Vardzia is home to the most stunning cave complexes in all of Georgia (and this is saying something, as Georgia has many ancient cave monasteries and cities.)
Additionally, simply driving through this region (Samtskhe-Javakheti) is a worthy activity in and of itself – the scenery is an incredible mix of alpine forests, snow-capped mountains, and deep river canyons. And for those interested in Georgian history, the upper Mtkvari River Valley contains many unique medieval defensive fortresses as a result of its proximity to the Persians (and their repeated invasions). Seeing these positions up close is well worth a detour.
Originally established in the 12th century by King Giorgi III as a valley fortification, his daughter, Queen Tamar, further developed the site into a monastery. At its peak, it housed nearly 2000 monks and was revered as a religious and spiritual epicenter for the region, much like Mtskheta in Kartli.
The sheer scale of the operation, carved from stone, is amazing: 13 floors, 119 cave groups, 409 rooms, 13 churches, and 25 wine cellars. Sadly (wait for it), repeated Persian invasions, including a 1551 battle fought (and lost) in the caves themselves, led to Vardzia’s decline. The entire region, in fact, was under Ottoman rule from the mid-1550’s until the 1870’s.
Today, visiting Vardzia is arguably one of the most “touristy” experiences you’ll have in Georgia (though Prometheus Caves, outside Kutaisi, are a close competitor). But don’t let this deter you – “touristy” in Georgia just means that you’ll see other people rather than having the place to yourself. Set aside a few hours for a good scramble – you’ll soon feel like Indiana Jones.
Time Needed
Half a day to see Vardzia, at least two days to enjoy the other sites at a reasonable pace.
Distance from Tbilisi
Five hours.
Reason to Go
Stunning cave complexes, breathtaking scenery driving in and out, rich history, and ancient defensive fortresses throughout the valleys.
Transportation
Marshrutky run from Akhalsitkhe 5-6 times per day. In the high season, especially spring/summer/fall, you can find more infrequent shuttles from Tbilisi and even Borjomi.
Otherwise, a round-trip taxi ride from Akhalsitkhe (with wait time) will cost you around 50 GEL.
Given the number of interesting detours in this region, it might be easier to hire or rent your own car, however most taxi drivers are happy to make a stop or two along the way.
Accommodation
There are a handful of guesthouses as well as some up and coming resort/hotel complexes being built. Always check booking.com for the latest and greatest. Guesthouses will give you the best local experience – see photos and stories below.
Places to Eat
There are a few restaurants in the area – check TripAdvisor for the most up to date info. Otherwise, enjoy the homemade meals at your guesthouse!
Regional Combinations
Given the distance from Tbilisi (five hours), it makes perfect sense to stop in Borjomi along the way – you’ll be driving through anyways, so why not enjoy the town, Mineral Water Park, or Borjomi National Park?
Additionally, if you have the time, there are several notable stops in the upper Mtkvari River Valley in/around Vardzia that are absolutely worth your time. Sapara Monastery, Khertvisi Fortress, Tmogvi Castle, and Vanis Qvabebi are highlights (among others) along the road from Akhalsitkhe to Vardzia. More on those below.
Arguably the best and most convenient guesthouse in Vardzia is the Tirebi Guesthouse, where we stayed. It is within walking distance of several notable sites yet also located on the far side of the Mtkvari (from the road), meaning you’ll have peace and quiet and plenty of privacy.
One of the three dogs owned by the host family. This poor guy was born with weak/broken back legs. Despite this setback, he still manages to drag himself over to you, roll on his back, and demand belly rubs every few minutes, no matter how far you go. Friendly and well fed? Yes. Clean? No.
With a gushing, year-round river 50m from their porch, it’s hard to argue against building a fish farm. In their case, they harvested Vardzia river trout.
Once across the river, we climbed up the valley above the main road and began to head towards our first destination: Vanis Qvabebi, or the Vani Caves. Looking up at the canyon, we thought we’d arrived several times due to the sheer number of caves (mostly unlabeled) in this region, only to realize we had a bit farther to go.
We eventually saw a large concentration of caves (as well as a sign towards Vanis Qvabebi. The entrance road is paved, and steep, all the way up to the main parking lot. Long abandoned caves (such as above) will be all around you as you make the climb.
The steep climb will reward you with a view.
The Vani Caves actually pre-date the Vardzia complex by nearly four centuries (Vardzia is from the 12th century, Vani Caves from the 8th century). In addition, they are equally stunning, have a fraction of the crowds, and are far less regulated (such as handrails, “Do Not Enter” signs, and the like). This privacy and isolation, to us, made the Vani Caves superior to the Vardzia ones.
