Georgia surprised us. As a former republic of the Soviet Union, it is similar to Ukraine or Russia, but there are some significant differences:
- Large-scale reconstruction of tourism facilities and infrastructure
- A lot of new buildings with unusual design
- Top quality of night lights everywhere
- Reformed police system
During the last 10 years, the government has spent a huge amount of money on all these changes. But welfare of the people has almost not changed, Georgia is still a rather poor country. Probably because of that fact Mikhail Saakashvili's team lost the presidential election in 2013. From our side we were pleasantly surprised with the tourist infrastructure of Georgia and also by Georgian cuisine. Every day we ate khinkalis, khachapuris, corn tortillas, kharcho soups and much more.
Actually, Georgia is a small country, so better rent a car if you want to visit many places. Public transport is basically minibuses. They are often crowded and don't run according to the schedule.
The first few days we were living in Tbilisi and made several trips: to Kakheti and to north Georgia. To inspect the rest of the country, you need to spend the nights elsewhere.
We have to say that despite a hectic schedule of our route, we visited not all places from our wishlist.
Day 1: Tbilisi
Day 2: Tbilisi
Day 3: Ujarma Fortress, Ikalto Monastery, Alaverdi monastery and fortress, Kindzmarauli winery, Gremi Castle
Day 4: Mtskheta, Ananuri Fortress, Observation deck in Gudauri, Trinity Church in Gergeti
Day 5: Paravani Lake, Khertvisi Fortress, Vardzia
Day 6: Rabat Fortress, Borjomi
Day 7: Gelati Monastery, Cave of Prometheus, Inguri Dam, Svaneti
Day 8: Mestia
Day 9: Dadiani Palace, Batumi
Day 10: Tbilisi
Day 1
We landed in the evening and were pleasantly surprised to receive small bottles of wine together with stamps in the passport in the Tbilisi airport. The first 3 nights we spent in Tbilisi.
Day 2
The entire second day we were walking around Tbilisi.
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| Cableway to the Nariqala Fortress ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Bridge of Peace ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Day 3
For the entire day we went to Kakheti. One day is not enough for this region, try to plan 2 days.
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| Landscape on the way to Kakheti ©Yuriy Buriak |
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We visited:
Ujarma Fortress
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| Ujarma Fortress ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Ikalto Monastery
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| Holy Spirit Temple (7-9 century) ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Alaverdi monastery and fortress
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| Alaverdi monastery and fortress ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Kindzmarauli winery
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| Kindzmarauli winery ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Gremi Castle
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| Gremi Castle ©Yuriy Buriak |
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We also stopped in Telavi, walked in the downtown and visited a local market.
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| Churchkhela at a market in Telavi ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Market in Telavi ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Market in Telavi ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Day 4
On this day we went to the north along the Georgian Military Highway and visited:
Mtskheta
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| View from the Djvari Monastery ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Ananuri Fortress
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| Ananuri Fortress ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Observation deck in Gudauri
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| New observation deck in Gudauri ©Yuriy Buriak |
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And in the end, one of the most beautiful places in Georgia, Trinity Church in Gergeti.
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| Trinity Church in Gergeti ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| View from the Trinity Church in Gergeti ©Yuriy Buriak |
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During our trip, we saw other interesting and beautiful places.
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| Zhinvali reservoir ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Zhinvali reservoir ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Almost "gold" on the Georgian Military Highway ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Almost "gold" on the Georgian Military Highway ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| We left the car to take a picture with a rainbow. ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Landscapes on the Georgian Military Highway ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Day 5
On this day, we left Tbilisi and drove west towards Vardzia. On the way we stopped near a huge ravine.
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| Canyon on the Tbilisi - Manglisi road ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Then we walked around the Paravani Lake.
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| Paravani Lake ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Here we visited a local house and bought some homemade cheese. That was a mistake, as the cheese was too "fragrant" :)
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| Road near the Paravani Lake ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Satellite receiver in a remote Georgian village ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| And also a rabbit ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| We tried to pat it, but it ran away. ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Fragrant Georgian cheese ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Fragrant Georgian cheese ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Moving further along the canyon of the Paravani river, we found an interesting bridge.
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| Train car bridge ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Train car bridge ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Train car bridge ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Then we came to Vardzia.
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| Vardzia Cave Monastery ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Vardzia Cave Monastery ©Yuriy Buriak |
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And after that we returned to the Khertvisi Fortress.
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| Khertvisi Fortress ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Khertvisi Fortress ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Finally, we stopped in the center of Akhaltsikhe to make photos of the Rabat Fortress at night, and then went to the hotel. After we had settled in the hotel, we also visited a thermal spring and an observatory.
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| Rabat Fortress ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Day 6
In the morning we went for a walk in a freshly reconstructed Rabat Fortress.
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| Rabat Fortress ©Yuriy Buriak |
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After that we went to Borjomi to drink famous water.
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| Mineral water source in Borjomi ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Tasty water ©Yuriy Buriak |
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The next city is Kutaisi, where we spent the night. On the way we stopped at a roadside souvenir market and met guys from National Geographic there.
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| Market near the highway ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| National Geographic ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Somewhere near Kutaisi ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Day 7
In the morning, after a walk in Kutaisi, we went to the Gelati Monastery.
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| Bench in Kutaisi ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Kutaisi ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Church of Virgin the Blessed in the Gelati Monastery ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Then - to the Cave of Prometheus:
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| Cave of Prometheus ©Yuriy Buriak |
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On the long way to Svaneti, we met the real Georgian guy with a pet :)
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| Rabbit :) ©Yuriy Buriak |
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And stopped at the Inguri Dam:
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| Inguri Dam ©Yuriy Buriak |
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We reached Svaneti in the evening and went for a walk around Mestia, the central town.
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| Center of Mestia ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Towers of Mestia ©Yuriy Buriak |
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The next day we spent in Mestia and the surrounding areas.
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| Svan towers of Mestia ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| On the roof of the tower ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Cableway in Mestia ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Mushrooms in Mestia ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Day 8
On this day we had a long trip to Batumi. On the way we visited the Dadiani Palace in Zugdidi.
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| Dadiani Palace ©Yuriy Buriak |
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And one of the recreation areas on the sea:
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| Beach at the recreation center near Batumi ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Beach at the recreation center near Batumi ©Yuriy Buriak |
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We had a nice evening walk in Batumi.
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| Stone pouf on the waterfront ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Piazza Square ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Ali and Nino ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Day 9
In the morning we went to Tbilisi. We arrived at the capital in the afternoon and visited the Mtatsminda Park. After that we went to the airport.
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| Mtatsminda Park ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| Ferris wheel in the Mtatsminda Park ©Yuriy Buriak |
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| View of Tbilisi from the Ferris wheel ©Yuriy Buriak |
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Useful links:
http://tickets.railway.ge/login.aspx?lang=en-US - railways
http://www.skigeorgia.ge - ski resorts
http://www.info-tbilisi.com/carrent/price/ - car rental
http://www.info-tbilisi.com/cars/ - car rental |
