Borjomi is a small resort town in the heart of Georgia, the Caucasus, known for its mineral waters, healthy local produce, and its lush green forests.
As the gateway to the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, Borjomi is one of the more attractive destinations in Georgia for hikers. Covering over 85,000 hectares of native forest and alpine meadows, the park straddles three Georgian regions: Imereti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, and Shida Kartli. It makes up 1.5% of the entire country.
The park features a number of hiking trails that you can complete in one day or turn into a multi-day hike if you have more time on your hands.
I visited Borjomi after spending five months holed up in Tbilisi under the pandemic lockdown and it was such a welcome relief to finally be among nature. One of the routes that I enjoyed and would recommend to moderately fit walkers is the Footprint Trail hike, Borjomi.
As boyfriend and I struggled to find hiking information ahead of our visit, I’ve written up this guide about my experience to help those looking to hike the Footprint Trail, Borjomi.
Table of Contents
Overview of The Footprint Trail Hike, Borjomi
Length: 13 kilometres (8 miles)
Elevation: +1,400 metres (4,593 feet) / -1,500 metres (4,921 feet)
Difficulty: Moderate
Duration: 6-8 hours
The Footprint Trail hike, Borjomi, also known as Trail 6, is a 13-kilometre hike of moderate difficulty. It has a couple of uphill bursts, swooping switchbacks at the start of the route, and one intense downhill stretch at the end.
All along the way, you can breathe in fragrant woodland and take in sweeping panoramic views across the national park.
The hike is well marked for the majority of the trail with the same distinctive striped blazers found throughout Georgia. There was only one section where we got confused about the way forward, which I’ve mentioned below in my guide.
Preparing to hike the Footprint Trail
Before you tackle any hike in the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park you need to collect a permit from the administration office.
This is free and is purely in relation to personal safety. You will be asked to show your permit at the start and end of any hike you do not forget.
The Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park Administration Centre is located to the west of Borjomi town. It’s open Monday to Friday, 9 am – 6 pm and weekends, 9 am – 3 pm.
Multi-lingual staff are on hand to help you decide which hike(s) you want to do and provide the permit. You can register the permit for a specific day or ask that it covers a couple of days. As we weren’t sure when we would go hiking we received an open permit that covered us for a week.
If you want to go on a multi-day hike and camp in the national park, you can rent a locker at the centre. The facility is very secure so you should feel comfortable to leave electronics and valuables there if you need to.
You will need to wear sturdy hiking boots to complete the Footprint Trail hike as the terrain is rough and steep in parts. If you have hiking poles I also recommend taking them with you. I would budget for at least two litres of water per person and plenty of snacks.
As parts of the track are exposed you will need suncream, sunglasses, and a cap. If you hike in warm weather you will not need a jacket. I hiked during a hot, cloudless day in late July and felt comfortable in shorts and a vest all day. My light jacket never left my backpack.
Best time to hikE Footprint Trail
The best time to hike in the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park is either during summer (June-September) or the shoulder seasons of late spring (May) and early autumn (late September, early October).
Georgia attracts the most international tourists during summer, so you might have to share the track. However, don’t expect it to be as busy as comparable hikes in Europe or elsewhere. As we experienced the Footprint Trail hike during the pandemic season, we had it all to ourselves and didn’t see another soul at all that day.
It’s best to start the Footprint Trail hike early in the day before the temperatures crank up. Once we found the trailhead and started the hike, it was around 9 am and we reached the endpoint around about 4.30 pm.
Borjomi attracts a lot of rain and I wouldn’t recommend the Footprint Trail hike during or following a significant downpour. Parts of the track are very steep or subject to steep drop-offs.
Complete Guide to the Footprint Trail Hike, Borjomi
The trailhead for the Footprint Trail is the Likani Guard Station.
Likani hamlet is a 10-minute drive (or one-hour walk) from Borjomi. There are a couple of guest houses in Likani itself which will shave off some time in the morning if you’d prefer to stay there.
If you are staying in Borjomi (as I did) you can either take the public bus or a taxi. Buses depart from the bus station on Meskheti Street and will drop you off along the East-West Highway (E60) from where you will need to walk 25 minutes to the trailhead.
Alternatively, a taxi will cost you around 10 GEL and your driver will drop you off in a small car park right at the trailhead. A track to the left takes you towards the forest, past the Likani Camping Ground and to the guard station where you’ll be expected to flash your permit.
And that’s it; you’ve officially started the Footprint Trail hike, Borjomi.
