Juta- The Colorful Lakes Of Abudelauri- About Roshka

Summer is the best season for traveling in the Georgian mountains. The landscape, heated by the sun and snow melting, gives you an opportunity to climb 4000 meters height without any special equipment. To do so, you only need a tent and waterproof shoes. In the region of Mtsheta-Mtianeti, there is one of the most beautiful and popular crossings from Khevi to Khevsureti, which is the hiking track of Juta-Abudelauri lakes. The route starts in Juta- at one of the highly populated spots (2200 meters above sea level) and ends in Roshka.

It is possible, but not easy, to arrive in Juta by hitchhiking, because for the past 12 km, from Sno to Juta, the natives practically do not walk. There, you can only meet taxi drivers and tour guides. Thus, if you are unwilling to wait on the road for a long time or walk 12 km by foot, it is better to rent a taxi in Stepantsminda. At the beginning of the track, you will meet “Zeta Camping” and “Fifth Season”, which offer the campsite, comfortable rooms, restaurants with national dishes, horses, and plenty of other amusements for the guests. On weekend, due to its beautiful nature and various pleasant services, lots of people arrive here for recreation, to spend time agreeably, and to enjoy the delightful views. After “Zeta Camping” the trail leads to the left side of the river Chaukhi Massif. After 4 kilometers, the trail turns left, here you will find a campsite. This place is the mountaineers’ camp. It is a bad idea to camp there if you only have two days for the trip. However, if there is no time limit, you can camp there and enjoy the magnificent sceneries of Chaukhi Massif. If you carry on the path, after 3 km, 3000 meters above sea level, you will meet at the next campsite. If you reach this place exhausted or by the evening, it is preferable to spend the night there, because you will not meet such a proper site for camping and the route from there until the lakes are quite hard.

On the next day, you continue the route to Chaukhi pass. It takes two hours to climb the pass. It would be best, if you climbed there in cloudless and fogless weather, in order to enjoy the magnificent sceneries. In front of you, the wonderful valley of Khevsureti will spread out and besides, you will see the glacier “Queen of Georgia” and the summit „Shino“. After walking the pass, there are two options: descending a steep path, on the right, straight to lake, or using the easier, less bent path, which goes along the mountain range towards Blue Lake. Blue Lake is the perfect campsite because there is drinking water from rivers, which flows down Green Lake. Green Lake is very close to Blue Lake, thus you can visit it at any time. White lake is 1 km away from these two lakes and it takes approximately one hour to get there. The road is rocky, full of big, shapeless rocks which makes walking harder.

7 kilometers away from Abudelauri Lakes, is located the village of Roshka. It takes 2 hours to get there. You can try to return home by hitching or continue the route to Zhinvali-Shatili road, which is located 5 km away from Roshka, there is a higher chance to depart by hitchhiking from there.

USEFUL ADVICE

The preferable season to pass the route is from June to October. If walking in the snow causes discomfort for you, it would be better to go there in August. The path is quite good, because lots of people walk there every day. For this route, the recommended equipment are: Waterproof hiking boots, hiking sticks, hiking gas cylinder for boiling water, as there is no wood 2000 meters above sea level. You will also need warm clothes and the raincoat, because the weather in mountains is unpredictable. There is no mobile connection in Juta, so it is better to save the maps in the mobile cache if you are using mobile app for navigation. Also, it is best to have a mobile power bank charger for your cell phones. The big stock of water is not necessary, because, on this route, there are plenty of rivers that can be used for drinking, unless there are horses and cows around. It is recommended to buy the food in Stepantsminda or Tbilisi, because prices are high in the mountains and there is not a wide range of choices.

See the detailed route on the map. If you need additional information or just want to share your experience, please leave a comment.