가장 멋진 동굴 8곳

Today, monks repeatedly asked us to leave the area. We only took photos from a distance. Based on their gestures, I suspect my wife wasn't welcome there, or perhaps visitors weren't allowed at all. They gestured that we should go to the main monastery, Lavra Monastery of Davit Gareja, but no!

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We asked at the restaurant and were allowed to pitch our tent in the garden. The trout for dinner was delicious.

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Entrance fee: €5 per person. Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Campsite available at the nearby campsite or at the top of the hill before the park entrance.

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I've found the sign but no sinkhole or cave. Maybe someone else can give a hint

One of the 13 Syrian Fathers (nice to have 13 here! 😅) who brought Christianity to Georgia was David. It is clear that this was not an easy or peaceful process; one of them put out the eternal fire in a Zoroastrian temple and was stoned by the governor for it. After being accused in Tbilisi, where he preached, David went to the Gareja wasteland (here) and founded this monastery (Lavra Monastery, 6th century). The idea seemed to become fashionable, and his students founded a total of twelve cave monasteries nearby. And the conditions were not easy! The water problem was solved by using extremely long gutters across the entire sandstone rock slanted towards the southwest (like gutters on a roof! Except that the "rock roof" is 50x100m - so even when it rarely rains, a lot of water accumulates!) into the cisterns. Gardens were laid out in the shade of the rocks, etc. In the 9th century, the caves were expanded and decorated with frescoes.

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This is also a monastery founded by a student of Davit Garejali. A watchtower (with azure blue stones - Persian??) stands guard on the mountain ridge, visible from afar. Below it, caves have been dug into the edge of the sandstone rock. The church, with its rather damaged paintings from the 18th century (the communists had detonated a bomb inside to destroy everything, the monk said), has an enormously high interior. I didn't see any icons from the 12th century. You can only get to the monastery with a four-wheel drive jeep. Or walk from the road...

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The Dodo Rka Monastery also belongs to the group of Davit Gareja monasteries. There were supposedly twelve at one time, but now there are only three. The Dodo Rka Monastery was founded (like the Lavra Monastery) in the 6th century(!) by a student of Davit Garejali. I was not allowed to take photos inside or outside (except for the two pictures), but it is still worth a visit. The smaller of the two churches dates from the 6th century (there is a [new] gravestone for Davit Garejali's grave next to it), the larger has impressive internal dimensions of 8x6m(?) floor space. Both were buried by sand and were only uncovered in recent years. Old icons cannot be seen. (But you also have to remember that the Mongols and the Persians destroyed everything in the meantime.)

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Best tipp. I got lost on the trail that is visible in Komoot and then took yours and found it straight away

Bring change for the parking and time for the visit

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Ortvala cave exists and hasn't filled, you can find it on my trek

Sign to Ortvala Cave - 1.5 km

The cave city of Vardzia (Vardzia) is located in the south of Georgia (Kartli) and was carved by hand from the tuff of Erusheti Mountain in 1185. It is the largest cave city in Georgia and is one of the absolute Georgia highlights that you should have seen. What King Giorgi III had already planned, his daughter Queen Tamara completed. There may have been a hermitage here before, but it was the two builders who brought Vardzia to fame. Within 48 years, the cave city was built 500 m above the Mtkvari (Kura) River. Around 6,000 rooms are spread over 13 floors, which offered 50,000 people protection against the Turkish threat and the Persians, which is why it was also a fortress city. Only later did the complex function as a monastery with a teaching function and a small group of monks still live in Vardzia. A jewel of the complex is the monastery church of the Assumption of Mary, which shows valuable colored frescoes by the two builders. Source: https://georgien.de/staedte-kultur/wardsia-hoehlenstadt-von-koenigin-tamara/

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People settled on the plateau as early as the Bronze Age. The fortress town was founded in the 6th century BC and developed into a trading center on the Silk Road with around 5,000 inhabitants. The oldest surviving written mention dates back to the 1st century. Attempts to conquer Uplistsikhe repeatedly failed, and it was not until the 13th century that the Mongol ruler Ögedei Khan succeeded in taking and destroying the city. Source: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uplisziche

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People settled on the plateau as early as the Bronze Age. The fortress town was founded in the 6th century BC and developed into a trading center on the Silk Road with around 5,000 inhabitants. The oldest surviving written mention dates back to the 1st century. Attempts to conquer Uplistsikhe repeatedly failed, and it was not until the 13th century that the Mongol ruler Ögedei Khan succeeded in taking and destroying the city. Source: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uplisziche

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I've been searching that area for while without finding the entry (or two?) to the cave. Possibly it is filled up nowadays.

Uplistsikhe (Georgian: უფლისციხე [upʰlistsʰiχɛ]; literally, "the lord's fortress") is an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, some 10 kilometers east of the town of Gori, Shida Kartli. The Uplistsikhe cave complex with a 9th/10th century three-nave basilica Built on a high rocky left bank of the Mtkvari River, it contains various structures dating from the Early Iron Age 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.

Very interesting: scenically beautiful and culturally significant

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Definitely visit, it's worth it! Bring enough time with you, you should plan 2 hours. In summer, be sure to bring water, a hat and sunscreen, as you're constantly walking in the sun. Make sure you wear good shoes, flip-flops are not recommended.

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This impressive cave town was carved into a 500m high rock face in the 12th century. The builders drove deep caves into the rock, which were connected by tunnels, stairs, galleries and terraces - a total of 3000 apartments in 7 floors. The city is said to have offered shelter to 50,000 people. The main attraction is the monastery church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with a magnificent columned hall and unique frescoes.

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Monastery carved into the rock in 1185 at the behest of Queen Tamara. Today it can be visited with an entrance ticket and it is truly impressive. Don't miss the frescoes.

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