Vardzia Monastery complex is a XII-XIII century Georgian picturesque monument carved in a rock. It is located in Javakheti, Aspindza region, on a left bank of river Mtkvari, at an elevation of 1300 meters above sea level. The highest cave is 1462 meters above sea level. The caves extend along the cliff for about five hundred meters and it has up to nineteen tiers. The Church of the Dormition dates back to the 1180s during the golden age of Tamar and Rustaveli, and has an important sequence of wall paintings. The area was abandoned after the Ottoman takeover in the sixteenth century.
Ticket: Free
Visit Duration: 3 h
Distance from Tbilisi: 267 km (4 h)
