In northern Georgia, located in the Caucasus Mountain range bordering Russia, stands Mount Elbrus, the highest peak at an elevation of 5,642 meters. The mountain town of Mestia serves as a base for many travelers heading to the remote village of Ushguli—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—as well as to Koruldi Lakes or Chalaadi Glacier for hiking. We spent half a day glacier trekking there.
Many choose to walk from Mestia to Chalaadi Glacier, a 12-kilometer journey, but that’s quite a strain on the legs. Moreover, the route passes through a construction site for a dam, which is dusty. Therefore, it’s best to start from the trailhead at the suspension bridge entrance.
We arrived at Mestia’s central square early in the morning to look for a driver and happened to meet two Russian aunties who had been on the same van ride yesterday. They were also heading to the glacier, so we quickly agreed to share a private car for 50 Gel. Upon arrival at the entrance, the driver specifically warned us not to get too close to the glacier due to falling rocks. There’s a café at the entrance. After crossing the suspension bridge and seeing the signs, we officially began our hike, with the one-way distance being 2.3 kilometers.
The first part of the trail was relatively easy, mostly following alongside a river and occasionally walking through forests, with occasional views of scenic valleys. The path consisted of gentle dirt trails with minimal elevation changes, hovering around 1,700 meters. The temperature was around ten degrees Celsius, with occasional sunshine—great weather.
The latter part of the trail became a bit rugged. After climbing to an altitude of 1,900 meters and nearing the base of the glacier, the terrain turned into sharp boulders caused by glacial melt. Walking on this was more strenuous. When we reached the edge of the glacier, there was suddenly a loud rumbling sound, like an earthquake, and several boulder-sized rocks came hurtling down at high speed, nearly hitting us—it was very dangerous. After taking a photo with the Russian aunties, we quickly retreated. It’s not wise to stay here long; we heard that tourists die here every week.
We retraced our steps along the same path and returned to the trailhead—the suspension bridge entrance—in about an hour. The entire round-trip trekking covered 4.6 kilometers and took just over two hours. One final small incident: we waited a long time, and our driver was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, he returned before long. At 2 p.m., we were back in Mestia, concluding our half-day mountain adventure.
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