Savsat to Trabzon, Turkey

Like most districts of Artvin this is a beautiful hilly area surrounded by high mountains on all sides, including the 3,537 m Karçkal mountains to the west, and watered by many mountain streams and pools. The area has a cold inland climate, somewhat tempered by being above the Black Sea coast, but at these altitudes winter lasts a long time; it snows from November to April. The mountains are covered with pine forest, with some broadleaf forest at lower elevations, which gives the air a strong flavour of pine, and you ride through the forests.