Hey all,

I'm going on a backpacking trip starting in Baku, Azerbaijan on the Caspian and traversing west through Georgia to the Black Sea. I'm planning for stops in Svaneti and Ushguli. I'm leaving in two weeks and really struggling to find good topo maps of the area. Any suggestions on where I can buy or download Caucasus maps? Really starting to stress a bit RE the navigation! I also have a GPS so if there are any GPS downloads that may be useful to, in addition to the hard copies.

Also, in many of these areas you can stay with local families. Any info on how to locate potential families?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

There is a good map shop in Tbilisi - Geoland. It's pricey, but there are great options. I used the Geoland-made maps, but there are also copies of old Soviet maps that have a little better detail. https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=ru&safe=off&client=firefox&ie=UTF-8&q=geoland+tbilisi&fb=1&gl=us&hq=geoland&hnear=0x40440cd7e64f626b:0x61d084ede2576ea3,%D0%A2%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%B8,+%D0%93%D1%80%D1%83%D0%B7%D0%B8%D1%8F&cid=0,0,16859306066312584342&ei=efk8UK-mMYPu2gWiuYDYDA&ved=0CHcQ_BIwAA