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Stepantsminda Kakheti Samtskhe-Javakheti Imereti

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Stepantsminda Kakheti Samtskhe-Javakheti Imereti We will drive from Tbilisi to Stepantsminda near the border to Russia, the drive will take three to four hours minimum because we will stop on the way in Ananuri, Passanauri and Gudauri, which are interesting places along the old Georgian Military Highway. Lunch we will have on our way. In Stepantsminda we will drop off your luggage in our guesthouse and explore the town, which was birthplace of Alexander Kasbegi, one georgian writer. The rest of the evening will be free, dinner is in our guesthouse. Distance is 105 kilometer. For early riser there is the chance to see the sunrise above the Kasbek peak, from our guesthouse. After breakfast we will drive to Darial gorge and go for a hike. Lunch will be in Stepantsminda before we drive up to Gergeti church near Stepantsminda. From there we can hike a bit further or back to Stepantsminda. Dinner will be in guesthouse in Stepantsminda again. Evening is free. Driving distance is about 80 kilometer. This day we will drive after breakfast to the village Juta, which is the starting point for hiking tours direction Roshka village, Juta is located near Chaukhi mountains in a very beautiful spot. From there we will drive via Tianeti to the village Kvemo Alvani, winterplace of the Tush people. If you are comfortable using an outdoor toilet for a day, we can stay with a local family which would give you the chance to learn how to make two of the main Georgian dishes, Khinkali and Khachapuri. If you prefer the comfort of indoor plumbing we can go to Telavi and stay the night there. Driving distance is about 250 kilometer. We can explore the near by hidden treasures, which are only known to local people, normally you dont find information about them anywhere, only about the well known touristic spots, though I want to show you a different Georgia. Accomodation in Kvemo Alvani. From Kvemo Alvani we will explore Kakheti with places like Alaverdi, Gremi, Nekresi before we go to Signagi, the – City of Love – on the Gombori range, the view is over the Kakhetian plain to the high peaks of the Greater Caucasus. The city is almost complete restaurated and beautiful. There is the chance for wine degustation in Signagi. Accomodation in Signagi, driving distance about 100 kilometer. After breakfast we drive to David Gareja, the cave monastery in Kakheti on the border to Azerbaidjan, which is inhabited since the 6. century, founded by Father David one of the 13 assyrian missionaries who came to Georgia. Nearby are a lot of caves, which we can visit as well, some of them have paintings on the walls. Exploring David Gareja and the area nearby will take about 2 to 3 hours. Lunch break will be in Udabno or Sagarejo before we go to Tbilisi, where we stay this night. We will drive via Tsalka to Vardzia in Samtskhe- Javakheti, an area which now mainly inhabited by Armenians and in historically even Germans. The landscape along the road is very different from what we have been seeing so far. Lunch on the road. We will visit Vardzia, the 12th century cave town, and some hidden spots nearby, accomodation will be near Vardzia, driving distance about 250 km After Breakfast we will still drive through Samtskhe- Javakheti with a lot of interesting places to stop for on request. the village Rustavi, birth place of the famous Georgian writer Shota Rustaveli author of the Georgian national epic poem“The Knight in the Panther Skin". There is also the place history claims Alexander the Great stopped on his way back from India. In Akhalstsikhe we visit its fortress Rabati. Lunch in Akhaltsikhe. Drive to Borjomi, in the middle of Georgia, where we will stay the next night. Borjomi is famous for its mineral water spring with healing effects. We will visit the Green monastery which has a very interesting history. The monastery is located in the middle of a forest near Borjomi. This day we will drive to Kutaisi in Imereti to visit the Prometheus caves . The caves were discovered in 1984, and they are one of Georgias natural wonders, with breathtaking examples of stalactites, stalagmites, curtains, petrified waterfalls, cave pearls, underground rivers and lakes. Khvamli mountain is visible from the caves and is the place where legend says that Prometheus was chained to the rocks. The other interesting place near Kutaisi is Sataplia nature reserve, where dinosaur footprints were found. Night in Kutaisi, driving distance around 200 km On our way back to Tbilisi we will go to Chiatura, old mining town in the North of Imereti, where the main attraction are the still running cable cars. Lunch in Chiatura before heading back to Tbilisi, where the tour ends. This tour is possible all year round. I hope you enjoyed reading the tour description, I tried long to find the perfect design, but please don’t judge so hard on me, English is not my native language, friends helped me proofreading. Same goes for the design, I am not professional designer either, just did it in a way I thought I would enjoy to read. I added mostly my own photos which are mostly unedited. Due to the fact I havent taken photos everywhere, I used photos of friends as well, not downloaded ones..
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