THE STORY OF DILIJAN'S TRAILS

Transcaucasian
Trail

A big idea to connect the Caucasus through hiking trails — and the story of the people who began turning that idea into reality, including here in the forests of Dilijan.

2015 the story begins

Caucasus a vast trail network

Dilijan trail project since 2017

DISCOVER THE STORY

TRANSCAUCASIAN TRAIL

A trail built
by people

Today, hiking routes run through the forests and mountains of the Caucasus and are explored by travellers from around the world.

When you walk along a well-built trail, it is easy to imagine that it has always been there.

But behind a comfortable turn on a mountainside, a cleared passage through the forest or a restored old road there are often weeks of human work.

Someone found the route. Someone mapped it. Someone came here with a shovel. Someone taught others how to build mountain trails properly.

This is how one of the most fascinating modern stories of hiking in the Caucasus began — the Transcaucasian Trail.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE BEGINNING

Two people.
One idea.

At almost the same time, in Armenia and Georgia, two people independently began imagining a remarkably similar project.

ARMENIA · 2015

Tom Allen

A British traveller, writer and adventure project creator who found himself in Armenia and began exploring the country on foot and by bicycle.

A simple question fascinated him: why couldn't someone make a long-distance journey across the Caucasus, a region filled with mountains, forests, old roads, villages and ancient monasteries, along one connected hiking route?

In 2015, Tom attempted to walk across Armenia from north to south.

The journey revealed both the extraordinary potential of such a route and the difficulty of travelling without a connected network of trails, maps and waymarking.

GEORGIA

Paul Stephens

At the same time, across the border in Georgia, a similar idea had occurred to Paul Stephens, a former Peace Corps volunteer who had lived and worked in the Caucasus.

Paul also imagined a long-distance hiking trail that could connect the mountainous regions of the Caucasus and open them to hikers.

His project already had a name — Transcaucasian Trail.

And the project's domain name had already been registered.

Photos: Transcaucasian Trail Association

AND THEN SOMETHING INTERESTING HAPPENED

transcaucasiantrail.org

Sometimes a big story begins with a domain name that is already taken.

Tom Allen decided to create a website for his idea and tried to register a suitable domain.

But transcaucasiantrail.org was already taken.

It had been registered by Paul Stephens.

That was how Tom discovered that someone in the neighbouring country had independently come up with almost exactly the same idea.

They connected — and instead of developing two similar projects, they began working towards one much bigger idea: a trail across the Caucasus.

HOW THE STORY DEVELOPED

From an idea
to a real trail

Between the idea of a long-distance route and a real hiking trail came expeditions, mapping, searches for old roads, trail building and the work of many people.

2015

An attempt to cross Armenia

Tom Allen set out to walk through Armenia from north to south. It became clear that the extraordinary places were already there — but connecting them into one coherent route was far from simple.

2016

Expeditions and mapping

Research into possible routes across the Caucasus began. Teams searched for old roads, forgotten trails, passages between valleys and possible sections of the future route.

2017

Dilijan — Armenia's first major trail-building project

Dilijan National Park became the setting for the first large-scale TCT trail-building project in Armenia.

Under the leadership of Ashot Davtyan, the team began creating an 85-kilometre multi-day route through Dilijan National Park.

Today

A vast network of routes

Individual research expeditions and trail projects gradually developed into a much larger network of hiking routes. Work on the Transcaucasian Trail continues.

THE BIG IDEA

A trail across
the South Caucasus

The Transcaucasian Trail is not a single walking path. It is a much bigger idea: to connect the mountainous regions of the Caucasus through routes designed for long-distance hiking.

The trail passes through natural landscapes, small communities and places shaped by centuries of history.

Map: Transcaucasian Trail Association Official TCT website ↗

2017 · DILIJAN NATIONAL PARK

And this is where
the story comes to Dilijan

Dilijan became the setting for the first major TCT trail-building project in Armenia.

In 2017, work began here on an 85-kilometre multi-day route — not simply marking existing roads on a map, but building sustainable hiking infrastructure.

It was an important moment for Dilijan: forest roads, old paths, villages and monasteries began to form a coherent network of routes designed for hikers.

85 km

a multi-day route whose construction began
in Dilijan National Park in 2017

MORE THAN A LINE ON A MAP

The trail was built
by hand

Creating a hiking route is not simply a matter of drawing a line on an existing map.

In the forests of Dilijan, teams cleared overgrown sections, restored old paths and worked on new, sustainable routes across the slopes.

This kind of work requires an understanding of the terrain, water flow and how a trail will change after rain, winter and thousands of footsteps.

Alongside the trail itself, Armenia was also developing people with the professional skills needed to build and maintain hiking routes.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND DILIJAN'S TRAILS

Lead.
Build. Teach.

Behind the kilometres of new trail were real people organising the work on the ground and passing their knowledge on to others.

DILIJAN · 2017

Ashot Davtyan

Project coordination in Armenia

Ashot joined TCT in 2017 as the local volunteer coordinator for the trail-building project in Dilijan National Park.

Under his leadership, the Armenian TCT team launched the country's first large-scale trail-building project — an 85-kilometre multi-day route through Dilijan National Park.

Ashot later continued working on trail development and educational projects in Armenia.

TRAIL BUILDING · 2017

Hans Keifer

Professional trail builder

Experienced Armenian-American trail builder Hans Keifer trained volunteers from Armenia and other countries and led practical work on the trail.

Volunteers learned not simply how to clear a path, but how to build sustainable trails — taking into account terrain, water flow, erosion and the long-term durability of the route.

Along with kilometres of new trails, this work helped develop practical trail-building knowledge in Armenia.

Photo of Ashot Davtyan: Transcaucasian Trail Association

TCT · DILIJAN

The trail in numbers

≈80 km the current multi-day TCT route through Dilijan National Park

4–5 days approximate time needed to complete the route

2017 the year the first major TCT trail-building project began in Dilijan

THE TRAIL TODAY

A trail is never
truly finished

The forest grows. Water reshapes the slopes. Trees fall. Trail markers age.

Even a completed trail therefore requires continuous care.

Volunteers and trail professionals return to the routes to clear them and repair damaged sections.

Thanks to that work, hikers are left with the most enjoyable part — putting on a comfortable pair of shoes and setting off.

“

Next time you walk through the forests of Dilijan, try looking at the trail a little differently.

DILIJAN TOUR

Now you can walk
through these places

You don't need to set off on a multi-day trek to discover Dilijan on foot.

We hike in small groups along forest trails and old roads, visiting monasteries, lakes and mountain viewpoints.

EXPLORE OUR TOURS

Transcaucasian Trail Association

This article was prepared by Dilijan Tour using the history of the Transcaucasian Trail project. Dilijan Tour is not an organiser or official representative of the Transcaucasian Trail Association.

READ THE TCT HISTORY ON THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE ↗

Transcaucasian Trail

A trail built by people

Two people. One idea.