About Caucasus Expedition - Caucasus Expeditions

“It could be the context, the excitement of the trip, the freedom delights, the personal quest that I pursued in May 2003 that allowed me to get an experience of Georgia and Tusheti that I will never forget. It also could be the enchantment of places, sites, landscapes, the smile of the Georgians, their epicureanism, simplicity and generosity without limit or expectation? Perhaps it is the chaotic situation in which the country was entangled since the 90s, a dilapidated architecture and a heavy and grave atmosphere which emphasis the striking contrast with the untouched nature and the bright of the Georgian faces? Perhaps it is the exoticism of the Greater Caucasus, the impenetrability of this natural barrier, the mysteries of paganism, the History of these incredible tribes? The Tusheti has to be earned. It sorts out the hesitant and undecided, the pretentious and ambitious, the blind but also the less courageous, the delicate, the tender and the brave. Like the quest for grail, many people touch it but do not get it. The future will remind me many times. To reach it, it requires determination and endurance, to discover it, curiosity and humility, to live there resistance, adaptability and understanding, to be accepted some years! My attachment to Tusheti was instantaneous, so profound that it has never left me.”

Since this trip in 2003 the idea has grown.
Thanks to the beautiful surprises that life sometimes offers us, I met 2 years later again Gia Bakuridze, a Tush, with whom we founded Caucasus Trekking Company in 2006. In 2005 and 2006 we recognized our first equestrian and pedestrian routes in Tusheti and Chiraki. Our first season took place in summer 2007 with 6 horses. In 2013, we were 3 teams and 20 horses. We have organized, accompanied and guided our visitors together during these 7 years.
From 2014 to 2016, Audrey and Gia followed other paths: Gia left for new adventures in Europe and now experiences another life, Audrey has meanwhile created new routes throughout the Greater Caucasus Mountains.
In 2017 she founded Caucasus Expedition and offers equestrian & pedestrian expeditions in Azerbaijan, Kabardino Balkaria (Russia, North Caucasus) and Georgia. The core of her activities remains the self sufficient treks in Tusheti with her horses. She also organises ski tour in winter in Georgia, combined trip : 1 trip, 2 countries that shows the similarities and the contrasts of 2 Caucasian worlds as well as some special trips about a thematic (Caucasian ethnic group, gastronomy and wine, Soviet architecture, polyphonic singing) from Armenia and Georgia to Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus areas.
Except for the horses expedition in which you could take part in as an individual, the other trips are all customized for groups from 4-5 persons.

The pictures below have been taken during my very first trip in 2003 with the Tush on their way to Tusheti.