Cycle Touring in Georgia

Cycling in Georgia

I have spent about a month in total cycling around Georgia. This is certainly not nearly enough to make me an expert, but given that I meticulously planned, cycled and adjusted all of my routes, I, nevertheless, feel like I have a pretty good insight into riding here.

From a geographical perspective, Georgia is most famous for its Caucasus mountains, and in general it is a mountainous country. There are some slightly flatter regions, but if you plan to spend much time cycling here, then you should plan on doing a considerable amount of climbing.

That being said, the country is very diverse in terms of scenery and terrain, so lets look at a few of the best regions for riding.

Svaneti Mountains

The Svaneti mountains, situated in the Upper Caucasus in the north-west of the country, are probably the most popular destination in Georgia for cycle tourists. This region is home to some of the highest mountains and most beautiful scenery in the country.

The classic route here is a circle through the Upper Svaneti from the city of Kutaisi. On my 2024 tour to Georgia I flew into Kutaisi with the intention of starting my trip with this loop. Due to bad weather I changed plans, but I certainly intend to do it some time in the future.





I think this ride through the Svaneti is ideal for a first trip to Georgia. It is a well ridden path, so is quite easy to find information about, and the area has a lot of tourist infrastructure so is easier to get around and plan than some other parts of the country. More importantly, the scenery is spectacular, particularly around the Zagari Pass and the culturally significant towns of Ushguli and Mestia. I would recommend staying for a few nights in this region and doing some hiking as well, to really get into the heart of the high mountains.

The return to Kutaisi includes a long descent, followed by nice quiet roads passing the Martvili Canyon. All in all, it's a very pleasant ride through a stunning landscape. There are a couple of challenging unpaved sections around Ushguli, but it is mostly on decent quality paved roads.

The main downside to this route is kind of the same as one of the advantages: it's quite touristy. Now, it's all relative, so if you are used to going to busy destinations in Europe or Asia, then you will probably be pleasantly surprised with the lack of crowds in the Svaneti. However if, like me, you tend to go quite, less touristy places, then you might find the Svaneti to be rather crowded. Related to this, the road between Mestia and Jvari can be quite busy with traffic (which is why I recommend descending that way, and climbing on the much quieter but harder road to Ushguli from the east). In Ushguli and Mestia there are a lot of 4x4 vehicles on the trails and the towns can get busy in summer.

It's also necessary to consider the weather here. I had planned to ride this loop, but changed my mind when I saw that a week of solid rain was forecast, as well as quite low temperatures - and this was in mid-August. If you are a fair weather cyclist, then there are other parts of Georgia that are much warmer and drier!

Elsewhere in the Upper Svaneti mountains there is some pleasant riding to the east of Kutaisi. This is much quieter and less touristy than the Upper Svaneti, although also less spectacular! There are some nice hilly roads around towns such as Ambrolauri and Chiatura.

Lesser Caucasus

The Lesser Caucasus are situated south of the Svaneti mountains. They cover much of south-west Georgia and continue into Turkey and Armenia. In all my cycling through Georgia, this has been the region that I enjoyed the most. There is a great combination of beautiful scenery, challenging climbs, quiet routes and incredible historic sites.

In 2024, I cycled through the region from Kutaisi to Ninotsminda and on into Armenia. It was a fantastic route, with very few tourists outside of a couple of major attractions (Akhaltsikhe and Vardzia). I felt like I experienced scenery nearly as spectacular as the Upper Svaneti, but also saw a very different side of Georgia in terms of the towns and way of life.

The mountains begin south of the Kvirila and Kura rivers and start with a signficant climb via one of several passes: Zegari and Tskhratskaro are the most enjoyable, but both have long unpaved sections. The main road through Borjomi is busy and not recommended, from Tbilisi the Chikiani pass through Tsalka and Paravani is pleasant, but less charming and busier than the two aforementioned options.




