Didi Abuli is the high point of the Lesser Caucasus in this part of Georgia — a 3,301-metre extinct stratovolcano that rises in a long, smooth cone from the surrounding plateau. The summit is bare scree and patches of late-melting snow, with views that on a clear day take in Armenia to the south and the volcanic chain of the Samsari Range running north.
It is a tough but non-technical walk: roughly seven hours up and back from the nearest accessible track, with no shade and frequent afternoon thunderstorms in summer. Most people set off from the village of Beshtasheni or from the Sameba pass road. Carry water, a windproof layer, and start early. On the slopes you will pass the megalithic Bronze Age fortress of Abuli, a sprawling enclosure of cyclopean stone blocks that justifies the climb on its own.