Kazbegi tour from Tbilisi - Exploring Ananuri-Gudauri-Kazbegi

After enjoying my time in the spectacular city of Tbilisi, I was excited to explore the places around it. My first day trip from Tbilisi gave an insight into the rich religious heritage of Georgia. And now I was to go on my next day trip - a Kazbegi tour from Tbilisi, exploring Ananuri and Gudauri along the way.

 

KAZBEGI TOUR

 

ANANURI - GUDAURI - KAZBEGI

• Firstly we were to visit the Ananuri castle, passing by the Ananuri bridge on the way.
• Then we were to enjoy the panoramic views of the Gudauri mountains at the Russia-Georgia Friendship monument.
• And finally, we were to go on top of a hill to explore the Gergeti Trinity church in Kazbegi.

----> Check out and book your Ananuri-Gudauri-Kazbegi day trip by clicking here.

 

After a heavy breakfast, we began the Kazbegi tour from Tbilisi - with the sun shining nice and bright & everybody in good spirits. George, our tour guide, kept the atmosphere light and breezy with his sense of humour.

Travelling along the military highway, we crossed the legendary Ananuri bridge. The Ananuri bridge links the military road to the Ananuri castle. Built over the Aragvi river, the bridge provides a spectacular view of the mountains.

The military road, by the way, is called the Georgian Military Road. It's the major route connecting Georgia and Russia. It's 212 kilometres long and runs from Tbilisi in Georgia to Vladikavkaz in Russia covering all the three places in our day trip.

 

 

1) ANANURI CASTLE

Post a 1 hour 15 minute drive, we reached the historic Ananuri castle complex.

Entrance to the castle is free, so that was a positive start for us as far as the exploration of the castle complex was concerned.

• Situated on the bank of the Aragvi river, the castle is not far from the Zhinvali water reservoir. The Zhinvali water reservoir provides clean drinking water to the people of Tbilisi. The castle's located at a distance of 72 km from Tbilisi.
• The Ananuri fortification consists of two castles joined by a curtain wall.
• Upper fortification is still well preserved and has a large square tower. The lower fortification, however, is in ruins and has a round tower.
• There are two churches in the Ananuri castle complex - Church of the Virgin and Church of the Assumption.
• Church of the Virgin is older of the two churches. It has graves of the Dukes of Aragvi and is made of brick stone.
• Church of the Assumption is larger of the two churches. It has a dome style structure with decorated facades. The frescoes on the interiors are damaged though.
• It's in the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage Site program.
• The castle fundamentally was the seat of the Dukes of Aragvi who ruled over the area in the 13th century.
• The castle was the scene of several wars and acted as a protective shelter for the local population during the wars.

 

HISTORY

There's quite a bit of history attached to the castle. History, that has witnessed a lot of bloodshed.

• Georgy tells me that the Ananuri castle faced attack in 1739 when an opposition army commanded by Shanshe of Ksani, set the castle on fire.
• As a result, the local Aragvi clan was massacred. Signs of the fire can still be seen in the form of damaged frescoes inside the Church of the Assumption.
• The Game of Thrones continued with the locals opposing the rule of Shanshe and overthrowing the oppressors, inviting King Teimuraz II to rule over them.
• In 1746, the King joined hands with King Erekle II of Kakheti to suppress another revolt by the locals.
• The castle was somewhat used till the beginning of 19th century but has been abandoned since then.

 

EXPERIENCE

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Ananuri castle. Climbing on the walls of the fort was a good workout but standing near the tower overlooking the Zhinvali reservoir was a surreal experience.

The view of the green mountains on both sides guarding the turquoise blue waters is a treat to the eyes. It transports you back in time, making you wonder as to how it would have been to see enemies approaching the castle from the mountains.

You can also see the Ananuri bridge from the castle complex. The bridge with the green mountain as the backdrop looks beautiful.

Ananuri Castle is, without a doubt, one of the most mesmerising places in Georgia.

Oh! And if you, like me, are a bit immature and don't mind indulging in it, then definitely try getting clicked wearing the local Georgian warrior attire.

Outside the castle complex, you'll see a local providing a costume of the Georgian warrior. What's amazing is he provides you with a horse too, to make the picture look authentic and give you the warrior feels.

It's pretty cheap so instead of buying souvenirs, I'd suggest you pose as a warrior with a not-so-excited horse partner.

 

 

2) RUSSIA-GEORGIA FRIENDSHIP MONUMENT, GUDAURI

After driving for about 60 kilometres from the Ananuri castle, we reached our next stop in the Kazbegi tour: the Russia-Georgia Friendship monument.

Stepping down from our coach, I knew we'd stepped into Gudauri as the air was so much cooler and fresher. Conditions were overcast and the monument aroused a lot of curiosity in us.

