the globe says
Georgia
Fly to Tbilisi, then a shared 4x4 over the Abano Pass — 2,850 meters of unpaved switchbacks regularly listed among the world's most dangerous roads.
Guesthouses in Omalo and Dartlo, stone villages with pagan-Christian shrines women may not approach.
Georgia's wildest region: tower villages, shepherd migrations, khinkali by the fireplace, and a living pre-Christian ritual landscape the road's difficulty has preserved.
Ride or walk Omalo to Dartlo to Shenako over three days — the guesthouse wine is homemade and the silence is medieval.
June to September only
Didi madloba — thank you very much, in Georgian.
Bread and Ashes by Tony Anderson — walking Georgia's mountains, including these.
Khevsureti next door — the fortress village of Shatili, even fewer visitors.
The pass is open roughly June to early October and closes with the first snow — do not gamble on the shoulder weeks. Hire local drivers only.