Day 27 19 May Visit to the cave town of Vardzia

Photo above - Vardzia cave town

Quick look around Akhaltsikhe

Went for a quick walk around the local streets after breakfast. The weather was a bit overcast but warm. The town of Akhaltsikhe is built around the river Karu with several castles and churches on the hills around, and in the town itself.

Georgian poet

After breakfast, we headed south east out of town, and were soon into a rocky mountainous and forested environment, once again following the River Karu towards the Turkish border. Made a stop at one point to see a memorial statue of a famous Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli, situated just off the road at the side of a field. Also at this spot was an example of an early dwelling, built of wood, but covered in soil and grass for insulation.

Ancient fortress

After a few more miles, driving through the mountains, some of which was terraced in order to grow grapes, we stopped at Khertvisi Fortress, dramatically situated on a cliff above the confluence of two major rivers. It's one of the oldest fortresses in Georgia, dating back to the 2nd Century BC. The best view is over the other side of the river via a very bouncy footbridge.

Vardzia cave town

Another few minutes drive, and we reached Vardzia itself, which is cut into a towering cliff and was established as a stronghold against the Turkish Sultanate (the Turkish border is only 10 kilometres away) by King Giorgi III in the 12th century. Vardzia was subsequently developed by his daughter, Tamar (later to become Queen Tamar), who created a cave monastery that became a centre of Georgian culture.

This network of caves above the Mtkvari (Kura) River once numbered 3000, with up to 19 tiers in some places. Much of it was destroyed after a huge earthquake in 1456 and only 550 caves have been discovered since. There are numerous churches, meeting halls, refectories, and wine cellars, all interconnected by tunnels and stairways. Some of the tunnels were quite low with steep steps. There were great views of the valley below. There is even a natural spring in the town that supplied drinking water. One of the churches which is still used had some amazing frescoes but we were not allowed to take photos. There are a handful of monks that still live in the caves!!

Lunch on a farm and a return to Akhaltsikhe

Next we drove on for a further 10 minutes to a local farm where we had a lovely lunch of cheese bread, salad, vegetable stew and local red wine.

Finally we drove back to Akhaltsikhe where I took the opportunity to go to a local barber for a haircut. Cost about £2. Not a word of English spoken, and plenty of funny looks, but they did a good job.

Tomorrow, we will drive back to the main cross country east west highway via a mineral water park and a monastery, before arriving at one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Kutaisi.