Day trip in Vardzia and Rabati Castle (Private)

Visit: 4 travel, Davit garejeli str. 4, Tbilisi 0141 Georgia

We will pick you up from your hotel and our trip to Vardzia an Akhaltsikhe begins. 

Stop at Vardzia

Vardzia is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Kura River. The main period of construction was the second half of the twelfth century. The caves stretch along the cliff for some five hundred meters and in up to nineteen tiers. The Church of the Dormition, dating to the 1180s during the golden age of Tamar and Rustaveli, has an important series of wall paintings. The site was largely abandoned after the Ottoman takeover in the sixteenth century. Now part of a state heritage reserve, the extended area of Vardzia-Khertvisi has been submitted for future inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List

Duration: 90 minutes

Stop at Akaltsikhe (Rabati Castle)

Rabati Castle is a fortress in Akhaltsikhe. Originally established in the 9th century as the Lomisa Castle, it was completely rebuilt by Ottomans. Most of the surviving buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries. The city was established in the 9th century by Guaram Mampal. From the 13th to the end of 14th centuries it was the capital city of Samtskhe-Saatabago. In 1393 the city was attacked by the armies of Tamerlane. Despite the Turko-Mongol invasions, the fortress withstood and continued to thrive. After the Treaty of Constantinople in 1590, the whole territory of Samtskhe-Saatabago came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. In 1752 the first mosque was built in Rabati. The fortress and its adjacent buildings were extensively rebuilt and renovated in 2011-2012 in order to attract more tourists to the area.

Duration: 90 minutes

After Akhaltsikhe we will travel straight to Tbilisi and drop you off in your hotel.