Chalaadi Glacier – Turbulent Mountain River loop from Queen Tamar Mestia Airport

Hiking trails & Routes

Georgia

Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti

Chalaadi Glacier – Turbulent Mountain River loop from Queen Tamar Mestia Airport

Hard

4.6

(73)

359

hikers

Chalaadi Glacier – Turbulent Mountain River loop from Queen Tamar Mestia Airport

06:32

21.6km

490m

Hiking

Hard hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly walkable paths. Sure-footedness required. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: November 5, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

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8.44 km

View of Chalaadi Glacier

Highlight • Viewpoint

A rocky path takes you to the Chalaadi glacier.

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8.55 km

Mestiachala Suspension Bridge

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The beginning of the ascent to the Chalaadi glacier starts very adventurously! By crossing this footbridge

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8.58 km

Chalaadi Glacier Suspension Bridge

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... a little "trust in God" doesn't hurt ;-))

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10.3 km

View of Chalaadi Glacier

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Beautiful view of the Chalaadi glacier.

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10.5 km

Chalaadi Glacier

Highlight • Natural Monument

Be careful to not get too close to glacier (under it) a lot of rocks fall down. We really were lucky to not be smashed by one big rock!
Be safe

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10.7 km

Mestiachala River at Chalaadi Glacier

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From the small town of Mestia, head upstream along the Mestiachala river, which flows through Mestia itself, until you reach a tributary, the Chalaadi river. The Chalaadi river is named …

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12.0 km

Turbulent Mountain River

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The Chalaadi river flowing from the glacier is truly wild and untamed

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13.6 km

View of Mount Dalakor

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From the town of Mestia, head upstream along the Mestiachala River, which flows through Mestia itself, until you reach a tributary, the Chalaadi River. The Chalaadi River is named after …

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21.6 km

End point

Parking

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

10.7 km

6.19 km

4.23 km

321 m

163 m

Surfaces

11.0 km

4.25 km

3.12 km

3.07 km

139 m

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Weather

Friday 6 November

4°C

-3°C

97 %

Additional weather tips

It’s going to be cold. Wrap up warm and watch out for ice.

to get more detailed weather forecasts along your route

Comments

July 11, 2023,Mestia to Chalaadi glacier

Did with a pregnant wife. We did then not speedrun it. Persons in good shape should do back and forth in less than 4h i guess. Pay attention when getting close to the glacier, there are rock avalanches. Hike is quite boring (following roads and dirt tracks)

October 7, 2022,Chalaadi glacier trip

It was first try to combine trip mtb ride->hike->mtb ride. This kind of traveling really expand your limits.

June 6, 2024,Chalaadi glacier from Mestia - 22,4km

If you want, you can skip the initial part of the hike by driving directly to the glacier's base, reducing the hike to just an hour's ascent. Upon reaching the glacier, exercise caution and do not approach too closely. Falling rocks are frequent, and a large STOP sign painted on a boulder marks the safe limit.

September 5, 2022,Chaladigletscher im Regen 05.09.2022

And the modest weather continued :-(, still made our way to the glacier. No tourist hikes from Mestia to the glacier, just me and "50" Dutch people (10-15 mobile homes with yellow license plates at the end of the town), everyone else leaves drive to the bridge. A small bar was open at the suspension bridge, I gratefully enjoyed the …

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