5 – dniowa konna wyprawa Kulbaki Short – Megrelskie Pierwsze Szlify

 Day 1 - Arrival in Georgia 
Each participant is picked up from the airport and taken directly to the hotel. It is best to plan a flight to Kutaisi, from where our expedition departs. In the case of flights to Tbilisi, we will help with transit to Kutaisi. When all participants arrive in Kutaisi - we set off for the mountains! We drive along a scenic route, overlooking the Okatse Canyon and a roadside waterfall. On site, in the village of Kulbaki (yes, that's the name of the village!), a picturesque resort with fish ponds, a wooden house and a welcome dinner await us. You will be hosted by our friends, native inhabitants of these mountains. This area has belonged to the Gasviani surname for generations, and on the other side of the mountains to the Nachqebia surname, yes, yes these are the areas of our Kote, who will introduce you to the horse world of West Georgia. You will meet our kulback part of the team Giorgi, Irakli, Lasha. We guarantee that you will feel at home!

For late arrivals in Kutaisi, we will stay in a guesthouse in Kutaisi for the night and dinner, and set off for the mountains early the next morning.

Day 2 - Mount Aschi
If we spent the night in Kutaisi in the morning we will have breakfast and set off for the base in Kulbaki. The drive will take us about 3 hours. If we set off for Kulbaka in the evening the previous day, we will saddle and prepare our horses after breakfast. We have about 6 hours ahead of us on the trail, but we are riding "lightly" - we will return to our mountain hut in the late afternoon. 

Our main objective for the day is to reach the pass in front of Mount Aschi at an altitude of 2050 metres. We have about 1,050 metres of ascent through beautiful forests, beyond which we will emerge into an open expanse of mountain meadows. We'll ascend the mountain at a steady pace. A little later we will reach a more rocky and stony section that will lead us to a pass. There, next to our hut, we will stand for a stopover and an off-road lunch. We have some time to rest and, above all, quietly admire the panorama of the whole area. We will then set off on the return journey. On the first rocky section we will bring our horses. On the way, it is worth looking at the rocks and stones. You can see clear layers on them - more than 100 million years ago the sea was skimming this area. On the way, we will try to visit a local shepherd making Sulguni - the famous megrel cheese. We'll descend to level ground where it's possible to move at a brisker gait. In the late afternoon we will arrive at our base camp, but before that we can bathe in the river and jump into a waterfall. In the evening we will sit down to dinner together. A delicious feast, a glass of Georgian wine and a fun evening awaits us. 

Day 3 - Georgian Alaska
We'll have breakfast around 9am and then hit the road. Today we will drive through an area (somewhat humorously) referred to by locals as "Alaska" - because of the dense forest and the views of the rocky countryside piercing from between it. This is also the first section of the 30km trail to Lake Lebarde, which conquered in the Special Edition of the rally, the route leads along a forest track, basically only used by skidding and logging crews and local shepherds. The trail is quite varied, undulating up and down, while gently ascending all the time and leading to the base of the loggers. Along the way there are several good places for merry gallops, the pace of the ride will vary. For a stopover we will stop in the field or just at the lumberjack base. We will have a leisurely lunch, rest, and then set off on the return journey. We'll start with a short section where we'll lead the horses, before jumping into the saddles and moving on, also having a few opportunities to gallop. In the late afternoon we will arrive at the base camp in Kulbaki, where we will sit down to a delicious dinner.

Day 4 - Amalieti
In the morning we have breakfast and get ready to leave. This day we set off for Amalieti, a lovely pass with views of the whole area. We have about 6 hours ahead of us in the saddle and a stopover at a shepherd's hut. The first part of the route takes us through increasingly dense forest before leading us out into open, green spaces. From there, we will follow uphill, with narrowing paths and a pretty meadow covered with ferns. Further on, we will delve into the forest, briefly jump off our saddles and lead the horses, before returning to the back of our mounts and heading out into the beautiful open area of Amalieti. From the peaks you can see the whole area, including the Aschi plateau, Mount Khvamli and, far below, Kulbaki. Until recently, the Amalieti Pass was also an area where shepherds grazed their flocks, but for the last few years it has been almost completely abandoned. There we will stop for a longer stopover and then set off on the return journey. In the forest, for a short distance, we will again lead the horses and then continue on horseback. After leaving the mountain paths, onto flatter and more compacted terrain, we will of course take the opportunity to gallop towards Kulbaka. In the late afternoon we will arrive at base camp and, as usual, sit down to a delicious dinner. In the evening we will return to Kutaisi.

Day 5 - Return to Poland
Breakfast awaits us in the morning. All riders will be driven to Kutaisi airport. In case of later departures, it is worth taking a walk around the city, we will advise you what interesting things to see and... eat 🙂 Sooner or later, however, everyone will set off on the way back home.