Category: Transcaucasian Trail
-
Caucasus By Train: UK To Georgia/Armenia In Under A Week (Part Three)
This is Part Three of my account of travelling by train from the UK across Europe and Turkey to the Caucasus. If you just got here, start with Part One, which details the 72-hour journey from London to Istanbul. The final part of this series is all about how to do it yourself – that…
-
Caucasus by Train: UK To Georgia/Armenia In Under A Week (Part Two)
This is Part Two of my account of travelling by train from the UK across Europe and Turkey to the Caucasus. If you just got here, start with Part One, which details the 72-hour journey from London to Istanbul. Otherwise, continue reading to find out how I got from Istanbul to the Georgian capital of…
-
Help Tom Finish What He Started
I’m writing this post from a rural guesthouse near the city of Sisian in southern Armenia, where I’ve just finished a lovely breakfast of freshly-picked raspberries, cheese curds, sour cream, new season honey, and gata (a type of regional sweet pastry). Yum. This guesthouse, run by Mher Azoyan and his family on the site of…
-
Caucasus by Train: UK to Georgia/Armenia In Under A Week (Part One)
Planning a trip to the Caucasus – perhaps to hike some of the Transcaucasian Trail – but concerned about the carbon footprint of flying there and back? I’m with you. Hiking has a small environmental footprint (depending on your shoe size). Air travel has a big one. But the good news is that, if you’re…
-
Introducing The Armenian National Trail: A New Village-To-Village Hiking Route
On May 16 2023, in the leafy surrounds of Yerevan Botanical Gardens, the Armenian State Tourism Committee and HIKEArmenia announced their intention to create the Armenian National Trail, a new national hiking route across Armenia. In attendance were government officials, tourism development representatives, long-time members of the hiking community… and the small crew of trail…
-
Breaking: Former Traveller Recreates Feeling Of Adventure At Home (Again)
The moment I decided to stop travelling, put down roots, and buy a house (on the pretext that I needed somewhere to store my bikes and camping gear), some deeply buried part of my brain started looking for ways to make it feel like I was actually still travelling. I’m certainly not the first. And…
-
The story of the volunteers hacking a 3,000km path across the Caucasus Mountains
I recently penned this 1,500-word piece for Horizon Guides, whose founder Matt I’ve known for many years. Their mission is to expand our understanding of the world through guides, journals and curated travel experience – a mission that has much in common with my own. There is no particular blueprint for creating a long-distance hiking…
-
Guest Post for Home Of Millican: Building The Transcaucasian Trail
Originally published at homeofmillican.com. In an obscure corner of Armenia, in the town of Dilijan, just shy of the central square, a rickety wooden staircase leads up from the street, through the trees, and into the unknown. If you climb these stairs and follow the red-and-white symbols, you’ll rise far above town along pathways etched…
-
The Gegham Mountains: Exploring Armenia’s Volcanic Backcountry
The Gegham Mountains are an imposing chain of volcanic domes that bisects Armenia from north to south. For most of the year they are impenetrable due to a thick layer of snow. But come June, as snow starts to melt, the country’s tent-dwelling Yezidi nomads drive their cattle from lowland plains to graze beneath the…
-
Applications Now Open For 2019’s Fundraising Treks In Armenia & Georgia
A very quick heads-up that places on the Transcaucasian Trail group fundraising hikes in 2019 are now available. Click here for the dates and details and, if the fancy takes you, to register your participation. I’ve been helping design and promote these treks for the last couple of years, and they’ve proved to be a…