This is your destination guide for Georgia.
This is your destination guide for Vardzia and Borjomi
📍 Part of GeorgiaA queen's city carved thirteen floors into a cliff, a spa town of salty fizzy water, and one of Europe's biggest forests in between.
The reality: You're standing on a narrow ledge halfway up a cliff in Vardzia. Behind you are doorways cut into the rock, hundreds of them, stacked floor upon floor: cells, chapels, wine cellars, a pharmacy. Below you, the river curls through a dry, golden valley. Eight hundred years ago, a queen ordered all of this carved out of the mountain.
Samtskhe-Javakheti is Georgia's south-western corner, between Tbilisi and the Turkish border. Most visitors drive straight through, or come only for Vardzia on a long day from Tbilisi. It deserves more: a huge restored fortress in Akhaltsikhe, the old spa town of Borjomi and Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, one of the largest protected forests in Europe.
It's the quiet route through Georgia. Take three or four days and a car.
A city in a cliff, built for a queen.
Vardzia — carved into the cliffs above the Mtkvari river in the late 12th century, under King Giorgi III and his daughter Queen Tamar. A monastery and a fortress at once, with hundreds of rooms over many levels, tunnels and water channels. An earthquake in 1283 tore off the face of the cliff, and the rooms have stood open ever since.
Church of the Dormition — inside the rock, with a fresco of Tamar herself. A few monks still live here. At the end, a steep tunnel takes you down through the cliff.
Khertvisi — a fortress on a rock where two rivers meet, on the road in.
Vanis Kvabebi — an older and quieter cave monastery, just before Vardzia.
A restored fortress, and a monastery in the hills.
Rabati — above Akhaltsikhe, the region's main town, a fortress with walls, towers, a mosque with a golden dome, a church and a synagogue, from the centuries when Georgians, Ottomans and Armenians all lived here.
The rebuild — it was reconstructed in 2011–2012, and some of it looks almost new. Go anyway, for the view over the town and the museum inside.
Sapara Monastery — 30 minutes into the hills, on a forested slope above a gorge, with frescoes and a few monks. One of the most peaceful places in the region.
Forest trails, a spa park and a mountain train.
Mountain cheese and famous water.
Borjomi — Georgia's most famous export: salty, very fizzy and full of minerals, from the springs in the park. Drink it warm and nearly flat from the fountain, then buy a cold bottle to taste what it's meant to be.
Tenili — a Meskhetian string cheese pulled by hand into strands as thin as hair, and on Georgia's list of cultural heritage.
Tutmaji and apokhti — a yogurt soup with noodles, and dried meat.
Guesthouse dinners — home-grown vegetables and homemade wine.
Late spring to autumn, and snow for skiing.
May and June — green, 18–25°C, with the forests at their best.
July and August — warm, 25–30°C. Borjomi fills with families escaping the heat of the capital.
September and October — the best time for Vardzia: clear, dry and golden, 15–24°C. The forests in the national park turn yellow.
Winter — Bakuriani has snow from about December to March, but the Javakheti plateau gets very cold, and some roads ice over.
A car is almost essential.
By car — the best way. Tbilisi to Borjomi takes 2.5–3 hours, then 45 minutes to Akhaltsikhe and 1.5 hours to Vardzia. Drive back via the Javakheti plateau to make a loop.
By minibus and train — marshrutkas go from Tbilisi's Didube to Borjomi and Akhaltsikhe, and a slow train runs from Tbilisi to Borjomi. There are few buses to Vardzia, so most people take a taxi from Akhaltsikhe.
In Borjomi — walk. The town, the park and the trailheads are close together.
Compare rental cars →A spa town, a fortress town or a cave valley.
Borjomi — spa hotels and guesthouses near the park. The best base for the national park.
Akhaltsikhe — practical guesthouses near Rabati, central for Vardzia and Sapara.
Vardzia valley — a few guesthouses and small hotels by the river, with the cliff in view at sunset.
Bakuriani — ski hotels and chalets. Best in winter.
Find Borjomi stays →Cheap, quiet and good value.
Samtskhe-Javakheti is one of the cheapest regions in Georgia. Guesthouses are simple and cheap, entry fees are low, and the forest trails cost almost nothing. The car is the biggest cost.
Prices in 2026 Georgian lari. 10 GEL is about €3. Borjomi gets busy at summer weekends.
Go if you want a cave city in a cliff, a famous spa town and empty forest trails, away from the tour buses. Skip if you get dizzy, need nightlife or hate driving. Three or four days, with a car.
Found this useful? Share it.
One new way to travel. Every Thursday.
Not deals or destinations — methods. House sitting, night trains, repositioning cruises, and what each one really costs.
Ever thought of travelling this way?
Campervan Relocations
Rental companies need their vans driven back. Four berths, a kitchen and a shower for about a euro a night — and a country you would never have picked.
Read article →Farm Stays
A few hours’ work a day on a farm, and a bed and dinner at the family table in return. Pick grapes in Portugal in September and again in New Zealand in March.
Read article →Repositioning Cruises
Twice a year cruise ships change oceans, and the crossing is sold cheap to fill the cabins. Two weeks across the Atlantic, six days of open sea, and a whole continent at the end of a one-way ticket.
Read article →👇 Tap one, or just type