Similar to the pre-Christian Uplistsikhe caves in Kartli and the Davit Gareja monastery in the southeast, the Vani Caves contain intricate designs and carvings to accommodate the monastery lifestyle they supported. Doorways, ceilings, altars, candle slots, stairwells, and tunnels are all carved in detail from the stone cliff. Walls and ceilings have an inch or two of black silt peeling from the stone from years and years of open fires (and possibly from the Persian invasion in 1551).
And the views, as in all monasteries in Georgia, are incredible.
There are a few small churches within the complex as well.
It doesn’t look like much from afar. However, once inside the caves and tunnels, you’ll feel like you’ve entered another world. And in a lot of ways, you have.
The Vani Caves are an active monastery, meaning monks currently live/work here. They live in simple huts, such as the above, which are also built into the rock face.
Presumably for protein, not for pleasure.
After spending a few hours exploring the caves (which may involve some serious scrambling, climbing, and a descent down three floors of cave tunnels, depending how far you go), you can take the opportunity to explore some of the valley on foot. In our case, we had to walk back to our homestay. There will be a multitude of cattle and shepherd paths carved into the grassy bank – you can always keep the river or road within sight if need be. It is a beautiful walk and a beautiful valley – much easier staying in the valley than traversing them, as in Svaneti or Tusheti.
The valley’s color is particularly nice in late afternoon.
During our dinner, the eldest son mentioned having a “Jacuzzi” just down the road. This may have been a translation error, or just an interesting word choice, but it piqued our interest, given the region’s reputation for natural hot springs.
We drove down an extremely bumpy and dark road for about ten minutes and arrived at an old, Soviet era (but still functioning) CO2 factory. It literally pulls carbonated mineral water from the ground, filters and extracts the natural CO2, and then spits out extremely warm (but flat) water into a stone/clay pit on far side of the silo pictured above. We pulled up to the silo, changed into swimsuits, and climbed into the clay pit.
It was wonderful – perfectly warm with an industrial soundtrack of boiling water, bursting steam, and creaking metal in the background. We even had a full moon.
The moral of the story is this – if you find yourself in a Vardzia homestay, and one of the children mentions a “Jacuzzi”, just say yes.
Georgian breakfasts aren’t a big deal – normally they consist of some bread, fresh homemade jam, and tea or coffee. However, in more rural areas, sometimes you’ll be surprised with homemade yogurt. This guesthouse had particularly delicious yogurt made on site (they own several cows).
If you have the time and inclination, traveling to the Vardzia caves on foot is highly recommended for several reasons.
First, you’ll have an opportunity to visit the underappreciated sites en route, such as the breathtaking Tmogvi Castle and Vani Caves.
Second, you’ll gain a much better appreciation for the strategic placement of these historic sites in terms the overall defensive strategy of the Mtkvari River Valley (which leads to Tbilisi).
And third, your arrival in Vardzia will be spectacular – rather than driving along a paved road snapping pictures from a bus (and your first view of the ancient city coming from a modern parking lot), you’ll be able to scramble down from a shepherds village high on the plateau, walk quietly through a peaceful village, and rejoin the sound of the rushing river, allowing yourself to be stunned and overwhelmed by the façade of the ancient cave city as you turn the final corner.
As with most things in travel, the power of your first impression will be compounded exponentially if you experience the awe on foot, the same awe experienced by visitors nearly a thousand years ago.
Above is a view of the homestay as you climb up to Tmogvi Castle – the main trail begins just outside the property (another perk of this guesthouse). Note the large building to the rear of the home –like many guesthouses in Georgia, this home is a working farm – 20 chickens, 30 cattle, and an extremely vicious Caucasus Mountain sheep dog (often tied to a pole due to his habit of injuring neighbors’ dogs).
After two hours of steep ascent, you’ll arrive at your first destination – the Tmogvi Castle. It looks and feels like something out of Game of Thrones, but it is 100% real and was a very big deal beginning in the 10th century. The ancient fortification is built along the crest of a long finger that juts out into and over the steep river valley – a perfect defensive position on high ground that can provide visibility for miles down the valley on a clear day.
Located in southwestern Georgia, this entire region, the Samtskhe Javakheti, was under constant threat from the neighboring Persian/Ottoman empires. Today, the border with Turkey sits just a few kilometers to the south.
