I was supposed to go to Armenia in December, but had to cancel the trip because my job messed up my annual leave and decided I didn’t have any left despite replying 3 times to me that I had 6 days left.
I looked at 2026 and the prices were not what I was willing to pay. I then decided to look at Georgia and it was cheaper to fly to Tbilisi than to Yerevan.
A new airport for me and also a new airline to fly with.
I decided I would book some tours around the country and then also take a trip to Armenia whilst I was here.
I figured it was a win for me as I got to go back to Armenia and also see more of Georgia than I had last time.
The flights left Stansted in the mid-afternoon with a layover in Istanbul and an early morning flight from Istanbul to Tbilisi.
You can read about what I did in Georgia and Armenia below.
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After getting into the hotel around 05:10, I decided I would get some sleep before I headed out for the day.
I set the alarm for 09:00 and I quickly turned it off when it went off and set it for 11:00. I woke up about 10:15 and decided to get ready and go out for the day – otherwise I would probably still be sleeping now.
I had a rough idea of what I wanted to see here and it was a couple of places I didn’t get to do last time.
They were:
- Chronicles of Georgia
- Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi
Last time I was here, I didn’t go to the cathedral (I’m not sure why I didn’t go either). I also had not heard of the Chronicles of Georgia until I looked at the map a few days ago.
I still hadn’t decided how I was going to do this and just decided as I was walking. I headed across the river and walked to the cathedral. I got about 10 minutes from the hostel and I had to take my hoodie off as it was too hot for me. It’s been around 10 all day and people must have thought I was crazy to be walking around like this. They were all dressed up like it was the dead of winter.
I stopped by the Spar first to get some food and drinks for the day and then carried on with my walk to the cathedral. I was going to get a Grab (think Uber) to go there, but decided against it – especially as I would need to use them a couple of times later in the day.
The cathedral is quite impressive from the outside. It is so huge – as you can see in the pictures below
As I got closer, I could see the dress code was long pants for men. Luckily for me, I decided to pack my sweatpants and then carry them with me in my bag in case I needed them. I quickly put them on over my shorts and went inside the cathedral.
I have to say, as impressive as it is outside, I was a little underwhelmed with the inside. I don’t know, it just didn’t seem like a cathedral. Judge for yourself!
I left here and found a bench outside so I could take the sweatpants off and then carry on walking in my shorts.
I tried to get some uninterrupted shots, but there were tourists everywhere. It’s a case of snap when you can and where you can, otherwise you could wait all day for *that* shot.
I decided I would use Grab to get to the Chronicles of Georgia from here. It was a 10km walk and partly uphill. I just couldn’t be dealing with that kind of walk. It turns out it was a good idea too, as part of the way there were no paths to walk on so it would have been road walking and that’s a no from me.
We got there and it was cool to see how massive it was. The views all around were pretty cool, too.
The monument chronicles Georgia and its anniversaries. It’s been up for about 30 or so years now. The monument really is something to behold and is well worth a visit. I’m not even sure how I managed to miss it when I was here last time. I don’t remember it being something that was advertised as somewhere to see.
You can see from the pictures below how huge it is and what the views are like.
I called Addy for a few minutes when I was here, as I wanted him to see what I was seeing. I also couldn’t spend more than a few minutes, as someone had forgotten their charging cable at the hotel. Grrr.
I left here and then got a Grab to the city so I could get some lunch. I got it to Freedom Square and then went to McDonald’s for food. There were quite a few choices this time round, too. I just stuck with what I knew wouldn’t give me issues.
I went to a store there and bought a charging cable so I could charge my phone. That meant I could stay out of the hotel a little longer.
I decided I would go see the famous clock here in Tbilisi and then head towards the Peace Bridge area.
There were so many tourists here waiting for the hourly chime. An angel comes out from the top and strikes a bell. I visited here last time and I thought it had done more that time than this time. I need to look and check.
I left here and went to cross the road to walk along the river.
I love the views from the river. One side is the mountains and the other is buildings built up high. Both give equally good views. I also got some good views of the Peace Bridge. So called because it connects the contemporary and modern aspects of the city.
I carried on walking along the river and then got some pics of the cliffs (of sorts) and the buildings on top and the church atop them too.
I was so ready to be back at the hotel by this point. I was super tired and I also wanted to call and speak to Addy.