Our guide George tells us that the Russia-Georgia Friendship monument is also called the Treaty of Georgievsk monument. (Go ahead, try pronouncing Georgie...damn it)

 

TREATY OF GEORGIEVSK

• Treaty of Georgievsk was a bilateral friendship treaty between the Russian empire and the east Georgian kingdom of Kartli Kakheti. The treaty was concluded on July 24th, 1783.
• According to this treaty, eastern Georgia was established as a protectorate of Russia. So the local Georgian king swore allegiance to the Russian Czar, in return for protection and support for the reigning dynasty.
• Though from my guide's narration, it didn't seem like he or the other Georgians were happy with the monument. He told us that the Georgians carried out protests voicing Russia's disregard for the treaty.

 

ABOUT THE MONUMENT

• A popular Georgian architect Giorgi designed the Russia-Georgia Friendship monument.
• The monument was erected by the Soviets in 1983 to celebrate - the 200th anniversary of this treaty and therefore, 200 years of friendship between Russia and Georgia.
• It is located on the Georgian military highway between the ski resort town of Gudauri and Jvari pass.
• It is a large round structure overlooking the Devil's valley in the Caucasus mountains.

 

EXPERIENCE

To me, the place was more about the fantastical views of the Caucasus mountains than the friendship monument itself.

Yes, the monument was interesting with it's cylindrical structure and stone archways opening up to the Devil's valley. The partial view of the valley from the monument was scenic.

I also enjoyed looking at the colourful tile mural (on the inner side of the monument) that extended throughout the circumference. The murals depict various events from Russian & Georgian history.

On the other side of the monument, you can see people paragliding, with the green mountains as the backdrop.

But the highlight of the place is walking to the panoramic view spot and soaking the desktop wallpaper-like sight of the Caucasus mountain landscape.

 

You can see a cute little pool of turquoise blue water in the Devil's valley. The air feels majestic, pure and the view is worth a million bucks.

Just the calm that you feel - sitting and looking at the carpet of beauty that nature has laid out in front of you, is worth visiting this place.

 

 

3) GERGETI TRINITY CHURCH, KAZBEGI

We took a "tea and snacks" break before starting our journey to the third stop of the Kazbegi tour - Gergeti Trinity church.

You can reach the church either by - a jeep or a three-hour trek up the mountain. We chose the jeep and post a 30-minute bumpy bouncy ride, reached the top of the mountain.

A view of the isolated little church surrounded by humongous Caucasus mountains bowled me over. No wonder this "church in the lap of nature" view is an iconic symbol of Georgia and finds itself in all the Georgian souvenirs.

 

ABOUT THE MONUMENT

• The local Georgians call the church Tsminda Sameba.
• It's situated on the bank of river Chkheri at an elevation of 2,170 metres (7,120 feet), under the watchful eye of Mount Kazbegi. Mount Kazbegi is the third highest mountain of Georgia.
• It's a Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic church built in the 14th century.
• The Gergeti Trinity complex consists of a cross-cupola church and a bell tower. It's the only cross-cupola church in northern Georgia.
• According to Georgian authors and historians, when Tbilisi was under the threat of a Persian invasion, the valuable Christian relics were shifted from Mtskheta and brought here for safety.
• The church was closed by the Soviet government in the early years of the 20th century but was later returned to the Georgian Orthodox Church in the 1990's.

 

EXPERIENCE

You aren't allowed to click photographs inside the Gergeti Trinity church but you are allowed to enjoy the views outside (*wink*).

I was awestruck looking at the Caucasus mountain range kissing the clouds. In fact, some of the clouds were floating at half the height of the mountains, making the setting look fantastical.

Sitting on a bench near the stone wall, I admired the church and the impressive scenery all around. I'd never seen something like this before.

Imagine sitting amongst the clouds and being surrounded by breathtakingly tall mountains. No wonder the Gergeti Trinity church ranks 6th in the list of the world's most beautiful churches. You need to see it to believe it!

 

 

4) LITTLE SURPRISE AT THE END

We thought the Kazbegi tour had come to an end with Gergeti Trinity Church but our guide and driver had one more place up their sleeve.

While returning from Kazbegi to Tbilisi, we stopped at this place in a town called Pasanauri - a little town in Dusheti district. And what we saw there, left all of us dumbstruck.

• We were standing at the confluence point of the Tetri Aragvi (White Aragvi) and Shavi Aragvi (Black Aragvi). 
• The black colour of Shavi Aragvi is attributed to the limestone deposits.
• The interesting part was even after merging, the colours remain separate for a while before mixing and flowing as the "Aragvi" river.
• It's an absolute must-visit place if you're visiting Kazbegi from Tbilisi. You don't get to see such wonders of nature every day!

----> Book your Ananuri-Gudauri-Kazbegi day trip by clicking here.

 

 

CONCLUSION

The Kazbegi tour was absolutely splendid - filled with surprises and heavenly views. If the day trip to Mtskheta and Uplistsikhe was about Georgia's rich religious heritage, then the Kazbegi tour was all about the marriage of Georgia's history with it's surreal natural beauty.

I absolutely recommend you to do this day trip because your Georgian experience can't get any more authentic than this!

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