The Start: Up, up, up
The first few kilometres of the Footprint Trail hike follow a flat walk shrouded by the ancient yew forest. You’ll begin on Trail 1 which is the same starting point as several other hikes including the 3-day Nikoloz Romanov’s Trail.
After about 30 minutes you will start your incline up a relatively steep section that serpentines its way up through the foliage.
It’s not the most challenging hill but after five months of lockdown in Tbilisi and limited cardio, my lungs felt the impact. This part of the track takes about an hour, subject to how many breaks you need. We took many, many, snack breaks.
Eventually, the track flattens and you’ll start to catch a glimpse of the valleys of the national park through the trees. The track is still pretty sheltered by the forest at this point and it’s where we had an encounter with a snake.
Walking ahead of me, my boyfriend trod on a snake that was coiled up on the track having a nap. Seeing it react, I jumped to avoid stepping on it and ended up catching my foot in its body as it scarpered into the greenery. I think it was surprised, but not hurt. Same as my boyfriend, in fact!
At some point around here, we got confused about which direction to take.
There is a crossroad in the forest where the trails separate and during our hike the foliage was so overgrown that it was difficult to tell where the Footprint Trail hike went.
If that’s the case, you need to find the path that veers to the left. You will soon see the trail markers again but prepare for a few yards of confusion subject to how bushy the situation is.
The Middle: Views, views, views
After the crossroad, we shortly reached the culmination of the track in terms of altitude. The scenery stretched out across a panoramic blanket of forest that sweeps over the mountains that form the Kvabiskhevi Gorge. This was where we paused to enjoy our first lunch.
The track continues to weave its way in and out of the forest and over a ridge, with photogenic views here and there between the trees for the next 45-60 minutes or so.
This section is pretty flat and a great place to stop to take photos or lap up the landscape.
Eventually you will make your way back into the canopy and come to the only part of the track that I didn’t personally enjoy.
The path through the woodland becomes very skinny for the next kilometre or so and there is a steep drop off on the left-hand side. It’s perfectly safe providing there has been no recent rainfall, but, if you suffer from vertigo as I do then it’s not the nicest experience!
On the plus side, the forest scape is lush and makes it worth the thirty minutes of (irrational) fear.
The End: Down, down, down
Towards the end of the Footprint Trail hike, you have the thrill of a 2-kilometre downhill scramble. This section is extremely steep and slippy so it will take at least an hour to get down.
It took us around 90 minutes, including (yes, more) snack breaks. Since I hit my thirties I’ve definitely become more aware of the impact going downhill has on my knees, so I grabbed a stick to help me with this part — teamed with the ever-stylish bum slide.
Once you get off the crazy steep hill, the final leg of the hike is through the lovely green Kvabiskhevi Valley. This section is flat and during summer it’s alive with greenery. You’ll eventually reach the banks of the Zuraeti River (which is more like a stream) where you can cool off your feet and enjoy the last of your snacks.
The Footprint Trail hike concludes at the Kvabiskhevi Guard Station where a second round of guards will be waiting to check your permit before you leave. Remember to keep yours safe on your person during your hike.
Immediately after the guard station you will pass a picnic area and camping ground where you’ll be teased by the scents of Georgian families having barbecue parties.
Continue past this and you eventually rejoin the East-West Highway (E60).
How to return to Borjomi
Once you find your way to the highway, you have three options of getting back to Likani or Borjomi.
Your first is to wait for a marshrutka to come past. As with everywhere else in Georgia, stick your arm out and the driver will stop (providing he isn’t already over capacity). This road connects Borjomi with Akhaltsikhe so there are frequent connections, we were lucky and one came across after about 10 minutes of waiting.
It’s handy to note the Georgian spelling of Borjomi — ბორჯომი and Tbilisi — თბილისი. Look for signs on the windshield stating either of these towns. Tbilisi marshrutky will stop in Borjomi.
Alternatively, if you feel comfortable, you can try your luck with hitchhiking. I personally haven’t hitchhiked the whole time that I’ve lived in Georgia because of the pandemic but I hear that it’s fairly commonplace and safe. If you do hitchhike, exercise all the usuals before hopping in.
Your final option is to arrange for a taxi to collect you from the car park near the Kvabiskhevi Guard Station at an agreed time. However, this does add a degree of pressure to your fun day of hiking which I’m personally not a fan of.
Final thoughts
And that’s basically what you need to know about the Footprint Trail hike, Borjomi.
If you want to hike a different route in the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park then you can browse the 12 tourist trails online and speak to the administration office once you’re in town to plan your adventure. Happy hiking and watch out for the snakes.
Leave a comment below if you tackle the Footprint Trail hike and let me know what you think.
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