Vardzia is a huge cave complex (and a village near it), which was built almost 800 years ago. Once it was a fortified mountain fortress-monastery, in the center of which was the main temple. It still contains frescoes of the 12th century, among which there are images of Tsar George III and Queen Tamara.

However, about a century after the appearance of the monastery, a terrible earthquake buried more than 2/3 of the city under the rocks, and the rest of the premises were "naked". Today, tourists can see with their own eyes more than 100 rooms and walk along several winding cave tunnels.

Vardzia
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How to get

If you are going to personally explore the ancient caves of Vardzia, then you can reach them by bus or bus from Akhaltsikha. A train from Tbilisi and minibuses from other cities of Georgia travels to Akhaltsikhe.

However, take into account that the road to Vardzia is mountainous and bumpy, so it can turn bad.

Search for air tickets to Tbilisi (nearest a / p to Vardzia)

It's interesting

Inside the caves can be quite cool even in hot summer, so take with you warm clothes and a thermos with hot tea. By the way, in the village next to the complex there is a guest house where you can rest, as well as buy a guide and a map in English.

By the way, the ticket to visit Vardzia costs only about 2 dollars, and for this money you can not only walk in a monumental building, but also descend below, into deep underground passages. Another plus: there are not so many tourists, so you do not have to stand in queues to walk around the amazing ancient monastery.

By the way, after walking in cool caves you can get warm and buy in sulfur sources. A concrete bath the size of a small pool, located in an unsightly barn at the edge of the village, is filled with warm water from a hose emerging from under the ground. Half an hour of bathing costs about ten lari for three.

Hotels, souvenirs and cafes

You can stay overnight in a hotel or guest house, they are next door to each other on the outskirts of the village. The overnight stay costs 15-25 lari (300-500 rubles) per person. However, if the weather allows, you can spend the night in the open air, there is enough room here.

There is no catering here, however the menu of the hotel kitchen is quite good. You can get acquainted with one of the local residents, and then you are traditionally invited to lunch or dinner.

As for souvenirs, there are not so many of them here. The best purchase is the English-speaking guide of Samtskhe-Javakhetia (in the office of the museum-reserve) or objects of church utensils (in the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin)

Postcards from Varadzia

History and attractions of Varadzia

The history of Vardzia begins at the end of the 12th century, when the tsarina Tamara was sitting on the Georgian throne .During her rule, the Orthodox culture of Georgia was experiencing a real flowering, and then the ruler decided to found a monastery in the mountains .The ruler herself loved to play in the mountains as a child, and it was the princesses of the little princess who gave the name to the monastery .According to legend, Tamara played hide-and-seek with her uncle, and when he was tired of looking for her in winding mountain slopes, she jumped out with the words "Ak var, zia! "(" I'm here, uncle! ") .So the name of a small village appeared, and later a huge underground monastery .

However, a serious obstacle was the Mongols, who constantly terrorized local residents .Every year, in the area of ​​the monastery construction, various military conflicts arose, and that is why it was eventually discovered that the future monastery resembles a fortified fort cave fortress .Many historians, incidentally, believe that there is no accident in this: the alleged construction of the temple was only a clever pretext to establish in the south of the country a powerful defensive fortress that could become a stronghold for the future expansion of the country..

The city was so spacious that it could "shelter" as many as 20 thousand people who could strike unexpected blows at the enemy, thanks to three secret passages!

Whatever it was, the building was a success: after finishing work Vardzia was a real underground city, in which there were many tunnels, stairs and alleys. Inside there was not only a monastery, but also several libraries, residential buildings and even bathhouses with running water. In general, in Vardzia there were more than 600 rooms stretching along the mountain for a distance of more than 1 kilometer. And all in the cave city of 13 floors!

Inside the cave monastery there were not only temples, but also several libraries, residential buildings and even baths with running water.

In the very center of the complex there is a temple of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which there are several beautiful ancient frescoes dating from the 12th and 13th centuries, among them there is a fresco of Queen Tamara. As they say in legends, it is in Vardzia that its remains rest.

After the earthquake destroyed the protection of the city, he lost his former power .At the end of the 16th century, the Turks seized the monastery and brutally punished the monks: they were burned alive in the main temple of the monastery, where the oldest murals were .However, thanks to a layer of soot and smoke from the burning that covered the walls of the monastery, the frescoes were protected from water and time .You can see in this divine craft or not, but the fact remains: even after death, the monks continued to serve the monastery and protect it, albeit in such an unusual form..

Photos of Vardzia (14)