Kojori to Tbilisi Hike: Route, Tips, and What to Expect
If you’re looking for an easy half-day nature escape without leaving Tbilisi entirely behind, the Kojori to Tbilisi hike is a solid choice.
It’s one of those trails accessible year-round and doesn’t require any serious gear or preparation—just comfortable shoes, water, and a light snack if you’re like me and need a mid-hike bite.
What I love about this route is how quickly you can swap the city noise for mountain air. It’s one of the best hikes near Tbilisi where the trail is straightforward, mostly downhill, and offers scenic views, a bit of history, and a solid leg stretch without needing a whole day.
The trail starts from Kojori, a small hilltop village just 16 km from the city center, and ends up in the Mtatsminda neighborhood. It’s always a few degrees cooler up there, making it an excellent pick for day hikes from Tbilisi, especially when the capital starts feeling too hot.
Most people start the trail from Kojori Fortress, also known as Azeula, but I think the town itself is worth a short wander and has a few interesting spots to visit, which I outline below.
The Kojori to Tbilisi hike gradually descends through forest, passing a few open viewpoints and dirt roads. As you move closer to the trail’s end, the city starts creeping back into view. You’ll spot the rooftops of Tbilisi’s outskirts and the outline of TV tower.
In this quick guide, I’ll share the tips to know before your hike, a few places to add to your itinerary, walk you through how to get to Kojori, and what to expect on the hike.
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The basics of Kojori to Tbilisi hike
Best time to do the hike
You can tackle this hike at any time of year. Spring and autumn offer cooler temperatures and beautiful scenery with wildflowers or golden leaves.
Tbilisi summers are typically exceptionally hot, but Kojori’s higher elevation makes it a nice escape with slightly low temperatures. You can also hike here if you plan your trip to Tbilisi in winter, but expect snow and ice.
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How to get to Kojori
Kojori is easily accessible via Tbilisi’s public transport or by ordering a taxi via the Bolt app.
To reach Kojori from Tbilisi, look for bus number 380, which departs from Baratashvili Street, close to Freedom Square. This is your most direct option to get near the trailhead of Kojori Fortress.
However, this bus can be unreliable—it’s not unusual for it to be delayed or canceled without notice. If you’re taking this route, get off at the junction of Azeula and Vazha Pshavela streets (location on Google Maps).
Another option is bus 316, which heads toward Kiketi but stops in Kojori. It lets you off near the Spar and Nikora stores in the town main square (location on Google Maps). It’s about a 20–30-minute walk to the Kojori Fortress from there. The way is easy to follow, thanks to signs and trail markings.
Both buses are part of Tbilisi’s public transport system and run roughly every 40 minutes between 7 AM and 11 PM. The ride takes about 45 minutes and costs 1 GEL. You’ll need a Tbilisi Metromoney card or a contactless bank card to pay—cash isn’t accepted.
Check the Tbilisi Transport Company (TTC) website or download their mobile app for up-to-date info on Tbilisi to Kojori bus departures.
If you prefer a faster option, a Bolt taxi from the city center typically costs 27–35 GEL, depending on the time of day and pickup point.
For example, it takes around 30 minutes to get to Kojori from Freedom Square.
What to bring on the hike
Depending on your walking speed, it might take you only a few hours to finish the trail. However, if you plan on enjoying the surroundings and taking it slow with a relaxed pace and a few stops, you’d want to have a light lunch or a snack and enough water.
You can bring them from Tbilisi or buy them at the center’s Nikora/Spar shops.
Wear good walking shoes or trainers, especially for rocky or muddy sections. Pack layers, gloves, and a hat when hiking in colder seasons. You might want to throw in a raincoat, too. In summer, carry sunscreen and a sunhat.
The elevation makes a big difference – Kojori sits 1,350 meters above sea – so be prepared for much cooler temperatures than in the city.
Which map to use for navigation
If you check Google Maps for walking directions from Kojori Fortress to the bottom of Mtatsminda, it shows the way through a car road, not the forest.
Instead, I recommend using Maps.me or Mapy.cz—both apps are free and work offline as long as you download the map of Georgia in advance. Both are detailed, providing viewpoint and hiking signpost markings.
Put Azeula Castle as the start of the trail and the bottom of Mtatsminda Pantheon, the crossroads of Mtatsminda and Polikarpe Kakabadze Streets, as the end.
If you are tired, you can finish at Mtatsminda Park and use the Rustaveli-Mtatsminda Cable Car or Mtatsminda Funicular to return to the center. Refer to my Tbilisi public transport guide on how to use them.
It’s also smart to have mobile data as a backup. If you don’t have a local SIM and your phone supports eSIMs, I personally have tested both Airalo and Saily in Georgia—they’re affordable and offer decent coverage. You can compare their prices and choose whichever fits your needs.
Kojori to Tbilisi hike overview
This hike is one of the most scenic day hikes near Tbilisi if you’re after a rewarding escape. The route winds through forested paths, hilltop monasteries, and viewpoints before dropping down into the city.
