Georgia is a crossroads nation of almost 4 million people that sits between Russia, the Stans, Iran and Turkey and is a branch of the Silk Road. Georgia was founded as a single independent kingdom in the 12-13th centuries, which is often referred to as the Golden Age. Not many countries get to have an epic chivalric poem of 6,648 lines that defines their country’s heroic destiny, but Georgia does: The Knight in the Panther’s Skin by Shota Rustaveli, written around 1200. However, Georgia’s fate was also to have to deal with large adjacent Iranian, Ottoman and Russian states until finally absorbed by Tsarist Russia in the late 18th century. Georgia had a subsequent but brief period of independence starting in 1917 before being occupied by the Soviet Union in 1921.

It’s a brilliant country to visit, with a very diverse geography contained in a relatively confined area, from its Black Sea Coastline in the west, the Caucasus mountains in the north, and a desert border to the south and east with a 8,000-year old wine country in between. This trip covers journeys to Tbilisi, north to Kazbegi at the Russian border, and finally east to the wine country and south to the monastery in the rocks, Davit Gareja.

Tbilisi. Some orientation from the Narikala Citadel, Tbilisi’s long standing fortress. looking north towards downtown Tbilisi. The old town is pretty much where the hill rolls out below, and further north from the old town is the mainly Soviet-era city center that starts at Rustaveli Avenue (named after the renowned Medieval-era poet), which is Tbilisi’s main avenue going north, loaded with Tsarist- and Soviet-era buildings.

Here we look east towards the new cathedral in the background and the Metekhi Church (c. 1280s) in the foreground, over the Mtkvari River, that flows from the Caucasus south into Azerbaijan.

Tbilisi has a combination of traditional Georgian building styles, Islamic influence, Tsarist and Soviet Russian, and more modern development post-independence. If you have a couple of days, you can have a pretty full itinerary between the old town, the usual museum/early medieval church/fort combo, pretty great restaurants and a very interesting wine culture. I visited in April when the weather was cool and pleasant. You can also bathe in the sulfur bath Hamams located in the Maidan neighborhood, dating from the 1700s and still very much open. Pushkin visited. The city has many hot springs. There are two worthwhile museums in town, the National Gallery (Rustaveli 11) and the Museum of Georgia (Rustaveli 3), which has some pretty stunning pre-Christian gold artefacts.

Traditional Georgian houses line a riverbed, before the Tbilisi Central, or Juma Mosque, built in 1895, and the hills beyond. The mosque is unique in that both Sunni and Shia muslims can pray together.

There are plenty of traditional balconied wooden houses, which provide relief in the dry hot summers.

More Russian-era housing is evident, much of which is in need of some upgrade.

There are plenty of neighborhood upgrade programs going on. Much of old town Tbilisi is being progressively renovated by the city to revitalize the older central areas.

Tbilisi’s Tsarist-era opera house has eastern touches that you’d expect from colonial administrators attempt to evoke the atmosphere of a country that they are already in.

You should try the local mineral water which has lots of fortifying chewiness. I liked Borjomi, which was reportedly Stalin’s favorite non-alcoholic beverage, but wouldn’t kick the Nabeghlavi out of bed either. I declined the Stalin desk flag souvenir at the time but now regret doing so. Stalin, Georgia’s most famous son, whether they like it or not, was born in Gori, a small town west of Tbilisi. His birthplace was made into a museum and can still be visited.

North to Kazgebi along the Caucasian Military Highway. The first road trip out of Tbilisi was north to Kazbegi in the Caucasus Mountains. The first stop is at Ananuri, a chapel overlooking a lake. The main buildings are from the  mid-17th century although the watchtower is from the 12th.

The main road north through the Caucasus to Russia is the two-lane superbly named Caucasian Military Highway, that continues to Vladikavkaz in Russia. Here is an ex-military GAZ truck passing by for atmosphere. Basically anyone going north to south goes over this road, that started as a horse trail at the dawn of time and has improved into a pretty rough in places blacktop.

Heading north, the Caucasus mountains take form as you increase altitude.

And the sovbloc cars keep on coming.

Finally you hit snow conditions – in April.

There are plenty of barrier-free hairpin turns and happy grazing roadside cattle to support concentration.

And then once through the snow you coast down towards Kazbegi (or Stepantsminda) and the huge truck line waiting to clear the Russian border.

