The Koruldi Ridge, Georgia

The Koruldi Lakes, Georgia - photo Fergal Hingerty

I woke up in a guesthouse in Mestia, the capital of Svanetti, Georgia - a mountainous region nine hours from the capital, on the border with Russia.  Outside it was cloudy, but I knew it was going to be a good day.

I had a large breakfast and collected my packed lunch of traditional bread and cheese, and a bottle of water.  The Svans have a different dialect, food and culture to the rest of Georgia.  Their valley is remote and isolated, getting its first road in the 1970’s under Soviet rule.  Hospitality is very important in their culture, and I certainly experienced it to the full when I was there.

My guide Merab was waiting at the door and we headed off.  After a short walk up the road from the guesthouse, we turned sharp right at one of the many Svan traditional towers which are scattered around the town of Mestia.  Now the serious business of going uphill began.

Mestia lies at 1200 metres.  We hiked up an extremely steep track until we reached a cross at 2000 metres.  We stopped for a well-earned rest and some water and admired the view.  Snow-capped mountains over 3000 metres soared in all directions, rising above a sea of inverse clouds in the valleys between.

After a short while we headed for the Koruldi Lakes, one of the most photographed places in Georgia as, usually, the snow-capped mountains reflect perfectly in their waters.  I managed to 'half-get' the photo I wanted as it was somewhat cloudy, but as we had a long way to go, we moved on.

In front of us the Koruldi ridge loomed, and a steep climb up grassy slopes brought us to around 2800 metres.  From here it actually started to get harder.  A sea of scree was in front of us at least 200 metres high.  We pulled to the left and the final ridge sloped down to our level after 200 metres.

Again there was a surprise.  The scree came from the narrow ridge above, which was extremely crumbly.  This made the scramble up interesting, to say the least.  We made it to the cross at 3328m on the ridge, and then climbed a little higher into the first snowy section to the summit at 3407m.  There the view really opened up.

In front of us was the rest of the ridge leading to Gora Ushba 4710m, P1227m.  This is known as Georgia’s most dangerous mountain.  Its twin peaks can be recognised from many kilometres away because of its distinctive ‘rabbit ears’.  This mountain was capped by ominous slate grey clouds.  The wind was picking up.  Even though it was prudent to leave quickly, as a storm appeared to be gathering, the stunning vista implored me to stay.

From Gora Ushba several glaciers plunged down to join one long glacier.  This came out in the valley at Chalaadi, which I had visited the previous day.  Merab pressed me that we had to go down.  This was easily one of the most impressive sights I had seen in my climbs, and I would have liked to stay longer.

We headed gingerly down the ridge.  Around halfway we started to descend the scree more quickly (much easier going down than up!) and soon we were back on the grassy ridge.  When we passed the lakes there was a man from Germany there with a very professional camera.  He explained that he had been there for four hours but the clouds had not lifted, so I was not feeling so bad with my ‘half-picture' after all.

From here it was a relatively straightforward hike back to Mestia for a Svan traditional ‘Supra’ meal and the wonderful Georgian wine.

Fergal Hingerty

Published: June 2022

Editors’ Note: for a detailed description of the trail Fergal hiked, see at https://www.caucasus-trekking.com/treks/hike-to-koruldi-lakes