Hiking season kicks off in Georgia

Gather your backpack, dig out your hiking shoes and get ready to explore Georgia’s tracks and trails.

Spring is well and truly here, the weather is warming up, sparking the beginning of the 2015 hiking season in Georgia.

Hikers camp in Rkoni village. Photo by Georgia's National Federation of Hikers. 

About 1,000 trekkers gathered at Rkoni village in east Georgia last week to spend three day in the area and visit some of the region’s infamous sights. Rkoni village is regarded as one of the most attractive areas in east Georgia.

The National Federation of Hikers managed a three-day camp in the village to celebrate beginning of the 2015 hiking season.

Georgia’s Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Levan Kipiani and head of the National Tourism Administration Giorgi Chogovadze visited the camp to meet the trekkers and join in some of their activities.

According to the National Federation of Hikers the number of young people interested in hiking had increased in the past two years, and subsequently, the number of hiking clubs in Georgia had increased by 12 percent.

"We are promising lots of interesting and adventurous hiking tours in 2015,” said a representative of the Federation.

The Federation encouraged all people of all abilities to contact them for more information about hiking in Georgia, or to get involved in some organised walks.