Cultural Tour (7 days)

Day 1

Arrival to Tbilisi Airport.
You will be met by the representatives of Geotravel association: Tour Manager and Guide. Transfer to the hotel.
Overnight in Tbilisi.

Day 2 City Sightseeing Tour

Our tour will start in the morning (09:00-10:00).

Major Highlights:
- Metechichurch (12th -13th cc)
- Sulphurbaths
- Sioni Cathedral (7th -19th cc)
- Caravansary (19th c) - Merchants oriental style building was restored to ethnographical museum in 1984 .
- Narikala Fortress (4th c) - main citadel of the city, which overlooks the oldest part of Tbilisi. During centuries Narikala was considered the best strategic point and every ruler local or invader was adding some new construction to previous fortification.
- Anchiskhati basilica and bell tower (6th -18th cc)
- Mamadaviti (Father David's) monastery - Architectural and artistic symbol of Tbilisi, with the church of Father David located on The Mtatsminda Mount (in translation - Holy Mount). There is a pantheon of writers, musicians, composers and public people, and funicular way on its slope. For centuries Mamadaviti has been a significant religious centre of Tbilisi. Night Tbilisi, view from Mtatsminda.

Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mtkvari ( Kura) River. 726 km² (280.3 square miles) and has 1,093,000 inhabitants.

Founded in the 5th century AD by Vakhtang Gorgasali, the Georgian King of Kartli ( Iberia), and made into a capital in the 6th century. The history of the city can be seen by its architecture, where the Rustaveli Avenue and downtown are blended with the narrower streets of the medieval Narikala district.

The demography of the city is diverse; historically it has been home to peoples from different cultures, religions and ethnicities. Despite being overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian, Tbilisi is one of the few places in the world where a synagogue and a mosque are located next to each other, in the ancient Bath district several hundred meters from the Metekhi Church.

Tbilisi is a significant industrial, social, and cultural center. The city is also emerging as an important transit route for global energy and trade projects. Located strategically at the crossroads between Europe and Asia and lying along the historic Silk Road routes.

Overnight in Tbilisi, hotel ,,kmm”.

Day 3

Mtskheta , Gori, Uphlistsikhe

Mtskheta is one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia. Mtskheta was a capital of the Georgian Kingdom of Iberia during the 3rd century BC - 5th century AD. Here Georgians accepted Christianity in 317 and Mtskheta still remains the headquarters of the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church.

Sights to see:

Svetitskhoveli - the biggest Christian temple in Georgia - was erected in the 11th c in the same place where the first Christian church in Georgia stood in the 4th c;

JvariMonastery (6th century) in Mtskheta are amongst the most significant monuments of Georgian Christian architecture;

Samtavro - (11th-13th c) a monastery complex near Svetitskhoveli. The burial and coronation place of the Georgian royal family.

In Mtskheta can also be found the Armaztsikhe fortress (3rd century BC), the Armaztsikhe acropolis (dating to the late 1st millennium BC), the fragmentary remains of a royal palace (1st-3rd century AD), a nearby tomb of the 1st century AD, a small church of the 4th century, the fortress of Bebris Tsikhe (14th century), the Institute of Archaeology, and the garden of Mikheil Mamulashvili.

Lunch in local restaurant

On route to uplistsikhe we visit Gori the birthplace of Stalin, visit the Stalin museum. Uplistsikhe (literally, "the lord's fortress") is an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, some 10km east of the town of GorI. Uplistsikhe is identified as one of the oldest urban settlements in Georgia. Strategically located in the heartland of ancient kingdom of kartli (or Iberia as it was known to the Classical authors, is first mentioned in the chronicles of the 1st century AD ), it emerged as a major political and religious center of the country.

Built on a high rocky left bank of the Mtkvari river It contains various structures dating from the 5th century BC to the Late Middle Ages, and is notable for the unique combination of various styles of rock-cut cultures from Anatolia and Iran, as well as the co-existence of pagan and Christian architecture.

Here you find huge echoing halls, long meandering corridor-streets, chambers for pagan worship and even the remains of Georgia's oldest theatre, complete with auditorium, stage and orchestra pit.
- Ateni Sioni (7-9th cc church) - one of the well decorated churches in Georgia.

Overnight in Likani residence.

Day 4

Borjomi national park

The site of Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park lies astride a beautiful section of the Central Caucasus. Getting off the beaten pass in Borjomi-Kharagauli Park is an experience into itself.