The Mtkvari River valley outside Vardzia is especially important because it cuts through the lesser Caucasus mountain range and leads directly to Tbilisi – a perfect “avenue of approach” for invading armies hoping to avoid dealing with Georgia’s notoriously difficult terrain and elevation (the Mtkvari River is the main river that splits Tbilisi). Defending this valley meant defending Tbilisi, and all of Georgia, even if it meant building massive stone fortresses high on a cliff, almost floating over the river below.
You should definitely take the time to walk and scramble out to the fortress and back – you’ll gain a much better appreciation for time and effort required to build such a spectacular fortress on such an inaccessible outcropping. Chances are you’ll have the place to yourself (though we did come across a large group of friendly Germans on our way back to the trail, many outfitted with an outrageous amount of trekking gear).
The Persian threat was a constant and real threat. So much so that the local Vardzia populace took the time and effort to dig tunnels from the fortress (hundreds of meters above) all the way down to the river.
These tunnels allowed them to access water, even during blockades, and also served as escape routes. Shown above is the intricately carved stairwell leading down to the river where the tunnel ends. You can see similar tunnels/stairwells at other valley fortresses throughout southwestern Georgia along the border with Turkey.
After departing Tmogvi Castle, you can turn back the way you came (and return to the valley), or continue upwards onto the plateau. From the plateau, you’ll be able to scramble back down to the river and into Vardzia through a small, quaint village. The trail up to the plateau and shepherds village (see below) is an obvious path – getting back down to the river is not.
Heading up to the plateau, you’ll begin a series of long, gradual switchbacks leading you up to the plateau overlooking the valley.
Once atop the plateau, you’ll be able to see for miles in every direction. You’ll also be able to see the massive, snow-capped mountain ranges that made these types of valleys so important before modern transportation. It was the only way to move men, gear and supplies from Persia to the Caucusus in large, caravan numbers.
If you look closely, you can see villages settled on top of the plateau (as opposed to the ones in the valley). These villages were established during the Persian invasions – the local Vardzia people fled up to the plateau, avoided religious persecution and death during the Persian movements through the valley, and never came back down.
These villages are very similar to other plateau and cliff dwellings throughout the world, such as Dogon Country in Mali – they were also fleeing Islamic conversion (and were the only community in West Africa to avoid it).
After an hour or two of strolling along the grassy plateau, you’ll encounter a dramatic shepherds village seemingly out of nowhere. There will be several shepherd huts, cattle pens, a main church (shown above), and a traditional shepherd cemetery (shown below).
The shepherd cemetery is high up on the plateau, overlooking the snowcapped Meskheti mountain range.
As mentioned above, the path from the shepherd village down to the river and ultimately Vardzia was not well marked. We improvised a path after talking to two shepherds nearby – they simply said that we could descend down to the river directly, but that the path would be “difficult”.
It wasn’t extremely challenging by any means, but simply involved a lot of basic scrambling over loose stone for about thirty minutes before descending into a beautiful village tucked into a deep canyon.
Descending into the canyon ahead.
Approaching the small, quaint village.
And following the village path to the river.
We followed the canyon to the river, walked about 100m, and were stopped in our tracks by the sight of the Vardzia cave monastery.
If you don’t pack a lunch, there is a great restaurant just outside the visitors center overlooking the river. It is a great spot to rest and recuperate before taking on the caves.
Above is a photo at the start of the monastery, looking back the way we came.
Much like the other cave cities and monasteries in Georgia, the monks seemed to have thought of everything – doorways, windows, candle boxes, wine cellars, storage compartments, light passages, and more. All carved out of stone.
If you’ve already visited the Tmogvi Castle and Vani Caves at this point, great – those two, along with Vardzia, can fill up an entire day (both on foot as well as with transportation) and are the highlights of any trip to this region.
If you have the time on your way out, though, a stop at Khertvisi Fortress and Sapara Monastery (both on your way back through Akhaltsitkhe) are absolutely worth it.
Khertvisi Fortress, located at a junction of both the Mtkvari and Paravani Rivers as well as the main roads to Vardzia and Armenia, is a 10th century defensive structure built to protect the Georgian heartland, and capital, from Persian invasions emanating from the southern (Persian/Ottoman) border. Like the majority of the fortresses in this region, there is a secret tunnel (on the western edge) leading down to the Paravani River – this was likely used for both water access as well as an escape route.
Sapara Monastery may only be 12km southeast of Akhaltsikhe, but the unpaved track leading up to it may take a while to navigate properly. Dating from the 9th century, it was the diplomacy of the Jekeli family in the 13th century that spared the monastery, and local region, from conflict with the Mongols. In addition to the amazing views, the churches are filled with beautiful frescoes and reliefs.
