car needed
- Crossover / SUV
- Season
- April–October
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Click a marker for details. Coloured lines are ready-made road trips.
Day one uses gentle Kakheti stops while day two focuses on Lagodekhi Protected Areas and eastern Kakheti landscapes.
Day-by-day plan
Day 1: Telavi → Ilia Lake → Kvareli. Day 2: Lagodekhi Protected Areas → Eagle Gorge → Khornabuji → Telavi.
Stops on this route
Ilia Lake
A small wooded lake on Kvareli's western edge, with the Caucasus as its backdrop: Kakheti's summer swim, two kilometres from Ilia Chavchavadze's birthplace.
2 h
Kvareli and the Kindzmarauli zone
Semi-sweet Saperavi under the Caucasus, a 17th-century river-stone fortress and the house where Ilia Chavchavadze was born.
4 h
Lagodekhi Protected Areas
Georgia's oldest nature reserve, founded in 1912: beech forest, waterfalls and a two-to-three-day trek to a glacial lake on the Dagestan ridge.
6 h
Artsivi (Eagle) Gorge
A small limestone canyon above Dedoplistskaro where griffon vultures and black storks nest, and a bellflower grows that exists nowhere else.
2 h
Khornabuji Fortress
Ruined walls on a lone pale-grey crag above Dedoplistskaro, where a 5th-century king seated a bishop and the plain gives way to steppe.
1.5 hTips
- Choose the Lagodekhi trail for the weather and your fitness.
- Forest trails are slippery after rain; hiking footwear is essential.
Best car for this trip
Cars in this category
Guides
- The Best Time to Visit Georgia, Counted Month by Month Georgia does not have one season. It has two countries: a 60% country from November to April and a 99% country
- Driving in Georgia: What the Distances Actually Cost You Georgia is a small country with slow roads. Here is what 267 measured drives from Tbilisi say about how long y
Pickup locations
Car Rental at Tbilisi Airport — 76 km (straight line)
Booking and enquiries
The easiest way to reach these places is by car — you pick the route and the stops.