Horse riding in Juta: season, routes and prices

Horse riding in Juta runs from June to the end of October, and the usual ride is 2.5 hours: up from Juta village to Juta Lake beneath the Chaukhi massif, half an hour at the lake, then back the same way. From Gudauri it is a full day, not a half day, because Juta sits 24 km of road beyond Stepantsminda, which is itself on the far side of the Jvari Pass.

Every operator fact below was read on that operator's own website on 21 September 2026, and every distance is the Agency of Protected Areas' own. Where no figure worth quoting exists, this page says so.

Where is Juta, and how far is it?

Juta is the highest inhabited place in Kazbegi Municipality, at 2,200 metres. The Agency of Protected Areas gives the road from Stepantsminda to Juta as 24 km, of which 8 km is paved as far as the village of Sno and 16 km is gravel. The same source puts the Jvari Pass 5 km from Gudauri and 30 km from Stepantsminda, and the Chaukhi massif at the head of the Juta valley, on the main ridge of the Caucasus, at 3,688 metres.

We publish no single Gudauri to Juta distance, because the Agency measures this road from Stepantsminda. Nor do we publish a driving time, for the same reason we publish none for the Kazbegi day trip: on this road the variable is not the kilometres. Ask whoever is driving you on the morning.

When can you ride in Juta?

Horsetours, the operator whose Juta rides sit in our directory, publishes its season for them as 1 June to 30 October. Riding in Juta is therefore a summer plan: by the time the Gudauri lifts are turning, the rides have finished for the year. Confirm the current year's dates when you book, because a published range is not a promise that horses are out on the first morning of it.

What do the Juta rides actually cover?

Horsetours publishes three rides from Juta village on horsetours.ge, all read on 21 September 2026.

• One hour, 57.69 USD per rider. Graded easy, and described as suitable for beginners through to advanced riders
• 2.5 hours, 10 km, 96.15 USD per rider. About an hour up to Juta Lake, with the Juta waterfall visible from a distance on the way, up to roughly 30 minutes at the lake, then an hour back
• One day, 10 hours, 265.38 USD per rider. A 20 km route of which 14 km is ridden, from Juta across to the three Abudelauri lakes, green, blue and white, which the operator puts at about 2,500 metres

On all three the operator states a minimum age of 5 and a maximum of 70, and a maximum group of 30. The one-hour and 2.5-hour rides will run for a single rider; the day ride needs at least two.

The price includes, in the operator's own words, an English-speaking guide and horses, and excludes transfer, meals, accommodation and insurance. Prices move, so treat those figures as of the date named.

Do you need to have ridden before?

Not for the shorter rides. The operator grades the one-hour ride easy and open to beginners, and its age range runs from 5 to 70. Plan for two hours in the saddle on the 2.5-hour ride, broken by one stop of about half an hour, and there is no shorter way back from the lake. With children who have not ridden, book the one hour first.

Insurance is not included on any of the three, which is worth reading twice before putting a child on a horse at 2,200 metres. That is a question for the operator, not for us.

What is the problem with the last 3 km?

The operator states on its own page that the road to Juta is under construction and that the last 3 km are not accessible by cars. It names three ways round that: walk the last stretch, take a local taxi, for which it publishes around 30 GEL per car one way or 10 GEL per person, or arrange a pickup with the guide in advance.

Settle which of the three before you set out, because a driver who agrees to take you to Juta may mean the point where the cars stop.

Altimera does not operate or arrange transport. Guests book directly with a driver or an operator. The drivers and transfer companies in our directory publish their own contact details, and the riding businesses are in the same directory under horseback riding.

Can you ride nearer Gudauri instead?

Yes, and from November to May it is the only option. Two of the three riding businesses in our directory work closer to the resort.

SkyAtlantida publishes three formats on skyatlantida.com: 45 minutes at 329 GEL per person, 3 to 4 hours at 669 GEL, and 5 to 6 hours from 869 GEL. Its own page says a helmet is mandatory and included, that a local guide is with you throughout, and that no experience is needed for the 45-minute ride. Children ride from age 2 in a carrier with an adult, and from 6 on their own horse with parental permission. It runs year round, 08:00 to 20:00 from 1 May to 30 October and 10:00 to 18:00 from 1 November to 30 April. Rides start at Kobi or Arsha rather than in the resort, so confirm the meeting point when you book over WhatsApp. Its details are on the SkyAtlantida listing.

Riding Kazbeg is based in Stepantsminda and names five routes on ridingkazbeg.ge: Gergeti Trinity, a short Vedza ride its own site calls ideal for beginners and families, Elias Church, the Meteo Station and the Arsha waterfall. It publishes no prices, no durations and no season, so settle all three before you give a day to it. Its details are on the Riding Kazbeg listing.

How does a riding day fit into a week here?

Juta lies in the same direction as Kazbegi and over the same pass, but it is a second destination past Stepantsminda rather than an addition to a Gergeti morning. Pick one or the other.

Eating is easy to get wrong on the way back. Of the four places in where to eat in Kazbegi, three publish their hours and all three close at 22:00. A late lunch fits a riding day; dinner means crossing the pass in the dark. For the rest of what the valley does between June and October, read the Gudauri summer guide, and for the resort in either season, the Gudauri guide.

The one thing to settle first

Dates, and they are not the dates most people arrive on: Juta riding runs June to October, while the apartments are fullest in February.

Check dates for the apartments for the week you have in mind, then book the ride directly with the operator. The Juta rides listing carries its own phone number and website.