Drunken Monks and King Tamara

Today, we take a whole day to explore the famous cave monastery of Vardzia and its surroundings.

First, we hike to the small village of Chachkari, where we can discover a few caves that were once used to press wine for the monks. It gradually becomes clear to us how one could tolerate living in such cave dwellings - you just need enough wine.

For an affordable 15 Lari (€5) per person, we finally arrive at the famous cave city, and it is truly impressive. We explore as many caves as possible, and just when Tini wants ice cream and expresses this wish, a small shop appears right in the middle of the complex of caves, and a warmly bundled nun actually sells us two delicious ice pops.

Vardzia was founded in 1185, and the tuff stone is likely ideal for carving.

Especially under King Tamara, the daughter of King Giorgi III, who had to be addressed as 'King' at all costs, the city grew significantly; with a bit of imagination, one can admire her likeness on a cave wall.

At its height, the cave city had about 6,000 rooms on 13 levels, providing space for 50,000 people, but this likely refers to all the living caves in the entire valley. Currently, 750 rooms are preserved, of which, according to Tini, we visited at least a felt 800 😅.

After the ice cream, an area was blocked off, but the desire to explore won out, and I persuaded Tini, under the reproachful gazes of other tourists, to bypass the barrier. We were able to explore a few more corridors and caves, as well as the escape tunnel. This part was definitely my favorite part of the tour, no tourists, just us, a few swallows, and a lot of stone.

I can only advise anyone planning a trip to Georgia to definitely include Vardzia in their itinerary!