Once in the Lesser Caucasus there are many options for exploring. It's best to avoid the main roads between town if you can; they are easier as they tend to follow the river valleys and are more direct, but they are also busier with traffic and miss out on the more spectacular scenery. The real beauty is in the side roads and gravel trails that connect charming villages which offer an insight into the more traditional Georgian way of life.

I can't really think of any negatives to cycling in this region, at least as you long as you enjoy climbing!

Tusheti, Shatili & Kazbegi

Situated in the Upper Caucasus, this region is the eastern counterpart to the Svaneti mountains. In general it is more remote, less touristy and wilder than the Svaneti; however, it does vary considerably.

The area around Kazbegi, for example, is extremely touristy and a very beautiful region. However, I don't really recommend it for cycle touring. The main way to get there is on the 3 highway, which is terrible for cycling. It's the main road from Georgia into Russia and has a lot of trucks chugging uphill, overtaking dangerously and spewing out lots of pollution - it's not enjoyable at all. Other than that, the main way to arrive to Kazbegi is from Juta, having ascended over the Chaukhi Pass. The problem is that a large part of the pass is not rideable - so you will end up doing a lot of hike-a-bike on quite steep trails. If you don't mind that then it's a very scenic route, but I prefer to stick to rideable terrain! If you really want to visit Kazbegi, then I'd recommend taking a tour there from Tbilisi and do some hiking instead.



At the other end of the scale in terms of tourists an crowds is the Tusheti National Park. This is probably the most wild and isolated part of Georgia - in fact it is completely cut off from the rest of the country during much of the year. This is because the only way in and out by road is over the nearly 2,900m high Abano Pass. It's a long and very hard unpaved climb on a bicycle. You also have to be self-sufficent because there is basically no accommodation or shops between Lechuri and Omalo. The route into the Tusheti has spectacular views and, once you arrive in Omalo, you are rewarded with stunning terrain and a truly authentic cultural experience. From Omalo there is some great hiking and off-road riding. A popular bikepacking route heads over the Atsunta Pass, but again that includes a considerable amount of hiking with a bike over tough terrain.

The final option in the region is in between Kazbegi and Tusheti - both literally in a geographical sense and in terms of what to expect. There is fantastic cycling to the villages of Shatili, Mutso and Roshka and also in the surrounding mountains. This area is more touristy than Tusheti, but still feels relatively untouched and is mucher wilder and more remote feeling than around Kazbegi or the Upper Svaneti. I did a superb ride from Tbilisi to Shatili and back as part of my 2024 Tour and I enjoyed every minute of it. The climbing and descent of Datvisjvari Pass and the hiking around Roshka were absolutely stunning. The major advantage of the area around Roshka and Shatili is that it can all be ridden on either quiet paved roads or decent gravel trails.

The major downside for this region is the same as for the Upper Svaneti - the weather. Cold and wet weather is not that uncommon even in the middle of summer. This is particularly an issue in the Tusheti, where trails can get muddy or landslides can block key routes - making it difficult to progress. Another thing to bear in mind is that, depending on where you are in the region, you sometimes need to acquire permits. This is particularly important in the Tusheti and other areas close to the Russian border.

Tbilisi & Kakheti

Tbilisi is a great city and is an obvious starting or ending point for many cycle tourists. There is some nice mountain biking in Mtatsminda, and some limited cycling infrastructure alongside the river. However, neither the city itself, nor the immediate surroundings are good for cycle touring. The main issue is the traffic and the aggressive nature of the drivers in this region (see below for more details!).

I had planned to ride to Telavi and explore the Kakheti region, but after cycling into and around Tbilisi a bit, I didn't feel at all comfortable sharing the roads with cars here. Instead I headed north to the much quieter mountains roads towards Shatili, as described above.