I got back and paid up for the room and the transfers, as I was in so early this morning that nobody was at reception.
It’s been a really good day today and I have enjoyed all of it and I was glad I saw the places today that I didn’t see last time.
I have to be up early tomorrow as I am doing an all-day tour to other parts of the country, so I need to get my sleep – not before going to the store to grab some food for dinner.
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Today was the first of 4 tours that I am doing with a company called Gamarjoba Georgia Tours. They are relatively inexpensive and keep you out for the whole day.
The tour I did today took us to the following places:
- Uplistsikhe
- Gori
- Mtskheta
- Jvari Monastery
All the places we went to today were really good.
Uplistsikhe is the area that has caves in the sandstone rocks. It was pretty cool to see. The views of the caves from the bottom were cool and the views from the top were equally cool.
It costs ₾15 to get in here.
They say the caves were used by kings and queens.
The guide said the caves were used by monks and were partly underwater. He took us up the caves through a ‘secret’ passage – though not secret anymore.
He said it was secret because it was underwater and was a way to get away from attacks. It was also a way to get water and to fish.
There is a church atop the caves, too. Sadly, it didn’t have any frescoes, but it was cool to see how old it was.
The guide said that they estimate the caves will only last another 700 years. Not only are they sandstone, but there is a white fungus that grows here and they’ve been able to determine how much it is eating away at the rock.
We spent nearly 2 hours here. It was good to walk around, though I was afraid because of how unsteady I am on my feet. If I had fallen, it would’ve been totally worth it!
You can see some pictures from Uplistsikhe below.
Once we left here, we headed to Gori. The guide gave us the options for lunch. It was a 12-course traditional Georgian lunch that cost ₾45. Nobody took him up on the offer. The choices didn’t sound appealing and my guess is that it wouldn’t be unlimited. Most of it was vegetables with some chicken in there, too.
Since none of us wanted the food, we all had an hour of free time in the city. I decided to do what I always do: find magnets and then walk around.
The city is the home of Stalin and they have a museum there.
I headed to where I could see the magnets and got them and then just walked in the direction of the fortress. I didn’t go to the fortress as it was a climb up a hill and I was all out of climbing for now. I just enjoyed walking along the river and then along the bottom of the fortress and around the streets here.
I went back to where the guide told us to meet and just sat there for another 20 minutes, enjoying sitting down and listening to the sounds around me.
When the guide arrived, there was the option to go into the Stalin museum at a cost of ₾15. As I’m not a fan of museums, I decided to skip it and just wander around some more and then wait for the guide.
You can see some pictures from Gori below.
Once we were done here, we headed to Mtskheta. This is the old capital of Georgia and has the first Unesco heritage site in Georgia, it is a cathedral called Svetitskhoveli. In here, there are frescoes that you wouldn’t expect to see in a church.
It has Jesus Christ in the middle and in a circle around Him, it has 12 angels. Then it has the 12 Zodiac signs. Definitely not something you see every day in churches.
It’s not somewhere I’d go for a specific visit, but worth it if you are ever there.
I didn’t take many pictures here, but you can see a few of them below.
From here, we went to our last stop: Jvari Monastery. It is a free-standing structure and the only thing keeping it up is the keystone circle at the top. If that is removed, then it will definitely collapse.
The guide said the views from here are good, but he didn’t really sell the views in my opinion.
As I got up there, there were some wedding photographs being taken. Thankfully, it didn’t stop me from getting pictures.
I looked inside the church from the door and then carried on walking. I was so amazed by the views.
You can see the views in the pictures below. The big cathedral on the other side of the river is the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. I could’ve stayed here for a while longer and just stared in awe at the views. Sadly, we only had 25 minutes here before we had to head back to Tbilisi.
You can see the views from here in the pictures below.
When I was up here, a videographer approached me and said that he was going to film a surprise proposal and asked if I wouldn’t mind moving to the side. I said it was fine and just waited for it to happen.
We left here and then headed back to the meeting point in Tbilisi.
It was a really good day and I am so glad I got to see parts of Georgia that I hadn’t seen last time.
You can see our route below
I made my way to the hotel via Subway, but it was closed. Not impressed. I just went to the Spar instead and got some food and came back to the room and chatted with Addy for a bit.
