PILGRIM TOUR GEORGIAN TREASURES

3 DAY

Breakfast at hotel.

• Today we will visit the wine region of Georgia - Kakheti, where you can taste both, industrial and house wines. Through Gombori Pass we will arrive in the capital of this region - Telavi. City is located in the heart of the Alazani Valley, exactly there, those famous grapes grow.

• We will see Alaverdi Monastery, one of the most important medieval monuments in all of Georgia.

• Nekresi monastery - Nekresi is an ancient monastic complex located on the top of a mountain in the Alazani Valley in Kakheti.

• Gremi fortress is a 16th-century architectural monument – the royal citadel and the Church of the Archangels – in Kakheti, Georgia.

Night in Sighnagi.

4 DAY

Breakfast at hotel.

• The Georgian town of Sighnaghi is located in the eastern part of Kakheti, and is known as the City of Love. The location gives us a chance to admire the glorious views of Alazani Valley and in a good weather you can even see a mount Kazbegi. The city is surrounded by a defensive wall with 23 towers and 6 gates. Here in the museum of outstanding Georgian painter Niko Pirosmani where you can find 15 of his original paintings.

• Bodbe is a working monastery and holy place which overlooks Alazani walley. Enclosed in Bodbe Cathedral is the grave of St. Nino, a most remarkable female figure in the early history of Christianity. Peace, prayer, work and the development of spiritual life of the Georgian people is the purpose. Bodbe – place where your wish can come true.

• David Gareja - On the border with Azerbaijan, the ancient monastery complex of Davit Gareja (or Gareji) is one of the most remarkable of Georgia’s historic sites. Its uniqueness is heightened by a lunar, semidesert landscape that turns green and blooms with flowers in early summer. Davit Gareja comprises about 15 monasteries spread over a remote area (most long abandoned), but visitors usually just see two – Lavra (which has been restored since Soviet times and is now again inhabited by monks) and, on the hill above it, Udabno, which has beautiful frescoes.

Night in Tbilisi.

5 DAY

Breakfast at hotel.

• The place where Saint Nino made her first entry into Georgia is called Poka. It is located in upper Javakheti, near the largest lake in Georgia, Paravani. Here we will see monastery where nuns make home-made cheese.

• The Vardzia monastery complex is located in the extreme southwest of Georgia on the left bank of the Mtkvari River near the Turkish-Georgian border. It is 1300 m above sea level. Vardzia is not just a set of random rooms cut in rocks. It is a multi-storied (!) complex with streets, tunnels and stairs leading to monasteries, temples, fortresses, baths, libraries dwelling houses and so forth.

• Transfer to Akhaltsikhe.

Night in Akhaltsikhe.

6 DAY

Breakfast at hotel.

• Rabati fortress is situated in the center of Akhaltsikhe on the left bank of the river Potskhovi. The old part of the town so-called Rabati is situated on the rocky inn. Ensemble comprises: Sargis Jakeli castle of 14th c., Fortress Church (late Middle Ages), Palace 18th century and the Church of Saint Marine (1865) with built-in relief works. In 2012 there was held a large reconstruction after which Rabati fortress in Akhaltsikhe turned into a town within the town. It has become not only a historical monument, but a real cultural city centre.

Departing back on Tbilisi, on way we will also see:

• Mtskheta is Georgia’s most sacred pilgrimage city and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mtskheta is home to the many of the best examples of Orthodox Christian architecture and religious heritage found in Georgia. Orthodox architecture dominates the scenery in Mtskheta with sacred shrines, chapels, churches and cathedrals in all directions. Much of the original infrastructure has been maintained to a high degree of authenticity and structural provenance.

• Jvari Monastery - Perched on a hill high above Mtskheta is the beloved monastic temple of Jvari which is Georgian for “cross”. Jvari is said to be the site where St. Nino planted the sacred cross to symbolize Georgia’s acceptance of Christianity in the 4th century CE. It opens amazing view on convergence of two rivers.

• Another proud monument of Christian Georgia is Svetitskhoveli Cathedral. It was built on the site of the demolished 4th century Twelve Apostles Church. Religious legend connected with the church’s origins says that Elioz, a citizen of Mtskheta, found the Tunic of Christ in Jerusalem. Svetitskhoveli is a grandiose cathedral of tetraconch design. The side altars are decorated with arched reliefs which symmetrically depart from the high cross-shaped facade from two sides. The temple facades are decorated with stone carving characteristic of Georgian architecture of the late 10th and 11th centuries. The arches which frame the windows have carved reliefs with figures of flying angels made from fragments of the previous temple. Interior frescos depict scenes from the legend of the Tunic of Christ. Under the main arch is the Life Giving Pillar.

Night in Tbilisi

7 DAY
Breakfast at hotel.

Transfer to airport.