Paravani Lake

Paravani is the largest lake in Georgia, covering about 37.5 km² at 2,073 m on the Javakheti volcanic plateau, between the Abul-Samsari and Javakheti ranges. Despite its size it is shallow, with a maximum depth of only about 3 m. Around it lies open grassland grazed by cattle and sheep, with volcanic peaks on the horizon and a scatter of small villages. The lake is popular with anglers, and in winter it freezes over with ice up to around 70 cm thick.

Most travellers see Paravani from the road between Tsalka and Ninotsminda, which runs close to its shore, often as a scenic return route from Vardzia to Tbilisi. Stop at the village of Phoka on the southern shore to visit the St Nino convent, where the nuns make and sell cheeses, jams and honey. Expect wind and cold even in July, and very few services outside Phoka and the nearby towns.

According to the medieval chronicle The Conversion of Kartli, St Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia in the 4th century, came into the country through the Javakheti mountains and stopped here, at the place where Phoka's church now stands. That church was built in the mid-11th century under King Bagrat IV, and a convent was founded beside it in 1992. On St Nino's Day, 1 June, many families bring children to be baptised in the lake.