Tomorrow is another early start for a tour. I am going to Kazbeghi and Gudauri tomorrow.
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I woke up right as my alarm went off this morning. I was so tired that I slept pretty much the whole night.
I showered and got ready and then headed out to walk up to the office of the tour company. I decided I wouldn’t bring my hoodie, which, as it turned out, was a bad idea.
I realised, whilst waiting to get on the minibus, that it was going to be a cold day. I wasn’t wrong!
The tour today was to Kazbegi and Gergeti Trinity Church.
Our stopping points were as follows:
- Zhinvali Reservoir
- Ananuri Fortress Complex
- Lunch in Pasanauri
- Georgia-Russia Friendship Arch
- Stepantsminda (Kazbegi)
- Gergeti Trinity Church
As soon as we set off, our guide started with the information overload. I love to hear about the places we are going to visit but when the guide goes on for 30-40 minutes, I switch off for the rest of the tour and just don’t listen. I can’t. My brain can’t deal with all that information at once. I need it piecemeal so I can understand it and retain it.
I was only able to retain a tiny amount from each place. He would say we have an x amount of free time, but then talk for half of it, thus rendering our free time pretty much useless. I did that for a couple of the stops and the rest I listened for a couple of minutes and then went and did my own thing and then met at the specified time and place.
The first stop was about 90 minutes outside of Tbilisi. It was at a place called Zhinvali Reservoir. In the 1970’s, the Soviets decided that Georgia needed a reservoir and they found Zhinvali and made people move out so they could construct the reservoir and then fill it.
In winter, the water level is about 5m lower than in summer. You could see the levels it would be in summer from the markings around it. The guide said that you can usually see the tops of the buildings – especially the church – in winter because of how low the water is. I didn’t see any of this on this stop.
We got out and took some pictures of the reservoir and the mountains surrounding it. I don’t even think a picture or two will portray just how nice it is. I will try, though.
We left here and then drove for another 15 or so minutes to one of the edges of the reservoir to a complex called Ananuri Fortress Complex. So-called for a woman named Ana from the village of Nuri. The guide did tell the story, but he took 15 minutes of our 30 minutes of free time telling it, so I just don’t remember.
The complex is pretty nice. I walked around and got some pictures and then headed back out to the bridge so I could get some of the fortress and the reservoir.
In some of the pictures, you can see how low the water really is. There is a bridge at the bottom that is usually covered when the snow has gone and the reservoir has filled up.
On the drive to our first stop earlier, the guide said that we needed to have a look at the lunch menu and give him our choices so it would be ready when we got there. Since I didn’t want anything, I said to him when we got to the restaurant, I would just wander and I would meet back at the time we needed to be back.
I went for a wander and was loving the snow, the river, the mountains. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with Addy from here. I wanted him to see the snow, as he hasn’t seen snow in real life and this was the best I could do for him.
It was really nice to chat with him and to show him what it was like here. This area was a first for both of us and it was really nice.
We started to make our way to our next stop, which was the Georgia-Russia Friendship Arch. The traffic here was really heavy and it was mostly lorries in the traffic. I wasn’t sure why either. It was crazy. We were able to overtake most of them. It took us about 75 minutes from lunch to get to this stop. The views are amazing. We were right up in the mountains and there was snow everywhere. It was amazing. I loved every second of it here.
The guide said he would tell us about the arch, but I decided to do my own thing and take my own time and I would just meet at the minibus at the time stated. I wasn’t going to have half of my free time taken away by him talking. I was just in awe at being in all this snow and in the mountains. The air was cool and really fresh. It was very nice. Anyway, you can see the pictures below from the drive to the arch and at the arch itself.
We left here to go to our final 2 stops and the guide told us of why there was traffic. There is a series of tunnels through the mountains, but they are only single-lane tunnels. He said that what the police do is allow one side to go through for a couple of hours and then after that time, the other side can go through. If you are not quick, you can sit in this traffic for hours.
We got to where the police car was and he allowed us through because we were in a minibus and not a lorry. We were one of the final vehicles through. Because of this, we were pretty much free to drive on the other side of the road outside of the tunnels and it made our journey to the next couple of stops that much quicker.
Seeing the long queue of lorries and having to sit at the back of it was not something I wanted.
