Kakheti

Kakheti's historic capital and best base for Alaverdi, Ikalto, Shuamta and Tsinandali, with a royal palace and a 900-year-old plane tree.

Hilltop walled town from 1762 with cobbled lanes, 23 towers and wide views across the Alazani Valley to the Caucasus.

Wine town at the foot of the Caucasus, home of semi-sweet Kindzmarauli and birthplace of writer Ilia Chavchavadze.

Tusheti's main village at about 1,880 m, with guesthouses, Keselo's stone towers above, and trails to the region's tower villages.

Restored stone-and-slate village in Tusheti's Pirikiti valley at about 2,000 m, with medieval towers and Kvavlo's fortress above.

Small Tushetian village at about 2,070 m with stone houses, wooden balconies and the Holy Trinity church, a walk from Omalo.

Steppe town in far-eastern Kakheti and gateway to Vashlovani, with the ruins of Khornabuji Fortress on the limestone ridge above it.

Working wine town in the middle of the Alazani Valley, close to the rare two-domed Kvelatsminda church and the Mukuzani vineyards.

Remote Tushetian village near the Dagestan border, with a ruined fortress on a rocky spur and some of Tusheti's widest views.

The last villages of Tusheti's Pirikiti valley, with stone towers, basic summer guesthouses and the trailhead for the Atsunta Pass trek.

Kakheti's historic capital and best base for Alaverdi, Ikalto, Shuamta and Tsinandali, with a royal palace and a 900-year-old plane tree.

Walled royal residence in central Telavi, built in the 17th century and rebuilt by King Erekle II, with a palace, chapels and museum.

Hilltop walled town from 1762 with cobbled lanes, 23 towers and wide views across the Alazani Valley to the Caucasus.

Working convent 2 km from Sighnaghi, built over the grave of St Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia in the 4th century.

Wine town at the foot of the Caucasus, home of semi-sweet Kindzmarauli and birthplace of writer Ilia Chavchavadze.

A 7.7 km network of tunnels cut into the Caucasus foothills at Kvareli, used to store and age wine at a steady 12–14°C.

Artificial lake below forested hills on the western edge of Kvareli, with a promenade, cafes, boats and an 'I love Kakheti' sign.

Walled monastery in the vineyards north of Telavi, with an 11th-century cathedral about 55 m tall and a historic monks' wine cellar.

Hilltop citadel and 1565 Church of the Archangels, the surviving heart of Kakheti's royal capital, destroyed by Persian armies in 1615.

Hilltop monastery founded in the 6th century, near some of Georgia's oldest churches, with sweeping views over the Alazani Valley.

6th-century monastery near Telavi with ruins of a 12th-century academy where, legend says, the poet Shota Rustaveli studied.

Two monasteries in the forest above Telavi: three 5th–7th-century churches at Old Shuamta and a 16th-century royal convent at New Shuamta.

19th-century estate of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze near Telavi, with a palace museum, historic garden and one of Georgia's oldest wineries.

Visit a Kakhetian family marani to taste wine fermented in buried clay qvevri, often with a home-cooked supra.

6th-century rock-cut monastery complex in semi-desert on the Azerbaijani border, with medieval frescoes in ridge-top cave churches.

Remote semi-desert park in Georgia's far southeast, with badlands, mud volcanoes, pistachio woodland and Alazani floodplain forest.

Georgia's oldest nature reserve, founded in 1912, with forest trails to waterfalls and a three-day route to Black Rock Lake.

Unpaved pass at about 2,850 m on the only road into Tusheti, one of the highest and most demanding drivable passes in the Caucasus.

Tusheti's main village at about 1,880 m, with guesthouses, Keselo's stone towers above, and trails to the region's tower villages.

Restored 13th-century stone defence towers on the ridge above Upper Omalo, with wide views over Tusheti.

Restored stone-and-slate village in Tusheti's Pirikiti valley at about 2,000 m, with medieval towers and Kvavlo's fortress above.

Small Tushetian village at about 2,070 m with stone houses, wooden balconies and the Holy Trinity church, a walk from Omalo.

Ruined 6th-century cathedral near Sagarejo, one of Georgia's earliest domed churches, inside fortified walls with a 16th-century brick bell tower.

Forest-covered medieval fortress town west of Akhmeta, crowned by a small early 10th-century domed church of four apses.

Ancient royal fortress on the Iori River beside the Gombori road, linked to King Vakhtang Gorgasali, with a citadel and church.

Steppe town in far-eastern Kakheti and gateway to Vashlovani, with the ruins of Khornabuji Fortress on the limestone ridge above it.

Working wine town in the middle of the Alazani Valley, close to the rare two-domed Kvelatsminda church and the Mukuzani vineyards.

Remote Tushetian village near the Dagestan border, with a ruined fortress on a rocky spur and some of Tusheti's widest views.

The last villages of Tusheti's Pirikiti valley, with stone towers, basic summer guesthouses and the trailhead for the Atsunta Pass trek.

Protected high-mountain land of pine forest, alpine meadows and deep gorges around Tusheti's villages, crossed by walking and horse trails.