Borjomi-Kharagauli is the first National Park in the Caucasus. There is an area where the trekking and hiking unbeaten pathways weaved up to the steep rock hills go through wild forest, pass high mountains streams, cross canyons, gorges and alpine meadows peppered with wild flowers. Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park has many stories waiting to be told, and a world of beauty that can renew and bring peace to the spirit.
There functions 9 tourist routes in the park, also you can make a horseback tour there.


Sights of excursion:
- Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park
- National Park Centre Museum
- Virgin's Church of 11th c with the fragments of wall painting and the Kvabis khevi Fortress.

Overnight in Likani residence.

Day 5

borjomi - Vardzia – Kutaisi: Today We will drive towards Samtskhe-Javakheti province via Akhaltsikhe. Lunch en route. Excursions in Vardzia and Khertvisi , which takes 2-3 hours. Dinner.
Overnight in kutaisi, at the hotel ,,Aeetes palace”.
Sights of excursion:

- vardziaacavemonastery dug into the side of the Erusheli mountain in southern Georgia near Aspindza. It was founded by Queen Tamar in 1185.

The monastery was constructed as protection from the Mongols. There is of over six thousand apartments in a thirteen story complex. The city included a church, a throne room, and a complex irrigation system watering terraced farmlands. The only access to the complex was through some well hidden tunnels near the Mtkvari river.

An earthquake in Samtskhe destroyed approximately two thirds of the city in 1283, exposing the caves to outside view and collapsing the irrigation system.

The church was reinforced and an externally visible bell tower added during the reign of Beka Jakheli in the thirteenth century.

Persians commanded by Shah Tahmas I raided the monastery in 1551, capturing all important icons and effectively ending the life of the monastery.

In the modern days Vardzia is a major tourist attraction in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia. The place is maintained by a small group of monks.

About three hundred apartments and halls remain visitable, and in some tunnels the old irrigation pipes still bring drinkable water.

-Khertvisi fortress is one of the oldest fortresses in Georgia and was functional throughout the Georgian feudal period. It is situated in Southern Georgia, in Meskheti region. The fortress was first build in the 2nd century BC. The church was built in 985, and the present walls build in 1354. As the legend says, Khertvisi was destroyed by Alexander the Macedonian. It was the centre of Meskheti region In the 10-11th centuries.

Day 6-7

Trip to Kutaisi (west part of Georgia). Second largest city of Georgia founded about 40 centuries ago, former capital of the west Georgian Kingdom Colkhics, to which is related the myth of Golden Fleece and Argonauts. Visit Bagrati Temple (11th century A.D. UNESCO Heritage site) and Gelati Monastery (12th century, UNESCO Heritage site). Sataplia State Reserve .

Sataplia State Nature Reserve was established for the purpose of
protection of Cochin forest, unique speleological and pale ontological monuments. There is a carts cavern and traces of giant retails - extinct dinosaurs on the territory.

Sataplia State Reserve is a most multifarious and very rare monument. It is of complex character and contains geologic, paleontological, speleological and botanical monuments.

The Sataplia Mountain is famous by its rarest and the most beautiful caves, in 1933, there was found a dinosaur trace.

Sataplia State Nature Reserve was created in 1935 to protect geological, paleontological, speleological and botanical monuments.

The reserve is located in Tskaltubo region in 260 km. from Tbilisi, and in 9 km. from the resort Tskaltubo. Sataplia Nature Reserve represents the south-west edge of Racha gorge, total area of the Nature Reserve is 354 ha., 209 ha from here is covered by forest.

Relief: Sataplia Nature reserve is mountainous, it's great area is covered by most beautiful and multifarious wood strain Colchian type mixed forests. Mountainous Sataplia is located at 500 m. above sea level. Here we meet 5 carts caves which are famous for their beauty, size and from the scientists’ points of view were taken great consideration. One of these carts cavern length is 600 m., the beauty of this cavern is a cupola-shaped hall, located in 100 m. from the entrance, where the size and beauty of stalactites and stalagmites in the centre astonishes visitors. At the end of the cavern flows the spring which flows into the well, after that the water goes on in narrow impassable clefts and finds its way out in the south slope of the Sataplia Mountain as Oghaskura. There is an extinct volcano crater in the Nature Reserve. The highest top is at 520 m. above sea level.

Overnight in Kutaisi at the Hotel Aeetes Palace.

Back to Tbilisi.
Leaviing Party & Dinner at the Restaurant.

Package Includes:

Transfer from and to Tbilisi Airport

Inland transportation

Tour Guide

Hotel Accommodation (In the cities) Double room

Guest House Accommodation (in the villages)

1 bottle of mineral water per person per day

Museums Entrance fees

Price Exclude:

Flights

Single room supplement

Meals except described

Alcoholic beverages

Travel insurance