Must See in Georgia

1. Tbilisi

Tbilisi is the capital city and one of the best cities in Georgia to visit! Tbilisi lies on the banks of the Mtkvari (also known as the Kura) river and is surrounded by hills and mountains. It has been the capital of Georgia since the 6th century and its diverse architecture reflects its long and complicated history. One of the best ways to appreciate this unique place is to wander its streets, especially in the colorful Old Town. During your walk in the city you’ll come across over-renovated and hyper-modern buildings but you’ll also find yourself in a warren of backstreets surrounded by ramshackled buildings that are beautiful in their own unique way. Make sure you walk (or take the cable car) to the Narikala Fortress where you can enjoy the stunning panorama over the city.

2. Mtskheta

Mtskheta is the religious capital, the spiritual heart and therefore the most important city of Georgia. It used to be the capital city before King Gorgasali changed his base to Tbilisi. It’s also one of the oldest cities in Georgia, where 4000-year-old traces of human settlements were found. Mtskheta is home to three of Georgia’s most important churches: Svetitskhoveli (try to say this 3x in a row…), Jvari and Samtavro Monastery. Saint Nino lived in this city. She’s known as the Enlightener of Georgia, is one of the most important saints in this country (many girls are named after her). She’s the woman who preached Christianity in Georgia and the reason why this religion was adopted as the state religion in the year 330. Important Note: if you want to enter the churches, dress appropriately! Men aren’t allowed to wear shorts or hats while women have to wear a long skirt and cover their hair with a scarf.

3. Vardzia

Vardzia is a spectacular cave monastery near Aspindza in southern Georgia. It looks like one of the movie sets of Lord of the Rings, although it wasn’t the home of dwarves but of many monks. This underground monastery was built in the 12th Century, under the reign of King Tamar, the first woman that was ever crowned as a king (not a queen!) in Georgian history. It used to be completely hidden until a severe earthquake exposed and destroyed the cave monastery.

4. Uplistsikhe

Uplistsikhe is located in eastern Georgia, about 100 km from Tbilisi. It literally means “Lord’s Fortress” and it’s an abandoned rock-hewn town that is more than 3000 years old.  It was founded around 1000 BC and was continuously inhabited until the 13th century AD. At one point Uplistsikhe even had 20000 inhabitants! The cave city covers an area of almost 40.000 m2 and used to have a pharmacy, a bakery, an amphitheater and even a prison. All the structures are connected by tunnels. On top of the whole complex is a church that was built in the 9th century. This colorful building sticks out against the gray and sober caves.

5. Katskhi Pillar

Georgia doesn’t only have unique places on the ground or in the mountains, but also in the air. Take the Katskhi Pillar, for example, a 40-meter high limestone monolith that is also known as “the Pillar of Life”. Around the 4th century, this rock became a place of seclusion for the ‘Stylites’, a religious group who had a “slight” obsession with sitting on top of narrow pillars to come closer to God. How they got up on the Katskhi Pillar and were able to build a church on top of there is still a big mystery! It was only in 1945 that the first researchers were able to climb it. Oh, and the most extraordinary thing: a monk has been living on top of that remote pillar for 20 years!

6. Chiatura

Another point of interest in Georgia is Chiatura, a small town nestled between steep valleys and deep gorges. Chiatura was founded in the late 1800’s as a mining colony. In 1954 the Stalinist government installed a system of cable cars, also referred to as a “rope road” to get the workers more quickly to the mines, instead of them walking to the sites on the steep cliffs. Every corner of the town was connected with the mines through these cable cars and Chiatura became known as “the cable car city”. Most of these cable cars have rusted away but there are still some of these “air tramways” functioning today as a form of (free) public transportation. It’s truly an amazing (and little frightening) experience to step into these rusty flying cabins that are known as the “death-defying metal coffins”. Chiatura is a strange and charming city where you can still feel the ghost of the Soviet Empire.

7. Batumi

Batumi is a modern city on the coast of the Black Sea. It’s the second biggest city in Georgia and honestly, it doesn’t really feel like you’re in Georgia. One moment you can hear the church bells ringing, the next you hear the muezzin’s call to prayer coming from the mosques (Batumi is right near the border with Turkey). The architecture is a combination of European and Asian styles, often mixed with fairy-tale like towers, statues and buildings created by some hallucinating architects. This is definitely visible at night when the majority of the building is lit up and bathing in the colors of the rainbow. Batumi is a ‘glamorous’ city, designed to attract tourists and gamblers to play in one of its many casinos. You love it or you hate it but we absolutely enjoyed living there for three months when there were barely any tourists around.

8. Ushguli & other villages in Svaneti

Located in northwestern Georgia and locked in the heart of the Caucasus mountains lies the historic province Svaneti. The only way to get there is by driving from Zugdidi to Mestia along steep windy roads looking over beautiful gorges, wild rivers, and majestic mountains. Svaneti consists of several small villages, built on the slopes of the snow-covered mountains and surrounded by the breathtaking scenery of alpine meadows. Walking around in these picturesque villages that are dominated by tower-houses, gives you the feeling that you’re thrown back into the European Middle Ages.

9. Omalo & other villages in Tusheti

Tusheti is one of the most beautiful and fascinating regions of Georgia. It’s located in northeast Georgia, on the northern slopes of the Great Caucasus Mountains. There is only one road that goes to the area over the treacherous 2900m Abano Pass. It’s a beautiful mountain pass but it’s also considered as one of the most dangerous roads in the world. You need a 4×4 vehicle and nerves of steel to cross the pass but it is definitely worth it! The road to Tusheti is only open for 5 months (late May to early October). The inhabitants, the Tushs or Tushetians, nowadays only go up there during summer to graze their cattle, organize traditional festivals, provide accommodation and tours for tourists and reconnect with their roots.  In winter they live in the lowland villages of Alvani and Akhmeta in Kakheti.

10. Sighnagi

Georgia has its share of big cities and tourist attractions but what’s really special about my country, are the small towns. Sighnaghi is one of them. Here you can experience the best that the region of Kakheti has to offer: some of the best food & wine, beautiful tiny streets and houses with colorful wooden balconies, breathtaking views over the Alazani valley, the smell coming from the bakeries, a variety of fancy castles and small family-owned wine cellars and vineyards.