GeorgiaOfficial tourism
Tusheti National Park

Where shepherds still rule the mountains

Tusheti National Park

Why go

Tusheti National Park protects one of Europe's last true wildernesses—a high Caucasus realm where medieval stone towers punctuate emerald valleys, and the 3,000-year-old transhumance tradition persists. Tushetian shepherds, guardians of an endangered UNESCO-recognized heritage, drive their flocks between summer highland pastures and winter lowlands in Kakheti. The park harbors endangered East Caucasian tur, lynx, and brown bear amid glacier-carved terrain that remained isolated until Soviet-era roads arrived. Villages like Dartlo and Omalo preserve distinct pagan-Christian rituals, tower-house architecture, and the dying Tush language. This is not scenery for passive viewing but a living culture negotiating modernity at 2,000 meters.

On the ground See

  • Dartlo's fortified tower houses and slate-roofed village, a masterpiece of medieval mountain engineering
  • The Abano Pass (2,850m), Georgia's highest drivable road, open only July-September, linking Tusheti to Kakheti
  • The shepherd festival of Tushetoba (August), when returning herders compete in horse racing, wrestling, and ritual feasting in Omalo

Practical Know before you go

Accessible only by 4WD via the treacherous Abano Pass, which typically opens mid-July and closes with first snow in October; no fuel, banks, or medical facilities exist in the park.

Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · reviewed quarterly