A GUIDE TO BORJOMI-KHARAGAULI NP
In this guide we outline the various trails, from short day hikes to multi-day treks, across Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park. We also cover some tips for visiting the park and give practical advice for getting there and around.
Spread out over the Lesser Caucasus, Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park covers three of the country’s regions and is one of the largest in Georgia. It is accessible year-round in one form or another, and with many hiking, biking, horse riding, and snowshoeing trails, it has a lot to offer.
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Watch the behind the scenes version of our Panorama Trail hike on Instagram stories
Watch the behind the scenes
version of our Panorama Trail
hike on Instagram stories
BORJOMI-KHARAGAULI NP HIKING TRAILS MAP
BORJOMI-KHARAGAULI NP
HIKING TRAILS MAP
Use the map below to discover the hiking trails in Borjomi-Kharagauli NP. Tap the menu button at the top left for more details, to toggle layers on and off, and switch between satellite and terrain view.
DOWNLOAD ALL ROUTES
HOW TO SAVE THIS MAP (ONLINE VERSION)
To save this map to use online on desktop or mobile just tap the star symbol at the top. When you open Google Maps on your phone, navigate to ‘Saved’ at the bottom, then swipe along to ‘Maps’ at the top. You’ll find this map in your list of maps.
On desktop, click the three lines at the top left, select ‘Your Places’, then ‘Maps’. Click the map, then scroll down and select ‘Open in My Maps’ to access the interactive version.
Alternatively, just tap the rectangle symbol at the top right of the map in this blog post to view the My Maps version larger on desktop.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to view this version of the map offline, but we’ve provided a download for a similar version for offline use.
TIPS FOR OFFLINE MAPPING APPS
MAPS.ME
Maps.me is our go-to offline mapping app. We find it straightforward to use for planning routes in advance, as well as navigating on the trail. It doesn’t drain our phone battery, and it’s quick and easy to save and organise ‘bookmarks’. There are many trails already marked on Maps.me, plus you can download and import a KML track of your route to the app.
To use Maps.me, first download the app (iOS/Android). Hover over the region or country that you want to visit and the app will prompt you to download this map. Once downloaded, it can be viewed offline.
You can tap anywhere and save it as a ‘bookmark’ by tapping the star symbol at the bottom. Hit ‘Edit Bookmark’ to personalise the bookmark colour, organise your bookmarks into different folders, and rename them.
You can navigate easily or plan routes in advance by tapping your start point and selecting ‘route from’, then tapping your end point and selecting ‘route to’. Tap the car, walking, or cycling symbol at the top of the screen to indicate your mode of travel. If you want to plot a different route to the one suggested by Maps.me, just tap a third (or fourth, fifth, etc.) bookmark between the start and end points and select ‘add stop’.
Maps.me shows the distance and travel time, plus elevation profiles for hiking trails. Note that the estimated time isn’t always reliable, but we’ve always found the distance and elevation gain/loss to be largely accurate. It only shows very basic contour lines.
You can track your progress on the trail using GPS. The arrow shows your direction of travel. Tap the compass at the top right of the screen to keep the map in a fixed position (the arrow will rotate). Alternatively, tap the arrow at the bottom right of the screen to rotate the map in the direction of travel (the arrow will stay in a fixed position).
GAIA
Gaia (iOS/Android) is another offline mapping app that is very useful. It shows the contours in much more detail than Maps.me, as long as you have previously viewed the section of map online. With a paid membership you can download various maps in advance for offline use. The app has existing OpenStreetMap trails marked and you can import GPX tracks and view them offline. You can also create new routes online yourself and export them as GPX or KML files. You can navigate easily on the trail using the arrow that shows your GPS location. Unlike with Maps.me, it isn’t possible to quickly check distances between two points (or at least we haven’t figured out a way to do it). There are a lot of useful features in the free version and even more benefits if you have a paid annual membership, so if you spend a lot of time outdoors it is worthwhile learning how to use the app to its full advantage.
In our experience, Gaia drains your phone battery much quicker than Maps.me, even in flight mode, so it’s best to shut down the app completely each time you finish using it.
OSMAND MAPS
OsmAnd Maps (iOS/Android) is another great offline mapping app with lots of useful features. In our opinion, it’s not as intuitive as Maps.me, and it has so many features that it can be a bit overwhelming at first. Like Gaia, we recommend checking out the written and video tutorials on the OsmAnd website to learn how to fully use the app. The benefits of the app include being able to plot routes in advance and save them as GPX tracks, and to view detailed elevation and terrain information, including surface types. You can also import GPX tracks. One downside is that the free version does not include contour lines, but these can be added via a paid plugin.
BORJOMI-KHARAGAULI NATIONAL PARK HIKING TRAILS
BORJOMI-KHARAGAULI NP
HIKING TRAILS
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park has more than 11 trails of varying lengths and difficulty. They are spread out across the park, a huge area comprising 1.5% of Georgia’s territory. Some are loop trails, others one way hikes. A network of basic tourist shelters and designated camping areas are situated along the multi-day trails. Most trailheads are located within 30 km of Borjomi town, with a few others near Abastumani and Kharagauli. The main hiking season extends from Spring to Autumn, with snow shoeing possible in Winter. The highest point in the park is Mt Sametskhvario (2642 m).
Thanks for your great informative website. Unfortunately they are at the moment ‘maintaining’ the park trails. We are backpacking trail 2 and 3 and the small trail has gone. Workers are widening the trail to a neat two meter wide path, almost wheelchair accessible…… What a shame. It really affects the experience.
You’re welcome. That is a shame, you’re right, it really is remarkable how much widening and flattening the trail can impact the experience. Is this work mostly being carried out in the forest at lower elevations?
Hi, no also the higher elevations. We did not go all the way to the Sametskhvarlo shelter, but the men were working hard to redo the trail to Amarati shelter and from Amarati shelter further on into direction of Sametskhvarlo.
Good article, very informative. However NO. 9 SHEPHERD’S TRAIL KLM and GPX are incorrect, just a 10 km.
Hi Tomas, thanks for letting us know, I’ve updated the GPX and KML download for this trail now. Cheers! Kim