Vashlovani National Park

Most people picture Georgia as green mountains, which makes Vashlovani a shock: in the far southeast corner, beyond the vineyards of Kakheti, the land dries out into a semi-desert of eroded clay badlands, arid canyons, juniper and wild pistachio, with the Alazani river floodplain running through it as a green thread. The park protects it, and it holds animals found nowhere else in the country, including striped hyena and, very occasionally, leopard, along with tortoises, snakes, wolves and enormous numbers of birds of prey. The landscape features are odd and memorable: the Eagle Canyon, the Takhti-Tepha mud volcanoes bubbling grey slurry, and the Mijniskure ranger post down by the river. Everything is done by four-wheel-drive on tracks, with a permit and, sensibly, a local driver.

What's there

• The badlands - eroded clay ridges and canyons across the semi-desert.
• Takhti-Tepha mud volcanoes - small cones bubbling grey mud.
• Eagle Canyon - the gorge with its raptor nests and viewpoints.
• The Alazani floodplain - the green riverine forest cutting through the dry country.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the sensible windows; summer here is brutally hot and the tracks turn to dust, while winter and heavy rain make the clay impassable. Permits are issued at the visitor centre in Dedoplistskaro, which is also where drivers and guides are arranged.

Good to know

You cannot do this in an ordinary car, and after rain the clay tracks defeat even good four-wheel-drives, which is why local drivers are the practical answer. Permits and registration are required. Accommodation is basic ranger huts and camping with no facilities. It is remote, close to a border, and snakes and ticks are genuinely present, so proper footwear matters.

Nearby

Sighnaghi and the Kakheti wine towns are a couple of hours northwest; David Gareja lies west.

Key facts