Best Traditional Georgian Tbilisi, Mtskheta UNESCO 1994, Kazbegi, Svaneti Ushguli UNESCO 1996, Kakheti Wine and Georgia Deep Heritage Tour Destinations

Browse more guides: Georgia travel | Asia destinations

TL;DR

Georgia packs more history, mountain drama and wine culture into a small country than almost anywhere in Eurasia. You can stand inside a 4th century fortress in Tbilisi at sunset, sip qvevri wine made the way it was made 8,000 years ago, and trek under a 5,047 metre peak in the same week. Tier 1 stops worth your time are Tbilisi with Mtskheta (UNESCO 1994), Kazbegi with Gergeti Trinity Church, Svaneti and Ushguli (UNESCO 1996), Kakheti wine country with Sighnaghi and qvevri winemaking (UNESCO 2013), and the cave city of Vardzia with Davit Gareja and Borjomi nearby. Most of the country runs on mid-range budgets between 50 and 120 dollars a day, marshrutka vans connect the major regions cheaply, and English is widely spoken in tourism towns. Plan a 7-9 day Georgia trip.

Why Georgia rewards slow travel

Georgia is one of those countries where the next valley always looks different from the last. The capital sits in a warm river bend with sulphur springs bubbling under the old town. Drive two hours north and you are in alpine pasture under a glacier. Drive two hours east and you are walking between 18th century wine cellars where families still crush grapes into clay vessels buried in the floor. The distances are short, the roads have improved enormously over the last decade, and the food and wine culture is unlike anything else in the region.

The country is also still affordable. A clean guesthouse in Tbilisi runs around 25 to 40 dollars a night. A full dinner with wine in a family restaurant in Kakheti rarely crosses 20 dollars per person. Public marshrutka vans connect almost every town for a handful of lari. If you have a week to ten days, you can see the headline regions without rushing.

Tier 1 destinations to anchor your trip

Tbilisi and Old Town Kala

Tbilisi is the obvious entry point and most international flights land at TBS airport about 20 kilometres from the centre. Stay in or near the Kala old town. The wooden balconies, narrow lanes and sulphur bathhouse domes of Abanotubani are concentrated in a small walkable area.

Narikala Fortress dates to the 4th century, with most of the visible walls from later Persian and Arab eras. Entry to the fortress itself is free and the cable car up from Rike Park costs about 1 lari each way. The view down over the river bend and the old town at sunset is the photo people remember from Georgia.

Below the fortress, the sulphur baths of Abanotubani still work the way they have for centuries. A private room runs roughly 50 to 150 lari per hour depending on the bathhouse and the time of day. Book Orbeliani or Chreli Abano for the brick domes and tiled interiors.

Holy Trinity Cathedral, called Sameba, was completed in 2004 and rises 105 metres, making it the largest religious building in the Caucasus. Entry is free. Dress modestly, women should cover their hair, and it is worth visiting in the early evening when the choir often practices.

Walk Rustaveli Avenue end to end at least once. The Georgian National Museum, the opera, the parliament and several good cafes line this single boulevard.

Mtskheta, the ancient capital

Mtskheta sits 20 kilometres north of Tbilisi at the meeting of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers, and a marshrutka from Didube station gets you there in under an hour for a couple of lari. The whole historic centre was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1994.

Jvari Monastery sits on the ridge above the town and dates to the 6th century. Entry is free. The cliff edge view down to the river junction is one of the renowned Georgian landscapes.

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, finished in 1010, is the spiritual heart of Georgian Orthodoxy. Entry is free. Inside, look for the layered frescoes, the burial slabs of Georgian kings and the chapel that traditionally marks where the robe of Christ was buried. You can comfortably do Mtskheta as a half day from Tbilisi.

Kazbegi and Gergeti Trinity Church

Kazbegi, officially called Stepantsminda, sits three hours north of Tbilisi along the Georgian Military Highway. A marshrutka from Didube costs around 15 to 20 lari and runs frequently in summer.

The reason people come is Gergeti Trinity Church, a 14th century stone chapel perched at 2,170 metres with Mount Kazbek behind it at 5,047 metres. Kazbek is the 8th highest peak in the Caucasus and the snow line stays visible most of the year. You can walk up from the village in about 90 minutes on a clear trail. If you do not want to walk, a 4WD shared transfer costs about 50 lari round trip.

Beyond the church, the Dariali Gorge runs north toward the Russian border and is worth a short drive for the cliff scenery and the small monastery cut into the rock. Stay overnight in Stepantsminda rather than day tripping. The light at sunrise on Kazbek is the reason you came.

Svaneti, Mestia and Ushguli

Svaneti is the high north western region and the slowest stop on any Georgia trip, which is exactly why it is the most rewarding. Upper Svaneti was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 1996 for its medieval defensive tower houses and intact mountain villages.

