Juta to Roshka: Chaukhi Pass & Abudelauri Lakes

About this trip

The best-known crossing in the Greater Caucasus on a short schedule: from the Juta valley under the spires of the Chaukhi massif, over the Chaukhi Pass at about 3,340 m, past the three Abudelauri lakes and down to Roshka in Khevsureti. The pass is the hard part, a long climb with a steep last stretch, and the reward is that you walk out of one valley and into a completely different one in a single day. Snow stays on the saddle until mid-July, so the trip runs only from the second half of July.

Where we go

1. Day 1
   Tbilisi → Juta → Tina lake

   Drive the Military Road north to Stepantsminda and on up the Juta valley. After lunch, an easy two-hour walk toward Tina lake for the first full view of the Chaukhi massif. Night in a Juta guesthouse.

2. Day 2
   Chaukhi Pass → Abudelauri lakes → Roshka

   The long day. Early breakfast, then a steady climb to the Chaukhi Pass at about 3,340 m. On the far side the path drops to the Abudelauri lakes (blue, green and white), where we stop for lunch, and continues down the valley to Roshka. Night in a Roshka guesthouse.

3. Day 3
   Roshka → Tbilisi

   A slow morning, then the drive back to Tbilisi by way of the Pshavi and Aragvi valleys.

What's included