The Kakheti region does have good potential for cycling if you can get there without having to ride out of the capital. Situated in the far east of Georgia, it is one of the flatter parts of the country (although still expect some hills) and has plenty of cultural interest. Towns such as Sighnaghi and Telavi already attract a lot of tourists, as do historic sites such as Alaverdi and David Gareji monastery. Kakheti also has an extremely long history as a wine producing region, and it's certainly possible to do something simialar to Cycle Fiesta's Rioja Vineyards Holiday where you can combine cycling with wine tasting!

To be honest, I don't know enough about this region to offer any specific routes. I planned quite a few provisional itineraries here, but struggled to find quiet paved roads. The off-road routes often head through desert like landscapes (particularly in the south), so could also be tricky on a bike. However, I'm sure it is possible, and if you don't mind sharing the road with some traffic then there are good quality highways connecting the towns here.

Black Sea Coast

Finally, a region that potentially looks enticing to cyclists is Georgia's coastline on the Black Sea. I would strongly advise against riding along the coast itself between Poti and Batumi. The roads are busy, the traffic is aggressive and the town are not particularly charming or interesting.

If you want to ride along the coast and visit some beaches, you should probably go to a different country on the Mediterranean instead. However, slightly inland from the coast there is some promising riding in the Guria and Adjara regions. Once you get away from the coast, you can find a network of quiet and picturesque local roads and trails. Guria, further north, is slightly flatter and has more route options, while Adjara is already kind of part of the Lesser Caucasus.

Both regions have a very pleasant climate. So pleasant, in fact, that they are home to several tea and coffee plantations!

Roads & Traffic

The road quality in Georgia is quite varied. There are plenty of new roads with perfectly paved surfaces, as well as old roads which are in a state of disrepair. Roads in towns tend to be worse than those connecting towns, and more rural roads are typically in worse condition than the main highways.

If you cycle here, you should also plan to do quite a bit of off-road riding. While it is possible to stay entirely on paved roads, you will miss out on a lot of the best scenery and will also be exposed to longer sections with potentially dangerous traffic. Gravel roads in Georgia vary as much as paved roads do. Some are very smooth with just a light sprinkling of dust (e.g. Datvisjvari Pass), others feature quite significant stones and rocks (Abano Pass), while some are be mostly dirt which sometimes turns into thick mud (e.g. Ushguli - Mestia and trails around Tbilisi).

I recommend bringing quite wide tyres (certainly over 2") to be able to handle a variety of conditions. I don't ride with any suspension when touring, but it would have been very nice to have on a few of the longer off-road descents.

Traffic

Before I first cycled in Georgia I had read a lot about how dangerous the roads could be for cyclists. My experience, however, didn't really bear that out for the most part. I planned my routes carefully and cycled very little on the main routes between towns, generally choosing side roads or trails where possible. As a result, I barely thought about cars or trucks. The routes were extremely quiet and the few drivers that I did encounter were usually driving slowly and were very courteous. When I had to cycle through the smaller towns, it didn't feel dangerous at all, drivers would give way and pass with plenty of space.

The big exception to this was as I got closer to Tbilisi. Here I found the drivers to be extremely aggressive, with lots of fast, close passes, as well as people dangerously pulling out on me at junctions. I guess this is where Georgia's bad driving reputation comes from (perhaps it's similar in Batumi and other larger cities). I really didn't enjoy riding on roads within about a 50km circumference of Tbilisi because of the driving, and even changed my plans because of it. I should say that I have a very low tolerance for riding alongside cars, even in a country like Spain where drivers are pretty considerate, so you may be more willing to accept the risks.

As I hinted at earlier, however, you really can minimize your risk. You can ride through most of Georgia on beautiful quiet lanes and trails without having to even think about the traffic. I see the routes from some cyclists who follow the main highways from Tbilisi to places like Armenia, Kazbegi or Gori. I genuinely don't understand why people do it - it's dangerous and is not particularly scenic. It might be the most direct and flattest route at times, but my advice in that case would be to take the scenic route and just don't go so far!