Hiking through Caucasus and Turkey from the Iranian border to Istanbul through Armenia and Georgia: the way, useful information, daily stages, GPS tracks.

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4 months, 3200 kilometers from the Araxes river on the border between Armenia and Iran to the banks of the Bosphorus with
– 560 kilometers hiking through Armenia from south to north with the Transcaucasian Trail (Armenian National Trail) as a base,
– 840 kilometers in Georgia in three parts: the south of Georgia, the East part of Great Caucasus then that the West part and finally hiking to the Turkish border,
– 1800 kilometers hiking through all Turkey from Georgia to Istanbul in the north mountain range and ending along the Black Sea.
This way is very wild with fairly long sections in autonomy, few localities to resupply and many mountains. I accumulated 140 kilometers of elevation gain on these 3,200 kilometers hiking.

Surrounded by great empires, Armenia and Georgia succeeded to retain a strong identity (language, alphabet, religion …). This hike is an opportunity to discover these peoples and their culture. For hiking, it was quite easy to build a route; these two countries are developing hiking routes and some areas are quite popular (see the pages about these two countries).
For Turkey, it was much more difficult to prepare. Hiking through the whole country was perhaps an unprecedented adventure. The few walkers identified who did it, hiked mainly along the main roads and rather by the Anatolian plateau or along the Black Sea. My way goes through the mountains and off roads. In the end, 1800 kilometers to hike through Turkey.

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All the pictures :

By clicking the image below

See the details of the stages, as well as all the information on logistics (resupply, accommodation, water …) in the pages devoted to each part of my hike :
– Armenia
– Georgia
– Turkey

For the daily diary of this hike, see the page Récit traversée Caucase & Turquie (in french only).

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Useful information :

Borders crossing :

For an Europe Union citizen, it’s simple. There is no visa required for any of the three countries. A simple identity card is sufficient in Georgia and Turkey (in certain areas bordering Georgia with Russia, there are checkpoints where passports are required. For Armenia, a passport is necessary).
For border crossings, the choices are limited; Armenia has no land communication with Turkey in the west and with Azerbaijan in the east and only three crossing points in the north with Georgia (one in the south with Iran). I passed by the least visited, that of Gogavan – Guguti.
From Georgia to Turkey, the choice is also limited to three border posts: by the Black Sea and two inland. I went through that of Posof – Vale (Türkgözü). The entire central part of the Georgian Caucasus was inaccessible following the secession of South Ossetia (hence my journey in two parts: the East then West of the Greater Caucasus).
The Caravanistan site gives a lot of information on border crossing in this region.

Dangers :

International tensions: See your Ministry of Foreign Affairs for update information. Between Armenia and Azerbaijan, tensions are permanent and the situation can worsen. In Georgia, you cannot go to the two separatist regions (South Ossetia and Abkhazia). My way in Turkey is very far from the Kurdish populated areas and the Syrian border.

Dogs : The worriest danger for me the is dogs in Turkey with kangals but also in Georgia and in Armenia where the sheepdogs seem just as aggressive.

First protective measure, I got vaccinated against rabies (last year for Eastern Europe).
Next :
1 Best solution, first be spotted by the shepherd who accompanies you to cross the area occupied by the herd
2 I always had stones with me. Just threatening them with keeps them away. Even pretending to have a stone in your hand is effective.

Bears : there are bears in the three countries crossed. Some estimations give 600 bears in Armenia, a small thousand in Georgia. They are also very present in Turkey in the forests above the Black Sea (where I planned to hike). Several times I saw traces (in Armenia or Turkey, bear scats. I met tourists who saw one in Tusheti. I saw three bears in Turkey, one of which charged me before turning around. I avoided sleeping alone in exposed places like in the forest.

Other animals : there are also wolves in the three countries but little chance of seeing this animal which avoids the man. You have to watch out for snakes (for example the vipers in Armenia and in Georgia ).
However, this region is not one of those particularly at risk for lyme disease or tick-borne encephalitis. In this region, ticks can cause recurrent intertropical fevers.

My equipment

Since 2017 and the Appalachian Trail, I’m used to almost the same equipment. To see the explanation of my main choices, see the Italy 2021 introduction page.

The main change this year is my backpack. I had to change the Osprey Talon 44 model that I had for several. It was quite difficult to choose one. Tne new Osprey Talon 44 weighs 300g more. I finally opted for the Gregory Focal 48 and after a few hikes with it, I’m really satisfied. It has a slightly larger capacity than my old bag and with its rain cover, it weighs 100g more than my previous backpack. But, it has two huge advantages : it’s much more comfortable and the ventilation of the back is better.
Thanks to wider, more padded shoulder straps and belt, it is comfortable to wear with good load transfer to the hips.
Its frame, its slightly arched shape and the stretched net allow more effective ventilation of the back.
Small disadvantages compared to the Osprey Talon 44 besides the additional 100 grams, there is no bottom or side opening and its arched shape means that it does not stand up well.

I also decided to take a filter (Katadyn BeFree 0.6l – 60g). Until now, I only took tablets which, moreover, I rarely used, regularly finding springs, fountains or taps. Not really knowing what to expect during this walk, I preferred to ad this water filter. This enhances my ability to filter water and also allows me to carry up to 3 liters.

With this new options and despite optimized grams, my basic weight (excluding water and food) has therefore increased to 7.7 kg.