Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

later discover. Clear rolling paths lead us out of Omalo, the tiny summer-only
capital of Tusheti, crowned by a filmset perfect-cluster of koshkebi (tower houses).
Wide forest vistas reveal an infinity of green mountaintops. In the Tolkienesque
hamlet of Dartlo, Tedo has arranged an atmospheric coffee stop at an unmarked
local stone house; from here idyllic streamside tracks lead on to Girevi, where our
simple homestay is magically illuminated in sunset rays. Day two’s narrow,
meandering path follows a dancing river, climbing a flower-filled valley dotted with
shattered stone ruins including ghost villages Hegho and Chontio. On a beautiful
grassy meadow Tedo gets exuberant, standing upright on his horse’s back to
whoop with delight.
© Roland Shainidze | Shutterstock
mountains of Georgia
Tonight we’re camping on a grassy ledge above a sheep-filled corral. Shepherd
Irakli invites us for tea in his rock-walled hovel. Getting there means passing a
dangerous canine frenzy of guarding sheepdogs, but at Tedo’s firm grunted
commands, the dogs fall silent, as though hypnotised. Irakli boils an ash-blackened
kettle on smouldering twigs, his poetically wind-sculpted face partially illuminated
in the smoky glow. It’s a movingly timeless scene and the next morning we return for
breakfast. Irakli has slept outside in his thick felt shepherd-gown, a garment so