Abano Pass
Mountains
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About Abano Pass
At about 2,850 m, the Abano pass carries the only road into Tusheti: an unpaved, single-lane mountain track with long drops and hairpins. It is open only in summer and is driven by local Tusheti jeep drivers.
Travel Tips
4x4 only, with a local Tusheti-licensed driver; never after dark, in rain or on the first days after the opening. The go/no-go call is made in the morning. Not for travellers with severe back problems or strong motion sickness.
Tours Including Abano Pass
View All Abano Pass ToursTusheti by 4x4 — 4-Day Private Trip to Omalo & Dartlo
Four days in Tusheti, the highland region behind the Abano pass (about 2,850 m). The only road in is a narrow mountain track, so from Kvemo Alvani a local Tusheti-licensed jeep driver takes you over the pass, only in daylight and never in rain; the mountain section takes 3.5–6 hours. You stay in family guesthouses with all meals, see the Keselo towers above Omalo, walk the stone-tower villages of Shenako, Dartlo and Kvavlo, and, with a border permit we arrange, visit Diklo. There are no ATMs, so bring cash; 4G works in the main villages. The road is open only from late June to September: in 2026 the pass opened on 20 June. We make a go/no-go call at 06:00 on the day and recommend keeping a spare day before your flight home.
Caucasus 4x4: Tusheti, Khevsureti & Kazbegi — 8-Day Private Expedition
Eight days in the three mountain regions of Georgia where you really need a 4x4: Kazbegi's Truso or Juta valley, Khevsureti with the fortress villages of Shatili and Mutso over the Datvisjvari pass, and Tusheti over the Abano pass (about 2,850 m). There is no road between Khevsureti and Tusheti, so the route returns to a night in Telavi between them. Our own 4x4 with an English-speaking driver-guide (Russian-speaking on request) covers days 1–5 and the drive home from Kvemo Alvani on day 8; for Tusheti a local licensed jeep driver takes over, because only local drivers drive the Abano road, and only in daylight and dry weather. Nights are in hotels in Stepantsminda and Telavi and in mountain guesthouses with half board in Shatili and Tusheti. Days 3 and 5 are long mountain drives. July to 20 September; we recommend a spare day before your flight home.