Mestia is the regional hub. Fly there from Tbilisi on a small Vanilla Sky flight when weather allows, take the overnight train to Zugdidi and then a marshrutka up the valley, or ride the direct Tbilisi to Mestia marshrutka which takes about 9 hours. Mestia has a small but excellent ethnographic museum, entry around 7 lari, with religious icons, manuscripts and weapons from the surrounding villages.

From Mestia, hire a shared 4WD to Ushguli, the highest continuously inhabited community in Europe at 2,200 metres. Ushguli is actually four hamlets, Chazhashi, Murkmeli, Chvibiani and Zhibiani, set in a single high pasture under Mount Shkhara. More than 200 stone Svan towers, most built between the 9th and 12th centuries as defensive refuges, still stand across Upper Svaneti. Many house owners will let you climb the towers attached to their guesthouses for a small fee.

The classic four day Mestia to Ushguli trek is one of the great walks in the Caucasus if you have the time and the weather.

Kakheti, wine and Sighnaghi

Kakheti is the heart of Georgian wine country and the easiest tier 1 region to combine with Tbilisi. Telavi is the practical base. Sighnaghi, the small hill town nicknamed the City of Love for its 24 hour wedding registry, is the photogenic one with intact 18th century walls and views down to the Alazani Valley.

Walking the walls of Sighnaghi is free. Most travellers spend half a day here and stay overnight.

Tsinandali Estate, the former home of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze, has a museum, gardens and one of the oldest wine cellars in the country with bottles dating to the 1840s. Tours with tasting run roughly 30 to 80 lari depending on which wines you sample.

Alaverdi Monastery, founded in the 6th century with the main cathedral completed in the 11th, is one of the tallest medieval churches in Georgia and also produces wine in qvevri inside the monastery walls.

Qvevri winemaking, the practice of fermenting and ageing wine in large clay vessels buried underground, was inscribed on the UNESCO intangible heritage list in 2013. Georgia has roughly 8,000 years of continuous wine tradition, the oldest documented in the world. A small family winery tasting in Kakheti, with five or six wines and bread and cheese, typically costs 30 to 80 lari and is usually the highlight of the trip for first time visitors.

Vardzia, Davit Gareja and Borjomi

Vardzia is the cave monastery city carved into a cliff face above the Mtkvari River in 1180 under Queen Tamar. It originally had 19 tiers and around 6,000 rooms cut into the rock, with a church, bakery, refectory and wine cellars all hollowed from the same stone. Entry is 15 lari. From Tbilisi by car or organised tour it is about 4 hours each way, so an overnight in Akhaltsikhe or Borjomi makes more sense than a day trip.

Davit Gareja is a complex of 6th century cave monasteries strung along the ridge that forms the Azerbaijan border south east of Tbilisi. Access has been politically sensitive in recent years because the upper Udabno caves straddle the border. Verify access with your guesthouse the day before you go, because some parts may be closed depending on the current border situation.

Borjomi is the spa town famous for its mineral water, first commercially bottled in 1820 from the springs in the central park. The park itself is a pleasant afternoon walk and the salty mineral water is free from the public taps. Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park spreads north and west of town and has marked hiking and horse trekking routes for one to four days.

Budget, food and practical notes

Mid-range travel runs 50 to 120 dollars a day including guesthouse, food, local transport and entries. Hostel beds in Tbilisi start under 15 dollars. A full Georgian dinner with wine in a family restaurant usually lands between 15 and 25 dollars per person.

Eat khinkali, the soup dumplings you bite carefully and drain before finishing. Try khachapuri in its regional variations, especially the boat shaped Adjaruli with egg and butter. Order pkhali, the cold vegetable pates with walnut, and badrijani, aubergine rolls with walnut paste. In Kakheti, order whatever the host pours.

Fly into Tbilisi TBS for the classic loop, or into Batumi BUS on the Black Sea if you want to combine beach time with the mountains. Marshrutka vans cover almost everything else. Tbilisi to Kazbegi is about 3 hours, Tbilisi to Mestia is around 9 hours direct or longer via the overnight train to Zugdidi and a connecting van up the valley. Renting a car gives you the most freedom but the mountain roads in Svaneti and on the Military Highway demand confidence.

Sample 7-9 day route

Two nights Tbilisi with a half day in Mtskheta, two nights Kazbegi for Gergeti Trinity and the Military Highway, one or two nights Kakheti based in Telavi or Sighnaghi for wine, two nights Mestia with a long day trip to Ushguli, and a final night back in Tbilisi or routed through Borjomi and Vardzia if you have the extra day. Adjust based on whether mountains or wine pull you harder. Most travellers wish they had stayed longer in Svaneti.

External references

UNESCO World Heritage List, Historical Monuments of Mtskheta
UNESCO World Heritage List, Upper Svaneti
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine making method
Georgian National Tourism Administration
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park visitor information

Georgia rewards travellers who slow down, eat long lunches and let the road decide the next stop. Plan loosely, leave a buffer day for weather in the mountains, and you will leave wanting to come back.

Search This Blog

Your Local Guide to Visiting Places | visitingplacesin.com