Kazbegi. I hiked up to the Gergeti Trinity Church (Tsminda Sameba) in Kazbegi, which was built in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Gergeti hike is a good day trip, although it can be done in half a day if you’re reasonably fit. To get to the church, you walk west out of town, cross over the Tergi River bridge and go through Gergeti village to reach the hillside tracks.

Gergeti village has traditional stone dwellings that look ready to deal with a long hard winter.

The effects of the war on a small Georgian town must have been significant, reflected in Gergeti’s Soviet-era war memorial.

You can cut up to the Gergeti church through the switchback vehicle service tracks until you find open hillside. It’s rather steep, although running shoes worked ok.

One the way up, looking east you can see the town of Kazbegi nestled in a bowl amongst the mountains.

The Gergeti church dates from the 14th and 15th centuries and is even more impressive when the surrounding mountains are in the background.

I then had to get back down the highway in the afternoon, which was as interesting as the ride up, with more whiteout and trucks.

The roads could be a bit rock-strewn, although the road was open and clear of snow.

I soon found that the periodic Soviet-era road tunnels lacked for lighting but not atmosphere.

And down into the misty wooded foothills.

The Wine Country and Signagi. From the Caucasian Military Highway, I headed southeast to spend the night at the Schuchmann winery hotel near Telavi.  Telavi sits in the Alavani River valley, a major wine growing region. Georgian wine is worth a look, and Saperavi, a dry red, is usually obtainable overseas, along with a range of whites that include Rkatsiteli and Mtsivane. Georgia has been making wine for about 8,000 years, and still have a traditional line of production that involves fermentation in kvevri clay vessels. The following day, I continued east to the walled silk road trading city of Signagi, which sits on a high ridge overlooking the valley. Sighnagi was mostly built in the late 18th century, and was recently spruced up by the government so looks quite neat.

Signagi was protected by an extensive fort built in the late 18th century, that commands the Alazani River valley below to this day. It is huge and in pretty good condition, with a view northeast to the Caucasus range.

Davit Gareja. I made my way south to the cave monastery of Davit Gareja, just north of the Azerbaijani border amongst a set of rock formations. The original habitations, founded in the 6th century, were rock caves that then grew into a walled and towered monastery. The monastery is still active so be careful where you wander.

The monastery complex is a combination of cave dwellings, a large keep and chapel, partly surrounded by walls and towers.

Driving in Georgia involves a lot of unintentional tracks; this is the road in and out of Davit Gareja, which is best done in daylight.

Logistics.

Tbilisi airport is easy to use and a cab into town is quick (20-30 minutes) and reasonable. The airport rail gets you to Tbilisi Central Station (which is about 4km north of the old town however) in 40 minutes and connects you into Tbilisi’s Soviet-era metro, which is efficient and worth using within the city.

I stayed just north of the old town on the west side of the river, and was able to walk around for the most part. Whole sections are under redevelopment so don’t be surprised to find a lot of construction. Restaurants are excellent and I’d recommend (addresses are findable):

Barbarestan – good traditional Georgian food and more than the usual khachapuri (bread with a cheese center), although the kinkhali dumplings are great here.

Schuchmann – cellar restaurant, worth going to check out the different wines. Georgian grapes are mostly unique to the country. Their hotel is located in Kisikshevi with details at: http://www.schuchmann-wines.com/hotel/contact/

Samikitno – cafe-type Georgian, good for staples such as khachapuri.

Shavi Lomi – Georgian fusion in a subterranean venue.

There are plenty of wine bars in town given Georgia’s range of production – some worth visiting include Tsangala’s and Code de Vino. Some of the major wineries, like Schuchmann, Shumi and Mukhrani have their own wine bars in the old town.

Driving. Car hire is reasonable in Georgia and the roads are well signposted. The standard of driving and road manners was good. There are major freeways on the main routes that are good, but many of the secondary roads can be slow going given the terrain. Be aware that Georgia relies more on dirt tracks between significant communities than you may be used to in the west, so if you’re going between smaller towns the roads are usually fine but check the grade, just in case.

Rail. If you plan to head east or west out of Tbilisi, Georgian Railways are worth a look http://www.railway.ge/en/passenger-traffic/, and also provide international service to Yerevan and Baku. Turkish connections can be obtained via the border city of Akhalkalaki. Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan have recently cooperated on a passenger and freight route between Kars in Turkey to Baku in Azerbaijan, which involves a gauge change at Akhalkalaki.