Animals in Georgia

Wildlife in Georgia means one park above all others, and it looks nothing like the rest of the country. Vashlovani lies in the far southeast of Kakheti, against the Azerbaijani border, and it is semi-desert: badlands, pistachio woodland, mud volcanoes at Takhti-Tepha and a gorge the guides call Eagle Canyon for the vultures that nest in its walls. Goitered gazelle live here, along with wolves and lynx, and the park is the one place in Georgia where a Persian leopard has been recorded on camera. It is reached by track rather than road, which is why it is sold as a day out from Tbilisi with a driver or as a two- and three-day trip with nights inside the park.

The other half of the offer is on horseback. Rides run for two days through the Pankisi gorge, a Kist valley in the northeast with its own language and its own reputation, and through Vashlovani itself; longer crossings string eight days together across several regions. Georgian horses are small, sure-footed mountain stock, and the routes are chosen for terrain a vehicle cannot follow rather than for arena work.

Practical. Vashlovani is at its best in spring and autumn — the summer heat in the semi-desert is severe and the tracks turn to mud after heavy rain. A border-zone permit is required and the operators arrange it, but it needs a passport number in advance rather than on the day. Nothing in the park is signposted for self-guided visits and there is no fuel or food inside, so both come with you. On horseback trips, tell the operator honestly how much you have ridden: the routes assume you can stay in the saddle for several hours across broken ground.