GeorgiaOfficial tourism
Zagari Pass

Where Svan towers meet Racha's silent valleys

Zagari Pass

Why go

Zagari Pass (2,620 m) is the rugged spine connecting Ushguli—Europe's highest continuously inhabited settlement—with the remote Racha region. For centuries, Svans and Rachvels crossed here with livestock and salt; today, it rewards those who make the climb with raw Caucasus wilderness. The approach threads through the Enguri River gorge, past abandoned stone shepherd huts, then breaks onto a wind-scoured col where lammergeiers ride thermals above glaciers spilling from Shkhara's massif. Unlike the trodden trails of Svaneti proper, Zagari feels genuinely untrammeled—no guesthouses, no power lines, just the old transhumance route and the silence of 4,000-meter peaks.

On the ground See

  • The abandoned stone koshkebi (shepherd shelters) near the treeline, some still stocked with rusted tools from Soviet-era collective farming
  • Views of Shkhara (5,193 m) and the eastern Bezingi Wall from the pass summit, among the most dramatic glaciated skylines in the Greater Caucasus
  • The descent into Racha's Nikortsminda side, where the landscape shifts from Svaneti's severity to Racha's gentler, forested valleys and forgotten villages

Practical Know before you go

Accessible late June through September; snow blocks the pass until then, and even midsummer requires river crossings that swell dangerously after rain—4WD or experienced trekking essential, with no services en route.

Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · reviewed quarterly