Sightseeing in Tbilisi - The Mtatsminda park, the Narikala fortress and Abanotubani

Form almost everywhere in Tbilisi you can see the large ferris wheel and the TV tower above the old town. Since my hotel is located directly at the hill, I could of course not resist to walk up there.

It was my third day in Tbilisi and I needed time to relax. Therefore Bilderbuch - OM fits perfectly to the excursion.

The weather was nice: sun with a few clouds and no wind. Here starts a track up the hill. It is a nice walk up with some banks to rest and to enjoy the view over the city.

The start below the Makashvili street.

The Georgian National Academy of Sciences
and the Radisson hotel tower.

View to the north east with the Holy Trinity Cathedral.
The nice and extraordinary building in the center of
the image is the public service hall building.

The stadium is the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena.
In front slightly to the left is the concert hall.
 

From left to right: the Public Service Hall, the Cathedral
and the unfinished Music theater and exhibition center.

The nature awoke and also this little friend became active.

Surprisingly the track does not lead to an entrance of the park but to the fence around the TV tower. I had to follow the fence a few meters to the west until some people in the amusement park showed me a spot where I could crawl in under the fence. (Following the fence a bit longer would lead you to a place below the ferris wheel where the fence ends. So there is no need to crawl.)

The area around the TV tower is the Mtatsminda amusement park. The TV tower itself is not accessible. If you don't like walking, you can take a funicular to go to the park. It costs only 2 Lari plus 2 Lari for the plastic card that is used in the park. You can charge the card with money and then use the different fairground facilities such as the roller coaster, bumper cars, a water slide or the ferris wheel. In March many of the facilities are closed but the ferris wheel is open the whole year and even in the night. One ride costs 2 Lari and takes about 10 minutes. It was a pleasure since one does not only have great views over the city but also towards the mountains.

In side the Mtatsminda park.
 

View from the ferris wheel towards Mtskheta.
At the left is the Saburtalo housing area.

Saburtalo in its "full beauty" (at the back). In front is the Vake park
living area. According to many Tbilisians
Vake and Saburtalo are the preferred areas for living in Tbilisi.
Vake is much more expensive than Saburtalo.

An avenue in the park.


 

One of the fairground facilities.
 

The restaurant building at the entrance of the park.
It contains also the upper station of the funicular.

View from the restaurant to the Sololaki quarter
(in front) and the old town of Tbilisi.

Once again the cathedral. In front at the right
is the former presidential palace.

To go back one can take the funicular, a taxi or one of 2 tracks. One track goes straight down passing the Mtatsminda Pantheon. Close to the pantheon is the opened middle station. The other track is about 3 km long and surrounds the Soloaki quarter. I took the long track. It is paved and goes slightly down with countless small stairs. The view over the valley is nice and thanks to the warm sun I stayed there longer.

The valley and the house of Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Closeup of the house.

This is the track. It goes down like this
for kilometers - perfect for jogging.

Once again a view to the cathedral, the presidential
palace and the exhibition center.

Two bridges of the track are a bit dangerous but no problem for crossing.

A look back up the hill.

At the bombastic house of the "real leader" of Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili, one can decide to go down to the old town or to stay at the hill and going to the ruins of the Narikala fortress. I chose the latter. The track tunnels the house of Ivanishvili and ends at the Kartvlis Deda monument.

The remains of the Narikala fortress.
From the platform one can enjoy the view...

The Kartvlis Deda from the side.

...over the valley with the botanical garden.

View at the liberty square and along the Rustaveli avenue.

The old town, the beautiful Bridge of Peace and
the exhibition center besides the Rike park.

Slightly different view with the public service hall.
The church at the left is the Armenian Norashen church
which is unfortunately close to collapse.

View to the Avlabari quarter that was
once populated by Armenians. The church
in front is the Georgian Metekhi church.

I like that outside the EU one is allowed to do much more.
These walls were rebuilt as they once were - without handrails
besides the stair. If you think you can go there you can go. I mean
your are responsible for your health and not the government.
Note btw. that the third bell is missing.

The Abanotubani quarter below Narikala is the oldest part of the town. There one can see buildings from the Persian times. There are for example sulfur baths, a madrasa and a mosque.

The sulfur baths with their cupolas.

One of the new buildings behind the fortress.

The canyon behind the old town.

Inside the old town.

The Jumah mosque.

The entrance of the madrasa.

The Orbeliani bath is currently under renovation.

In the bath area. The river area was filled with debris for decades.
A few years ago the debris was removed and the old walls
of the baths were restored. They did a great job!

The Samarkhakhevi river in Abanotubani.

Looking up to the Narikala.

This was an impressive excursion! It can be done without stress on a weekend day. For example start at 10 a.m., walk up an hour and lunch in the park. Then go slowly down and drink a coffee around Narikala. Instead of going down to Abanotubani you can alternatively take the aerial tramway from Narikala to the Rike park.