Transcaucasian Trail

The Transcaucasian Trail is a long-distance hiking route under development across Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, eventually linking the Greater and Lesser Caucasus in two intersecting trails totaling about 3,000 km. As of 2026, more than half of that—around 1,900 km—is already open and waymarked to some degree. The trek can be done independently or with a guide.

Efforts began in 2015 by two former Peace Corps volunteers, Paul Stephens and Jeff Haack. It involved piecing together existing shepherd and village paths with newly built trail. Armenia's stage was the first to be completed end-to-end, in late 2021; Georgia and Azerbaijan sections continue to expand each year.

• Transcaucasian Trail website

Waymarking varies by section: some stretches are blazed, others are entirely unmarked, so a GPS track (available from the official website) is essential rather than optional. Trekking poles, layered clothing, and a reliable water filter are recommended.

Citizens of most countries can enter Georgia and Armenia visa-free for up to 90 days; Azerbaijan requires an e-visa, arranged online in advance. The land border between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains closed to travelers as of Sep 2026, so the trail's Armenian and Azerbaijani sections cannot be linked overland. Sections near Chuberi in Svaneti lie in a border zone, where hikers need a permit from Georgian border guards—best arranged in Tbilisi before setting out.

Villages along the route offer basic options—family guesthouses often serve home-cooked meals on request, but stock up in larger towns like Mestia, Sheki, or Yerevan before heading into more remote stretches, where there may be no shops at all.

Guesthouses and family homestays are the most reliable source of drinkable water and meals along the route. On the trail, treat or filter water from streams and rivers before drinking—some Armenian stretches, especially through Arevik National Park, can go three days without a reliable source.

Wild camping is the most common way to sleep, and is legal across most of the route; guesthouses and family homestays fill in where camping isn't practical, particularly in Svaneti villages like Nakra, Becho, Mestia, and Ushguli. Book ahead in peak season (July–September), as options are limited.

Weather in the high Caucasus is unpredictable and can shift quickly, even in summer. Snow can linger on high passes into early summer, and afternoon thunderstorms are common; winters bring heavy snow that closes most of the route to hiking. Azerbaijan's lower-elevation sections have a milder climate and can be hiked across more of the year.

For the Svaneti section, transfer by shared taxi ("marshrutka") or private car from 41.722544.79251MISSING WIKILINK Tbilisi or 42.27166742.7055562MISSING WIKILINK Kutaisi to Chuberi, generally via 42.50805641.87253MISSING WIKILINK Zugdidi; the drive takes 4–7 hours. For the Armenia stage, most hikers fly into 40.18138944.5144444 Yerevan, then bus to Meghri to start at the southern end, or to 40.78333343.8333335MISSING WIKILINK Gyumri and taxi to Lake Arpi to start at the northern end. For Azerbaijan's sections, Sheki and Gabala are the usual access towns, both reachable by bus from 40.36665649.8351836 Baku.

About 10 days, from Chuberi to Ushguli.

Chuberi - Nakra

 27 km

Nakra - Becho

 35 km

Becho - Mestia

 21 km

Meztia - Adishi

 28 km 600 m

Adishi - Ushguli

 29 km 950 m

The Armenian stage is the first completed national section of the TCT: a continuous 819-km route between Lake Arpi National Park in the north and Meghri, on the Iranian border, in the south. Most thru-hikers take 25–40 days; the route can also be split into shorter regional hikes, with the Gegham Mountains a popular one-week option.

Lake Arpi - Meghri

 819 km

Newer, shorter sections around Sheki and Gabala are open and partially blazed, though a full Azerbaijani thru-hike isn't yet possible.

Sheki

 89 km 5,315 m

Gabala - Oghuz

 73 km 5,391 m

The route crosses remote, high-altitude terrain with unpredictable weather—carry a map and compass as backup to GPS, since phone signal is unreliable on many stretches. Avoid all travel within 5 km of the closed Armenia–Azerbaijan border, and check current guidance before entering border-zone areas of Svaneti.

If the Transcaucasian Trail whets your appetite for the Caucasus, consider continuing on to Svaneti for more high-alpine village trekking, or head south into Dilijan National Park for gentler forested trails. Adventurous hikers sometimes extend into the Greater Caucasus range in Azerbaijan for a quieter, less-trodden alternative. Each offers a different flavor of the same dramatic mountain culture.