The guide also said that China is building an 8 km-long dual-lane tunnel through the mountain to avoid the need for this. It looks near completion, so hopefully they won’t have to have this traffic for much longer.
The guide also said that when this road is closed, people are able to use the cable car for free. It will get them to Gudauri and from there they can get a minibus to Tbilisi and vice versa. It’s good that they provide a way that doesn’t cost.
We carried on our way to Stepantsminda in the Kazbegi area and then to the Gergeti Trinity Church.
It was cool to see the church atop the mountain. The other mountain you can see in the picture (to the right of the church) is Mount Kazbek. It was so cool to see them. Directly behind Mount Kazbek is the border between Georgia and Russia.
We had to leave the minibus here and take a smaller people carrier up to the top. They are the only ones that are small enough (except for normal cars) to get up there and get up there without an issue. The drivers of these are crazy, too.
We had to pay ₾20 to get up and then get back down.
The road up and down was pretty scary, as part of it was still covered in snow and these drivers were just driving on it like it was a road with no snow cover. Madness.
You can see pictures from here below.
We got back in the cars and made our way down to the minibus so we could head back to Tbilisi. I took a video of it so you can see how bad the road is and how crazy the drivers are!
We got back to the minibus and headed back to Tbilisi. The drive was supposed to only take a couple of hours, but it ended up taking around 4 hours because of traffic. There was an accident on the road just outside of Stepantsminda and then so much traffic backed up behind it that we couldn’t move too fast.
We finally got to the tunnels and it was nice to be on our way back to the city.
I managed to get a shot of the mountains with the sun setting behind them.
I was tired and I have to be up early (not as early as today, thankfully) tomorrow for another tour.
The tour company asked me if I could do the Rainbow Mountains tour tomorrow, as I was the only one booked on it on Tuesday. I said I would as long as the tour to Armenia was definitely happening on Tuesday.
They said it was and switched my bookings. Getting back late tonight wasn’t so bad since I can have an extra hour of sleep tomorrow!
You can see our route from today below.
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I was supposed to be doing another tour today, but I woke up not feeling very well. My stomach was hurting so much, so I decided that I wouldn’t go and I let the company know.
I went back to sleep for a couple of hours and then got ready and headed out. No sooner had I gone out than I had to turn back for a little bit. Damn my stomach.
I finally went out and decided I would do stuff I still hadn’t done yet. I hadn’t decided where I would go first and I just started walking. I headed in the direction of Freedom Square and I stopped in the grounds of Jvari Mama Church and called Addy. I finished speaking with him and started walking.
I went down some side streets and found a church to visit. I walked around a little bit and then went inside. As I was walking out, a priest mentioned that I needed to cover my legs with a skirt they had outside. I had seen all I wanted and I started walking away and some mean old bitch called me back. She told me about being in shorts and I pointed out some women in pants and she said, “It’s ok, they are women”. I pointed her to the sign that said women weren’t allowed to wear pants and she told me to leave. Stupid woman that she is. I carried on walking as she was saying stuff.
I left here and walked around some more streets and I decided I would head to the river to go for a boat ride. I couldn’t do that as the river level was really low.
Instead of this, I decided to use the cable car and go to the top of the hill. I had never been up there (except for Narikala Fortress) since the last time I was here in Tbilisi.
The cable car return ticket was ₾7 (though I think that included the ₾2 cost for the Metro Money card).
I spent about an hour up here and it was glorious. It was nice and warm (for me, not the locals) and I really enjoyed it. I called Addy again and showed him what it was like from up here. He loved the views as much as I did.
I left here and then when I got to the bottom, I sat in Rike Park for a while and then headed across the Peace Bridge to go to McDonald’s at the mall in Freedom Square.
After I had eaten, I took the metro and went to Avlabari so I could walk back down and across the river to the hotel.
The metro hadn’t really changed from the last time I was here, with the exception of not taking cash for payments of fares.
I got off at Avlabari and went out and started walking in the direction of the hotel. It was such a nice walk with the sun shining and the blue sky.
I saw a tiny church and I stopped to see that. It is called King David Church. It is said that this is the only church of King David left in the world. It was nice to see and afforded some good views across the river.
I left here and headed to Metekhi Church. I didn’t go in here as I didn’t want any kind of trouble from the church people. I just walked around the grounds and admired the views of the other side.
