Category: Georgia 🇬🇪

Explore! releases their list of the 35 best hikes in the world that almost anyone can do

Explore Worldwide, an “adventure travel” agency, has put together a list of 35 of the best hikes in the world that almost anyone can do, from short jaunts you can do in less than an hour to longer, multi-day itineraries »

Continue reading

Transcaucasian Trail nears completion

Rebecca McPhee, Explorersweb »

Since 2015, the Transcaucasian Trail Association (TCTA) has been developing a 3,000km hiking trail across the Caucasus Mountains. The finished Transcaucasian Trail (TCT) will consist of two 1,500km sections spanning Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

The northern route follows the Greater Caucasus Mountains and connects the Black and Caspian Seas. The southern route spans the Lesser Caucasus Mountains from the Black Sea to the Aras River.

While the trail is still being developed in Azerbaijan, there are currently hundreds of kilometres of trail open to the public. The TCTA hope that a 1,200km route from northwest Georgia to southern Armenia will be fully open by 2022.

More »

» Transcaucasian Trail

Four of the most remote places to visit in Europe after travel restrictions are lifted

UK-based outdoor and clothing equipment brand Montane and Wired for Adventure teamed up to put together a short list of the most remote places to visit in Europe.

Ollie Rooke, writing for Wired For Adventure »

Ushguli – Georgia

While there’s some debate as to whether Georgia resides in Europe or Asia, we simply had to include this small settlement. A collection of tiny villages located at the foot of Shkhara mountain (5,193m), Ushguli sits at 2,100m above sea level and is therefore one of the highest inhabited settlements on the continent, but it’s also one of the most remote. »

Hoy, Orkney – Scotland

Although Hoy is the second largest island in the Orkney archipelago, a small clutch of islands off the coast of Scotland, it’s still tiny by most standards. Despite covering just 55 square miles and housing around 400 people, this diminutive island draws intrepid travellers to its shores with the lure of adventure at the edge of the UK. »

Kirkenes – Norway

Tucked away in the far north-eastern corner of Norway, the small town of Kirkenes lies at the very edge of mainland Europe. Just a few miles from Norway’s only land border with Russia, and 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle, the area is transformed into an icy wilderness during winter. And it’s this time of year that is best to visit, when travellers can observe two unique natural phenomenon. »

Faroe Islands, Denmark

Standing all alone in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Faroe Islands are undoubtedly one of the most remote places in Europe. Made up of 18 major islands and countless smaller ones, the Faroes’ closest neighbours are Scotland and Iceland, both located over 200 miles from its shores. »

Read the whole article on Wired for Adventure »

 

Watch Noraly from ItchyBoots.com Travel Through Georgia and Armenia as She Rides Around The World

We last connected with Noraly transiting quickly through Russia and the border crossing into Georgia. With this video series we follow her progress in Georgia.

Ep. 96 – Noraly crosses into Georgia
And heads to Tbilisi, the capital city.

Ep. 97 – Boom! Noraly surprises us by crossing into Armenia
In the video she tells us why.

Ep. 98 – Noraly highlights the people of Armenia

Ep. 99 – Noraly visits The Republic of Artsakh
Artsakh is a breakaway state that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan

Ep. 100 – Noraly returns to Armenia

 

Why You Must Travel the Silk Road in Your Lifetime

History is full of long and legendary highways but none – frankly – come close to the Silk Road. It’s not just the magnitude (at least 4,000 miles, in more than 40 countries) but the mythic potency of the project. The world was cleft into east and west in the Middle Ages.

But long before, the Silk Road – which has existed in one form or another since the fourth century BC – breached any such divide. While trade was its raison d’être – Chinese silk, of course, but also salt, sugar, spices, ivory, jade, fur and other luxury goods – the road forged deep social, cultural and religious links between disparate peoples.

And

The Silk Road was not a road, but a network. The central caravan tract followed the Great Wall, climbed the Pamir Mountains into Afghanistan, and crossed to the Levant. Along the way were spurs branching off to river ports, caravanserai, oases, markets and pilgrimage centres. Journeys demanded meticulous preparation: the Silk Road and its tributaries cut through some of the harshest, highest, wildest places on Earth.

Read More at The Telegraph (paywall)…Â