Last updated on 21st June, 2025

TREK FROM TOBAVARCHKHILI LAKE TO KHAISHI

The most remote route leading to (or from) the Tobavarchkhili lake.


Another hiking route to Tobavarchkhili lake, one of the most beautiful mountain lakes in Georgia. Of the three main trails leading to the lake, this one is the least popular. There are several reasons. The route from Khaishi is the longest, more remote than the others, not always well-trodden and also, objectively speaking, probably the least diverse one. Still, it's quite attractive, especially if you later want to continue to Svaneti.

Difficulty: Hard

Several sections of the trail are overgrown, muddy, or both. Plus a couple of uncomfortable river crossings and the overall remoteness of the trek gives this route a Hard difficulty.  

Duration: 2 days

This trek takes two days to finish, but keep in mind that you will also need to get to the lakes, which will take another two days or even more.


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When to go:

The ideal period is the same as for the main Tobavarchkhili trek - the best time is from the second half of July to mid-September due to the most pleasant weather and lowest rainfall. Wouldn't try it earlier due to snow. In autumn, the trail should remain somewhat accessible till late September, but it won't be as pleasant due to shorter days and dropping temperatures.

Accommodation:

There are no villages or guesthouses where you could spend a night, you will have to pack everything necessary for a prolonged camping trip.

Which way to hike:

The trek is feasible in both directions, so decide based on your other plans. Yet, for some reason, almost everybody uses this route for exit from the lakes, so I will also describe it like that. Not much would change if you hike in the opposite direction - the suggested place to spend a night remains the same.

How to get to Tobavarchkhili lake:

As you might have guessed by now, there is no easy way to Tobavarchkhili lake. You will simply have to walk :)

How to leave Khaishi:

Leaving Khaishi is harder than it seems to be. Even though the road sees decent traffic, there are only a couple of marshrutkas per day and these are usually full. You might try to hitchhike, but as a backup (especially if you are traveling in a group), you better have the phone number of the taxi driver either from Zugdudi or Mestia. Or you can ask at local shops, they will call you someone but it will cost about 300 GEL because there seems to be no taxi driver in Khaishi and the driver would have to come from Zugdidi anyway. 


Description of the route

Trail parameters

Distance 41,4 km
Trail type: AB trip
Max. elevation: 2775m
Min. elevation: 606m
Total climb: 1730m
Total descent: 3580m

Day 1: Tobavarchkhili lake - behind Natakhtish-Dudi pass distance 14.2km, 1250m and 1430m

Start early and climb the pass to the north of the lake. It shouldn't take long as it's only 150 elevation meters and the path from lake to the pass is obvious - first, you climb the ridge to the right from the pass and from there, follow a nice, slowly rising trail. Then down on the other side. On your right, you will see a small Didi Ghele lake, usually covered with ice. By now, also Kailashi lake appears below - it has shape of a heart. Head down to it.

Here is the tricky part. Cross the small stream at the spot where it flows out of the Kailashi lake but don´t follow it to the left - instead of that, turn right and start climbing onto a ridge behind a lake. There is also a path, if you look for it, you should find it pretty quickly. It slowly climbs above the lake and then circumvents the nameless hill from the right side. Finally, you will reach a tourist pointer showing the detour to the Tshakatskari lake.

You would have to cross the small pass you see to the south-east. It's not far, but the pass is steep and crossing it involves some scrambling. If you don´t have a few extra hours, follow the classic trail and turn left.

An amazing view into Khobistskali valley opens up - this is the way down. The trail here consists of a series of endless serpentines which will bring you some 400 meters lower to the river. When you come to the bottom of the valley, the path becomes hard to follow. Walk down the valley, more or less in parallel with the river, but keeping a distance from it. Some 700 meters later, you will see a huge square boulder on the opposite bank of the river and if you look better, also a white/red hiking marker. Cross the river here. On the other side, you will find another hiking pointer.

From here, follow the left bank, keeping some distance from the river. The trail could be either overgrown (early summer) or well-trodden (late summer), but still pretty obvious. Your advance will be slowed down by several gullies formed by smaller streams joining the river.

Another obstacle here will be two patches of young, but very dense forest. The rule here is "if you don't see the trail, don't fight your way through them, instead, climb a bit" - in both cases, there was a good trail some 10-15 meters above the point where we reached those groves.

