Juta lake hike

Date: 29th August, 2025

Initially, I had no intention of visiting Juta because reaching there requires either a minibus or a car, costing about 100 GEL for a 30-minute journey from Kazbegi. This means you have to share the ride with others, which involves finding companions. However, I decided to give it a try in the morning and headed to the city center to hitchhike. After an hour of no luck, I was about to return to the guest house when I encountered a Chinese woman who was also interested in going. After another 30 minutes of searching, we finally gathered enough people to form a group to travel to Juta.

The hike is relatively easy, featuring an elevation gain of approximately 400m over an 11km stretch one way. The initial 2km consists of a gravel path, which isn't particularly exciting. We encountered two German girls who were also heading for the hike, and they recommended an alternative route compared to the usual path taken by others, which veers to the left side of Juta village. This route offered stunning views and was almost devoid of other hikers. Along the way, you might see some horses and cows, and interestingly, a village dog accompanied us all the way to the lake.

Two primary streams flow from the ice above, providing pure water suitable for drinking, which allowed me to refill my bottle multiple times. After the two trails merge, it's an additional 7 kilometers to the lake with a gentle ascent. You'll encounter other hikers and families along the way, as the hike is relatively easy.

The dolomite mountains offer a beautiful view from the lake, and some hikers decided to take a swim. The water is clean but shallow, allowing you to literally walk through it. Interestingly, Georgians refer to even small ponds as lakes. I noticed that few Georgians engage in hiking; they seem to prefer eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves. One Georgian encouraged me to swim, so I decided to take a dip in my shorts.

After taking a short break, I invited my fellow Chinese hiker to accompany me to the top of the meadow hill. Although he was quite hesitant, he decided to come along. If there had been another person, I would have hiked all the way up the mountain, but we ended up returning. Overall, it was a decent hike.

As usual, upon returning to Juta village, we waited for our driver to return. Unfortunately, we hadn't taken his number, so we had to wait for 10 minutes. Be sure to get the driver's phone number so you can call when you're nearing the stop. I then chose to head to the city with an Italian couple because I needed to have my OMAD :(, leaving my fellow hikers behind as they were fine with it.

Some photo whoring:

OMAD:

Lentil soup, 5 eggs, cabbage salad, bread, grapes + apple.