Must have seen in Georgia - part 1 of at least 3: Vardzia and Khertvisi

Stupid title? Sure, but there are at least 3 places that really deserve the title "must have seen".

There are only 2 marshrutkas a day from Akhaltsikhe to Vardzia and the first one arrives there at about 14:30. I therefore took a taxi. Renting a taxi driver to go to Vardzia and back costs you currently 50 Lari. I could reduce the price to 45 which is in my opinion still expensive compared to the few Lari for a marshrutka.

The valley close to Vardzia. It is more beautiful than it looks
on this image. On top of the rock at the left side is the Tmogvi castle.

The water for the castle was transported via a tunnel
system from the river.
It is hard to see it, but the bottom most part are stairs...

...that you can see here.

Vardzia is amazing. Once there lived there several thousand people in about 3000 caves. Time by time the rock became unstable and there are now "only" about 750 caves. This is of course still impressive. When we arrived there I was the only tourist. Not bad, but it is no longer possible to rent an audio guide. This is sad because I wanted to know more about this place. Thus I only know what was written at the plate at the entrance and of course its Wikipedia entry. Later on there was a Ukrainian group and one woman translated me a tiny bit of what their guide told them.

The whole site in all its beauty.

This is Vardzia, a hotel, a toilet house, a restaurant and a parking lot.
As you can see there was nobody.

The weather was perfect - pure sun shining directly into the caves while the opposing wall of the valley had still snow. Beginning from the main gate there are 2 ways to explore the site. One is easy to walk and one is inside the rock through small corridors. The latter begins behind the church. Don't enter the church but use the tunnel left besides the door of the church. The descent is for both ways the same. There is a steep tunnel system going down. So when you go there use good shoes and stable clothes. If you have problems with you knees better leave the site through the entrance.

Right at the beginning is a chapel cave with frescoes.
It was closed but I am tall enough to photograph over the door.

The track to the main gate.

The larger caves. I don't know what they were used for.

A lizard enjoying the sun.

The agriculture was situated t the opposite wall of the valley on terraces.

View from the main gate.

A refectory. The groove was used to flush
away the remains of the food.

Many caves where connected with a clever system
of water pipes like this one.

The highlight is for sure the church that is still in use because there are still monks living there. For tourists it is not possible to see it without asking for permissions. I asked a monk and he let me in. There was a church service and it is then not allowed to make photos. However, suddenly a school class stormed in shooting many photos without any respect using their smart phones and flash lite. The monks were very upset but what will you do against 30 loud young people ;-).

The ceiling in front of the church.

Behind the church. One can see that they use now concrete to stabilize some caves.

Also behind the church.

Look out of the "window".

Now really look OUT of the window ;-).

Some tunnel are very steep. This is a short one.

A monk in front of the caves where they live.

Looking back. The two big arches are
those in front of the church.

A cave where food was stored in amphores.

View at the caves for living. note that cave with the tourist information
plate close to the middle of the image. To get there you needn't to have fear
for heights. I have and the slight wind didn't make it easier.

The holes in the caves were used to catch up the water.

The images here cannot explain how great this place is you must see it with your own eyes!

On the way back to Akhaltsikhe is the nice Khertvisi castle at the junction with the road to Armenia. As I rented a driver I could stop wherever I want and could visit it:

This is the entrance. This is how most entrances looked like in the
middle ages, no paved way, just a rocky track. It is the first time I could see this.

View from the entrance to the inner castle
 

As one can see, the walls have recently been rebuilt.
Some don't like this; I like it very much because this way
you get an impression and as a tourist you have something
to photograph and, most important, a reason to go there.

Track to the entrance to the inner castle.


 

Inside the inner castle.
 

There is a small chapel.
As you can see there is also no handrail.

The chapel.

View over the village of Khertvisi in the direction of Vardzia.

Opposite view in the direction of Aspindza.

As a cyclist I can recommend to cycle around here. The traffic is super low, and the road from Aspindza to Vardzia is in a perfect shape. Aside the main road are many small chapels to visit. There are canyons and all in all countless great views. Note that it is not possible to rent bikes in Akhaltsikhe. So rent one in Batumi or in Tbilisi and bring it here or cycle from there.

That is what I need now ;-).