Half of my initial attraction to Georgia grew from the pictures of mountains I saw — the regions of Kazbegi, Svaneti, and Tusheti. When I booked my ticket here from Korea, my ambition was to hike for months, exploring all the back-country hiking routes I could find and chronicling the experience. But life has a …
Continents
Omio App Review
Planning travel is one of my favorite aspects of a trip. As odd as it sounds, I love the process of sifting through information to figure out where I want to visit and in what order, then using the power of the Internet to find the best deals and most efficient transport between those points …
Climbing Mount Aragats
There’s too much snow. It’ll be too cold. The weather won’t be good this week. You’ll shoot your eye out… The reasons why I shouldn’t have gone to Kari Lake and Mount Aragats were many. All of the above (save one, can you guess which?) were offered up, and I was so close to scrapping …
Eating All the Things at the Tolma Festival in Dvin
There are few things which can make me so excited I get teary-eyed. Coming upon an epic view while hiking is one. Crushing a huge sale back in the day was another. But food? Food can get me just about every time. So when I saw a meetup on Couchsurfing to go to the Tolma …
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Exploring Tatev with One Way Tour
The south of Armenia is an elongated peninsula of territory sandwiched between Iran, Azerbaijan, and the disputed territory of Artsakh, formerly known as Nagorno-Karabakh. The area is one of the most mountainous in the country, with elevations ranging from 380 to 3,904 meters above sea level. It also contains one of the most iconic sights …
Trekking to the Hidden Monasteries of Garni
Sometimes you don’t plan on visiting a destination. Sometimes you get struck by a flash of inspiration, and your feet wander of their own accord. That’s what happened this week when I trekked through the mountains outside of Yerevan, exploring the hidden monasteries of Garni. It started with a plan to explore Havuts Tar, a …
Hiking to Gelersen Gorersen in Sheki
The town of Sheki has been controlled by many powers in the 2,700 or so years it’s been a major settlement. Persians, Albanians, Georgians, Arabs, Mongols, Russians, Soviets, and Azeris have all had a stake here, and the treasures that Sheki hides bear proof to that diverse heritage. One such remnant, the fortress of Gelersen …
How to Spend a Weekend in Baku
Baku is a bizarre place. A mash-up of fascinating historical architecture and Islamic influences combined with a modern and thriving city center that feels more like Western Europe make it a bit confusing to get used to — at least for me. But it’s an awesome city and well worth spending at least a few …
Hiking in Xinaliq
When I first read about Xinaliq in Jonny Blair from Don’t Stop Living’s excellent post on the town, I knew immediately I wanted to visit. Hiking in Xinaliq seemed like the perfect cure to my time spent in Baku. Dubbed ‘the most remote town in Europe’ by some and objectively the highest town at 2,350 meters above …
Hiking with Camping Azerbaijan
When Vasilii and Anna mentioned they were going on a hike with Camping Azerbaijan, I immediately perked up. I’d seen the company’s Facebook page and liked the thought of dipping my toes into the Azeri hiking scene with a guided tour.The trek for the coming day would cover 9 km with almost 700 meters of …