Omalo (Tusheti)
Mountains
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About Omalo (Tusheti)
The main village of Tusheti, a remote highland region reached by a single mountain road over the Abano pass. Above Upper Omalo stand the restored Keselo towers, and family guesthouses make it the base for Shenako, Diklo and the Dartlo valley. The road is open only in summer.
Travel Tips
The pass typically opens late May to late June (20 June in 2026) and closes late September to October. Use only local Tusheti jeep drivers (about 450-600 GEL per jeep one way, or 80-120 GEL a seat); never cross after dark or in rain, and keep a buffer day. No park fee (donation 10-30 GEL). No ATMs: bring cash. Guesthouses about 80-120 GEL with breakfast. Diklo needs a border permit from the Tusheti protected-area office.
Tours Including Omalo (Tusheti)
View All Omalo (Tusheti) 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.