Tobavarchkhili Lake

Tobavarchkhili means the silver lake, and it sits at around two thousand six hundred metres in the Egrisi range of Samegrelo, in a bowl of bare rock with snow patches lasting into the summer, part of a group of high lakes along the same ridge. There is no road: reaching it means a trek of two days in from the villages below through beech forest, alpine meadow and rock, camping on the way, and two days back or a traverse out to a different valley. Fog is frequent on the ridge and route-finding is genuinely difficult without a guide. It has become one of the best known long treks in Georgia, and it is a real mountain undertaking rather than a walk.

What you actually see

• A lake in bare rock at 2,600 metres - the silver lake in its bowl.
• A chain of high lakes - the group along the Egrisi ridge.
• Forest to alpine gradient - beech woods giving way to meadow and rock.
• Snow patches into summer - the late-lying drifts around the shore.

When to go

July to September only; snow blocks the route otherwise. Four to five days. A guide is strongly advised and pack horses are usual. Everything must be carried.

Honest expectations

This is a demanding multi-day trek with no facilities, no rescue and frequent fog that makes navigation hard. People have got lost here. Weather at the lake is cold even in August. Do not attempt it without a guide or serious experience.

Nearby

Mukhuri is the usual trailhead; Martvili lies south.