You’ll pass through Kojori town, climb to Udzo Monastery, and then follow a trail east toward Tbilisi. The whole hike takes about 4–5 hours at a steady pace, with extra time for stops, snacks, or checking out a few additional spots in Kojori.
Therefore, the Kojori to Tbilisi hike can easily be a half or a full-day getaway, depending on your interests. Moreover, you can brunch off and finish your hike in Tbilisi’s other central neighborhoods, such as Vake, Vera, or Sololaki.
Kojori town
Although most people start from the Azeula Fortress, there are a few places worth checking out on your way to the fortress from the center of Kojori. However, it might mean a slight detour from the trail.
Right at the main squire of Kojori, near the Spar/Nikora shops, you can’t miss a beautiful, well-preserved terracotta bas-relief art on a massive wall.
The big tree features Kojori written in Georgian as the center, while its branches growing out show a few other locations somehow connected to Kojori with their iconic landmarks such as deer for Kiketi (top center), Monasteries for Betania and Udzo (on the right center), TV Tower and Funicular for Tbilisi (bottom right), Rustavi for its steel plant (bottom left), and Gardabani known for its agriculture (on the left center).
A dedicated spot for Azeula Fortress is also on the left side between Gardabani and Kiketi with its towering fort. Other scenes featuring people and animals representing Georgian culture and traditions go around the tree on the edges of the wall.
There’s a beautiful, Russian-style abandoned house with unanswered questions. No solid info exists about its past, but some locals have told me it was supposedly a summer retreat for Prince Grigol Orbeliani and his family in the 19th century.
Later, during Soviet times, it was said to have been taken over and used by Lavrenti Beria, the feared head of the Soviet secret police. And even on the maps, it’s marked as Beria’s Summer House.
However, I know that by the 1980s, it was turned into a summer kindergarten where my sister and brother spent several weeks during their holiday break. Neither remembers it fondly; my sister hated every second spent there due to the lack of care, responsibility, or hygiene practices from the staff.
Then continue your walk to the Azeula Castle and on your way back to the main square where the terracotta bas-relief is, stop by the former summer Pioneer Youth Camp (location on Google Maps) for beautiful Soviet-era mosaics.
The mosaics, adorning three pretty large buildings, are somewhat preserved and show youth in typical uniforms with brown skirts/shorts, white shirts, and red scarves.
The former camp is now a residential building that soon will be demolished, as locals told me during my visit. Sadly, they don’t know when, and they don’t even have an alternative offer from the government.
Kojori Fortress
Kojori Fortress, often referred to as Azeula Fortress after the hill it stands on, dates back to the 11th century and once served as a strategic lookout along trade routes connecting Tbilisi with Trialeti and Shida Kartli.
Over the centuries, it changed hands several times—from Georgian rulers to the Seljuk Turks, who called it Korogli Fortress.
Legend has it that King Tamar, Georgia’s iconic female monarch, spent her final months here, though her burial site remains one of the country’s enduring mysteries.
Fast forward to 1921, the fortress played a small but notable role during the battle against the advancing Red Army as Georgian forces tried to protect the capital.
Today, the structure is mostly a ruin, but its hilltop location offers sweeping views of the surrounding valleys and hills. On a clear day, you can spot Kumisi Reservoir, the edges of Tbilisi’s Saburtalo district, and even glimpse the snow-dusted Caucasus mountains in the distance.
Kojori to Tbilisi hike with various endpoints
From Kojori’s main square, take the road heading north—Udzo Street—and follow it into the forest. After about 3.5 km, you’ll reach Udzo Monastery.
A peaceful spot on its own, the real highlight is just 500 meters further: a viewpoint overlooking Tbilisi and the Greater Caucasus. It’s an ideal place for a picnic break.
From the viewpoint, continue east. The trail descends gradually with a few steep downhills, but overall, it is a straight path winding through forest, open clearings, and various viewpoints of Tbilisi’s different outskirts. If you are lucky with clear skies, you can even spot towering Mount Kazbegi.
Continue through the pass leading to Mtatsminda Park. Here, you can have a break at the Puri Guliani on the ground floor of the Funicular building and treat yourself with a well-deserved ponchiki – a Georgian dessert resembling a doughnut.
Once ready to continue, you can walk down a path via Mtatsminda Pantheon, a beautiful cemetery of some of Georgia’s most celebrated writers, artists, and public figures with pretty interesting gravestones.
Otherwise, you can skip the park and divert north of the Tbilisi TV Tower towards the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Michael of Tver on Polikarpe Kakabadze Street.
One of the reasons I like this hike is that it offers various endpoints if you think you want more time in nature or thought it was too easy for you.
You can branch off from this hike to Kus Tba (Turtle Lake) in Vake, Vera, or Sololaki neighborhoods using plenty of marked trail options on Maps.me or Mapy.cz.