Spend a morning learning about one of the most ambitious trail- building projects ongoing at the moment… The Transcaucasian Trail. The TCT spans the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and passes through Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The area is home to the highest mountains in Europe as well being important historically for millennium and is known for its rich and varied biodiversity. It is also the birthplace of wine (and Stalin !) and is know for amazing hospitality , fabulous monasteries and UNESCO villages. The talk will provide an overview of the above through the lens of the building of the TCT long distance trail which connects and passes through all 3 countries. Trail builders, long distance hikers, and those interested in sustainable tourism will be very interested as well as those interested in the political complexities of working in such a varied cultural and politically charged landscape given the outsized role Russia continues to play across the region.