Not far behind the second grove, you will find a spot somewhat suitable for camping. Not particularly flat, but few tents could fit here and there is a small stream among the trees uphill. Depending on the time you will have to decide whether to stay here or continue - but if you want to make it on the next day to Khaishi, you will have to press on (or walk 12 hours on the next day as we did, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone). Just keep in mind that from here, it is more than 3 hours to another suitable campsite behind Natakhtish-Dudi pass.

Some 100 meters behind the campsite, the path turns to the north and dives into a major side valley. Once it crosses the river, you need to climb on a big, wide side ridge in front of you. In lower parts, the path is hard to follow, then reappears as a series of nice switchbacks. Watch out for bushes of big, tasty blueberries. After you make it to the top of the side ridge, the path turns right and starts traversing the ridge.

Ahead, you will see a small, round elevation. Once you reach it, you will finally see a pass more than 100 meters above you. This is the last but worst part - first, you will have to climb a steep side ridge (no trail), then traverse to the Natakhtish-Dudi pass (2770m), which lies on a "not-so-rocky" part of the ridge. From the pass, you can admire the panorama of the Greater Caucasus ridge as well as Mt. Elbrus towering behind (at least on sunny days).

Descend a bit from the pass and you will come to the green meadow suitable for camping. However, you will probably have to drop another 100-200 elevation meters to get some water (therefore, I recommend bringing enough water from the other side of the pass).

Day 4: Behind Natakhtish-Dudi pass - Khaishi distance 27.2km, 447m and 2273m

Another tough day. Progress towards the bottom of the valley - you will cross rhododendron fields, hogweeds and eventually dive into the small forest. Then you will have to ford a river and appear amongst hogweeds again. The path at this section is always more or less visible, just look carefully. Basically, it follows the river. However, it's very swampy and on several occasions, we sank ankle-deep into the mud.

After some time you will have to ford a river and after 100 meters do it for the last, third time. Here appears a decent path and the first signs of civilization such as cows. But you haven't won yet, from here to Khaishi it's another 5 hours of brisk walking.

Some 30 minutes after the last fording you should come to the shepherd's hut called Gvandra - the owner, Tariel/Misha is friendly, but with the passing years starts to forget that women hikers are for watching, not touching. If you look like a woman, keep your buttocks out of his reach. 

After around 4 kilometers, the path turns into a dirt road. You’ll spot the village of Zeda Vedi across the river. Just stick to the left bank— it’s a bit of a walk. Other than that, there’s not much to say, just keep following the road.

The road crosses the river two more times, luckily, there are solid bridges. Then it climbs a bit and soon, Kveda Vedi village gets into the view far in the distance.

It's quite a walk. Some one kilometer before the village, you should pay attention. The road turns a bit left and then crosses the river - this crossing is meant for cars, but also hikers should be able to pass.However, there is a better option if you don't want to soak your feet (or risk if the water level is high). Not far before the river crossing, where the road turns left, look out for a tree with a yellow marking and some wooden mark in the shape of a diamond, pointing straight into the forest. It shows you a small forest trail leading to the footbridge over the river and soon merges with the main road again.

This was the last obstacle before Kveda Vedi village - it mostly lies at the eastern bank of the river, but you need to stay at the western one. Behind the village, the road dives into the beautiful canyon and after another two miles of walking, you should finally arrive at Khaishi.

During the work days, there is also a chance that you will be passed by woodcutter trucks returning from the forest. Workers are generally nice and willing to offer you a ride (in our case, they also refused any money). It's much more comfortable than the endless walk on the quite boring road, however, it has its downsides. When their Kamaz entered the canyon and started manoeuvering on the narrow road high above the river, I wished we just kept walking.

Either way, this is the end of the trek. You will pass some lumber mills, then houses, then find yourself on the asphalt road and finally emerge in the center of Khaishi, right by some conveniently placed grocery shops. Time for some well-deserved drinks :)




Tobavarchkhili lake Khobistskali valley Northern Toba pass ahead Above the Kailashi lake Pointer behind Kailashi Descent into Khobistskali valley Khobistskali valley Khobistskali valley Looking back En route to Natakhtish-Dudi pass View down the ridge we climbed Approaching the pass Approaching the pass Flatter terrain behind the pass Views into Khaishura valley Into the Khaishura valley Khaishura valley Gvandra shepherds huts One of river crossings along the route
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