I headed down and then went into the Chapel of St. Abo Tbileli. I enjoyed it here because I was close to the river.
Once done here, I went to the store to get some food and then came back to the hotel and just chilled. I have to be up early again tomorrow for the tour to Armenia.
Below you can see the pictures I took today.
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I woke up today feeling a lot better than I did yesterday. I got ready and made my way to the tour offices to wait for the trip to start. The trip today was a trip to Armenia and some sites across the border. I have been to Armenia before, but only to Yerevan and some sites close by. You can read about that trip here.
It didn’t start off too well as we had to wait for 15 minutes for some stupid people to turn up – who, apparently, have no idea what a start time is. The embarrassing thing about it is that they were British. The shame.
I had the same guide for this tour as I did for the tour on Sunday, so I knew it was going to be information overload and I just sat back with my headphones in so I didn’t have to listen to his waffling.
It took us about 90 minutes to get to the Georgia/Armenia border. Here, you have to get out of the minibus with all your stuff and then go to immigration on the Georgia side.
Once you have passed here, you have to wait for the minibus to take you across the bridge to the Armenian side. Here, we had to go through immigration and security screening. The immigration officer asked if I had been to Azerbaijan. I said I had. He said he couldn’t see it in this passport. I told him it was in a previous passport. He noted that I had been to Armenia before and then stamped my passport and told me to have a good trip.
We got back in the van and started our itinerary for the day. The itinerary was as follows:
- Akhtala Fortress
- Haghpat Monastery
- Abandoned Copper Mine
- Lunch with a Local
- MiG Aircraft at Mikoyan’s Museum
- Sanahin Monastery
I don’t really remember a lot from the guide (see aforementioned waffling for an age and a day), so I’ll just show some pictures from each stop we had.
The Akhtala Fortress has a working church, but it isn’t a monastery as monks don’t live here. The views of the church and surroundings were spectacular. Not as amazing as Georgia, mind you. Still good nonetheless.
We left here and then made our way around the winding mountain roads – which were pretty amazing and in really good condition – and got to Haghpat Monastery.
For me, this stop was the best. The views reminded me of Switzerland. Mountains, villages on the mountains, clean air. There are 4 chapels here and when you go into each one, you can instantly feel the cold. It’s weird.
I just left the group here and walked around. It was so nice. You can see from the pictures below.
From here, we then made our way back down the mountain to pass by an (almost) abandoned copper mine. The views here were pretty cool. Everything here has just been left to go to ruin. The guide said that only 20% of the copper mine is functional. You can see the old cable car, complete with a cab partway up.
Our next stop was lunch with a local and this is where it went downhill for me. I had some potatoes and chicken, but something wasn’t right with them as it made my stomach hurt so bad that I had to use the bathroom.
I was glad when we left here. We headed to the Mikoyan Museum to see the MiG aircraft that’s there. I couldn’t really concentrate as my stomach was hurting so bad from lunch and all I could think about was the need for a bathroom.
I tried to walk around and take some pictures to distract myself. The guide said there wasn’t a toilet here, but there was at the next stop.
Here are a couple of pictures I took here.
I was so glad when we left here and headed up to Sanahin Monastery. We stopped the minibus and he started to talk and I had to interrupt to ask him where the toilet was. He knew I was desperate for it too, so I don’t know why he thought starting to talk was a good idea.
I spent about 20 minutes in there because of how bad my stomach is. It’s so annoying because nobody will listen to me and they keep saying nothing is wrong and it’s a weight issue. Spoiler: I still had this issue when I lost weight. They just don’t want to find the underlying cause. I digress.
I walked around the complex and just met the group at the time we needed to leave.
You can see my pictures from Sanahin below.
This was our final stop and we made our way back to the border to do the reverse immigration. It was fairly quick this time round. I was glad too because I was ready to be back at the hotel and chilling since I had to be up early for the flights back home.
We got caught in some traffic in Tbilisi, so we couldn’t go the way I was hoping he would. I was hoping not to have to walk down the hills. Oh well, exercise, right? Right?
chris | | Travel| Akhtala, Ananuri, Armenia, Asia, Europe, Georgia, Gergeti, Gori, Haghpat, Kazbegi, Mtskheta, Sanahin, Tbilisi, Travel, Uplistsikhe, Zhinvali | 0 Comments