Day 1
Kutaisi – Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for an excursion to Motsameta, a temple of the 8th century, which is surrounded by a picturesque landscape. In Motsameta, the holy particles of the saints David and Constantine are stored, which were tortured by the Arabs in 735.
Not far from Motsamet is the medieval complex of Gelati. The complex was founded in 1106 by King David 4th. In addition to the religious buildings, you can see the building of the Gelati Academy – a higher educational institution of medieval Georgia.
Lunch time.
After lunch we go to the cave of Prometheus. Stone Age cave is located not far from Tskhaltubo, in 80 m. depth. The length of the cave is 1 km. We will walk in the footsteps of ancient people among stalactites and stalagmites lasts about 1 hour, and from the cave we swim out by boat.
After the cave of Prometheus we leave for Batumi.
Dinner and overnight stay in Batumi.
Day 2.
Breakfast in the hotel.
Excursion around Batumi. Batumi Botanical Garden, where we will see 9 dendrological gardens with 5 000 plant species.
Lunch.
Excursion to Gonio, Roman fortress from the 1st century.
Free time.
Dinner in a colorful restaurant.
Overnight stay in Batumi.
Day 3.
Breakfast in the hotel.
Departure to Mestia.
Lunch in Mestia.
Excursion to Mestia.
The Upper Svaneti region of the Caucasus is located in the mountains to the North-West of Georgia, it is an exceptional example of mountain scenery with medieval-type villages and tower-houses. Here, in a vast highland depression, bounded by the Greater Caucasus and Svaneti Ridge, the only road connected to the outside along the Inguri River, there are many small settlements, for example, Chazhashi, Mestia, Latali, Adishi. These villages still has more than 200 of these very unusual houses, which were used both as dwellings and as defence posts against the invaders who plagued the region. Those are very organically inscribed in the surrounding landscape and are characterized by a very peculiar architecture.
“If you have any love for Georgia, you must go to Svaneti,” advised Georgian writer Ilia Chavchavadze to his contemporaries. At that time it was not an easy task to visit the impassable Svaneti, but still got there, in addition to the amazing nature, got acquainted with the brave mountaineers, rich in soul, with the elderly people, similar to the biblical prophets, with unique specimens of national art guarded by the inhabitants of Svaneti. The Svan communities are extremely impressive (villagers). We`ll have a trip to Ushguli (2200 m. Above the Sea) we will also see the basilica of the 9th century named Lamaria.
Dinner and overnight stay in Mestia.
Day 4.
Breakfast in the hotel.
Departure to Ushguli.
Ushguli, the Church of Lamaria.
Picnic in Ushguli.
Return to Mestia.
Dinner and overnight stay in Mestia.
Day 5.
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure to Borjomi.
Cave Sataplia in Kutaisi, here you will see traces of dinosaurs, which are 70 and 120 million years old.
Lunch.
Arrival to Borjomi.
Borjomi park.
The mineral springs of Borjomi were known more than a thousand years ago. Evidence of this is the 7 stone baths that were found at the beginning of the 20th century. The discovery dates from the beginning of the first millennium AD. Most likely, then this water was used just for bathing, not for drinking. Then they forgot about the sources for a long time, and the places where they were located were abandoned. Sources acquired the second life thanks to the military. Since 1904, the bottling of water has become mechanical. Borjomi is a resort where you can treat both gastrointestinal diseases, and problems of the respiratory tract and immunity.
Overnight stay in Borjomi.
Day 6.
Breakfast in the hotel.
Departure to Rabat Fortress.
Vardzia – Carved into the rock city of the fortress of the 12th century.
Lunch in Borjomi.
Monastery of Jvari – a monument of architecture of the 6th century
Mtskheta – the ancient capital of Georgia.
Overnight stay in Tbilisi.
Vardzia is a cave monastery complex of the 12th-13th centuries (belong to UNESCO world heritage site ) in the south of Georgia, in Javakheti region. It represents an outstanding monument of medieval Georgian architecture. It is located in Aspindza district of Samtskhe-Javakheti province, in the valley of the river Mtkvari, 70 km south of Borjomi.
The Historical Monuments of Mtskheta belong to UNESCO world heritage site.
We will visit: Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (11th century), where at the foundation of construction is buried one of the main Christian shrines, the mantle of Jesus Christ;
The Jvari Monastery (6th century).You will enjoy the beautiful view from the monastery of Jvari which overlooks the rivers Mtkvari and Aragvi.
Day 7.
Breakfast in the hotel.
Sightseeing tour around Tbilisi.
Departure to Sighnaghi.
Excursion to Sighnaghi.
Sighnaghi is a small attractive town built by King Irakli the 2nd at the end of the 18th century. In Turkish language Sighnaghi means a refuge place and is the only city in Georgia that has a boundary.
The Bodbe Monastery is a temple of the 9th century, where according to historical sources the Holy Apostle Nino the enlightener of Georgia was buried.
Georgian wine degustation.
Returning to Tbilisi.
Dinner.
Overnight stay in Tbilisi.
Day 8.
Breakfast in the hotel.
Trip to the Kazbek mountain.
The road to the Kazbek mountain goes along the amazing Military-Georgian road. That is major route through the Caucasus from Georgia. On our way to Kazbegi we will visit the Ananuri architectural complex (XVI-XVIII centuries). From here you can see a beautiful view of the Zhinvali Water Reservoir. We continue our way and we pass the winter resort Gudauri – at an elevation of 2,200 meters (7,200 ft) above sea level with skiable area enjoying maximum exposure to the sun, it is located on the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus. Then we continue the road towards Kazbegi passing through the Cross Pass (2379m). Then we will visit the Gergeti temple “Holy Trinity” that was founded in the 14th century, the temple is located in the mountains, at an altitude of 2170 meters above sea level. We will reach the Russian-Georgian border along the Daryal canyon. On the way back we stop to the Gveleti Waterfall.
Dinner.
Arrival in Tbilisi.
Transfer to airport.
So, during this tour you will get see the diverse landscapes of Georgia, enjoy unique nature reserves, cultural and historical monuments. You will also see a lot of fortresses, architectural ensembles, two ski resorts, two resort towns, UNESCO listed monuments, two reserves, you will have the curative mineral waters from the natural spring of Borjomi and delicious Georgian wine!
Our journey will be held from 1 meter to 2200 meters above sea level.
During the tour you will taste delicious Georgian dishes and will never forget the hospitable Georgian people!
Route:
Kutaisi – Tskaltubo
Batumi – Mestia
Latali – Ushguli
Borjomi – Vardzia
Bakuriani – Mtskheta
Tbilisi – Sighnaghi
Kazbek City – Tbilisi
Buy This Tour: http://gdtour.org/en/tours_post/all-colors-of-georgia
