2nd Day

After breakfast drive to Kakheti – wine producing region in eastern Georgia. First you visit the Monastery of St. Nino at Bodbe.

The monastery now functions as a nunnery and is one of the major pilgrimage sites in Georgia, due to its association with St. Nino, the 4th-century female evangelist of Georgians, whose relics are shrined there. Some 3 km from the convent, a small Chapel of St. Zabulon and St. Sosana was constructed, in the 1990s, to house a St. Nino’s Spring, which, according to a local legend, emerged through Nino’s prayers and is believed to have a healing power.

Then we visit the city of lovers – Signagi. It serves as a popular tourist destination due to its location at the heart of Georgia’s vine-growing regions, as well as its picturesque landscapes, pastel houses and narrow, cobblestone streets. Located on a steep hill, Signagi overlooks the vast Alazani Valley, with the Caucasus Mountains visible at a distance.

Our route lays towards Prince Chavchavadze’s Palace (XIX c) in the village Tsinandali in Kakheti, Georgia, noted for the estate and its historic winery which once belonged to the 19th-century aristocratic poet Alexander Chavchavadze (1786–1846). It was the place where Chavchavadze frequently entertained foreign guests with music, wit, and – most especially – the fine vintages made at his estate marani (winery). Tsinandali keeps touching history of love between Princess Nino Chavchavadze and the poet and diplomat Alexander Griboedov.

Later we’ll visit the winery in Shumi and taste 4 kinds of wine there.

In the evening we’ll drive to Telavi, historical capital of Kakheti and you’ll enjoy supper in a local family, taste famous Kakhetian barbecue and homemade wine.

Overnight in Telavi.

3rd Day

After breakfast we’ll drive back to Tbilisi and have guided Tbilisi city tour. The capital of Tbilsi is very old. It was founded by Vakhtang Gorgasali in V century. You will visit Sioni Cathedral, where St. Nino’s, cross is kept, (St. Nino preached Christianity in Georgia), Metekhi and Anchiskhati churches, the bridge of Peace, Puppet Theatre e.t.

After having dinner in a restaurant we’ll visit The National Museum and its Gold Fund where priceless findings of different era, from bronze age (3500 – 1200 b.c.) up to XX century are exibited. Here are kept most of the samples of Caucausian National Culture.

Then we’ll visit Mtatsminda ( the Holy Mauntain) Pantheon where the greatest personalities of Georgia are burried: writers, scientists, public figures, actors and national heroes. Here is also the tomb of the famous Russian poet, politician and diplomat A. Griboedov and his wife Princess Nina Chavchavadze. 

Overnight in Tbilisi.

4th Day

In the morning transfer to Mtskheta, the old capital of Georgia. The city is very

important for history of our country because christianity as state

religion first was declared here in 326 year. Here in Mtskheta you will

visit Svetitskhoveli (XI c) the Cathedral of Twelve Apostles where The Lord’s tunic is rested in the basement. That is why Mtskheta is called the second Jarusalem. According to legend the church was built over the cedar stump that seeped aromatic oil, myrrh. Under that cedar St. Nino, who preached Christianity in Georgia, prayed.

Then you will visit the church Jvari (VI) on the hill, from which you have beautiful view of the old capital.

After dinner we drive to West Georgia. On the way we’ll see Uplistsikhe,”the lord’s fortress”, an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, some 10 kilometers east of the town of Gori, Shida Kartli. Uplistsikhe is identified by archaeologists as one of the oldest urban settlements in Georgia (1000 b.c.). Strategically located in the heartland of ancient kingdom of Kartli (or Iberia as it was known to the Classical authors), it was completely deserted in XIX c.

Overnight in Kutaisi – in the second largest city of Georgia.

5th Day

After breakfast we’ll go to Kutaisi bazaar (market), an exceptional place, where you can see mountains of fruits, vegetables, greens, seasonings and spices. Find long rows of different kinds of cheese – gudi and sulguni, corn flour for gomi (porrige made with corn flower), churchkhels of different colours and taste…

Then you’ll have the opportunity to admire historical monuments – the Cathedral Bagrati. It was built in the early years of the 11th century, during the reign of King Bagrat III, due to which it was called “Bagrati”, together with the Gelati Monastery, it was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list as a single entity.

Gelati is medieval monastery complex near Kutaisi. A masterpiece of the Georgian Golden Age, Gelati was founded in 1106 by King David IV of Georgia. Georgians have always had a knack for choosing the most superb locations for their churches and this monastery complex, on a wooded hillside 10km northeast of Kutaisi, is no exception. Beautifully situated on a forest-covered hill the Gelati Monastery complex consists of the main church (Cathedral of the Virgin), the Church of St. George (east of the main church), the Church of St. Nicholas (west of the main church), the Belltower, the Academy Building (west of the Church of St. Nicholas), the South Entrance and the Chapel containing the tomb of King David Agmashenebeli (the Builder). . During the reign of Qween Tamar two more churches were built. Gelati was not only religious centre but the largest cultural, scientific and historical centre as well.

The next place of interest is Prometheus Cave which is one of Georgia’s natural wonders and one of the largest in the world and has many underground rivers. It was discovered in 1984. It is a karsts cave , in the municipality of Tskaltubo. near the village Kumistavi. Its unique features include a variety of halls and landscape diversity. Four distinct layers were formed during different stages of the Earth’s development. Prometheus includes various types of stalactites, stalagmites, curtains, petrified waterfalls, cave pearls, underground rivers, and lakes. The temperature reaches 15 degrees C. It’s easy to breathe in the cave as the air consists 1\5 pure oxigen so it’s very helpful for the people with lung deseases or bronchial asthma. The tourist route length is up to 1060 meters.

Then transfer and overnight in Batumi.

6th Day

After breakfast we’ll visit The Batumi Botanical Garden. There is a 108 hectare area of land 9 km north of the city of Batumi. Located at the place called Mtsvane Kontskhi (“The Green Cape”) on the Black Sea shore, it is one of the largest botanical gardens in the former Soviet Union. The Batumi Botanical Garden was started by the Russian botanist Andrey Nikolayevich Krasnov (1862-1914), in the 1880s and officially opened on November 3, 1912. Currently, the garden consists of nine floristic sectors, those of Caucasian humid subtropics, East Asia, New Zealand, South America, the Himalayas, Mexico, Australia, and of the Mediterranean.

Then we’ll have Batumi city guided excursion and go to Gonio to look at the Gonio fortress ( previously called Apsaros, or Apsaruntos), a Roman fortification in Adjara, Georgia, on the Black Sea, 15 km south of Batumi, at the mouth of the Chorokhi river. The village sits 4 km north of the Turkish border. In XVIc Gonio was taken by the Ottomans, who held it until 1878, when, via the San-Stefano Treaty, Adjara became part of the Russian empire.

Supper is in Batumi and then we go to look at the dancing fountains.

Overnight in Batumi.

7th Day

Free day.

8th Day

Transfer to Batumi airport.

Tour package price 785$

• Services included in tour package price:
• Transfer to / from the airport;
• Accommodation in 4 * hotel 7 nights;

Meals:

• 7 x breakfasts,
• 3 x dinners,
• 3 x suppers;
• English speaking guide service;
• Transportation in modern, comfortable coaches;
• Fuel;
• Entrance tickets to the museums;
• Accommodation of the guide and the driver in hotels;

Services NOT included in the price:

• Air tickets;
• Travel Insurance;
• Dinner and supper except mentioned above;
• Alcoholic drinks beyond tasting.