Spend two days on visiting Vardzia cave city and Ninotsminda and its surroundings. We do not insist on you to follow strictly our route, this is one of the recommended means of examining these two cities in the shortest time.
Day 1
- Have a breakfast – 0.5-1 hour
- Drive from Borjomi where we had a night to Vardzia. The distance is 108 kilometers, it will take you 1.5-2 hours
- Stop near Khertvisi fortress, it is 15 kilometers to Vardzia
- Take some photos, have an excursion around the fortress, examine its architecture and history – 1.5 hour
- Drive the remaining 15 kilometers to Vardzia – 15 minutes
- Make a stop in Vardzia. Firstly go to The Temple of the Dormition of the Mother of God because it is this very place from where the building of the whole Vardzia was started. Look at the temple and its frescoes – 1 hour
- Have a walk around Vardzia, have a look at its temples (there are 15 of them, some of them are active, but the entrance there may be restricted), the architecture of this cave city. Sometimes during your excursion you may need to go down, into the dungeons – 3 hours
You can hire a guide to fully emerge into atmosphere of Vardzia cave city, he/she can give you much more information about this city, than you will find in the Internet
- Drive to Ninotsminda, stay there for a night and continue your excursion the next day. The distance is 62 kilometers – 1 hour
- Have a dinner – 0.5-1 hour
Day 2
- Have a breakfast – 0.5-1 hour
- Visit the museum of military glory in Ninotsminda. Examine its exhibits (predominantly that belong to the times of the World War II), have an excursion around the museum – 1 hour
- Drive to Shaori fortress – 15 minutes
- Look at the fortress, to be more exact – two fortresses. Take some photos and examine the fortresses – 1.5 hour
- Have a lunch – 0.5-1 hour
- Drive to Javakheti national park. There are not many forests, but you can see artificial pinery. Visit the ski resort (if you are in Javakheti in winter). Take into account that it is colder in the park than in its surroundings, it is worth to take warm clothes before the trip – 3 hours
- Go back to Ninotsminda – 1 hour
- Have a dinner – 0.5-1 hour
Be careful when you rent a car. Never get behind the wheel when you are not sober. You will never make a deal with the police, you will just lose your driving license and get a huge fine (at least). For example, in Russia they are going to install alcohol detectors and alcohol interlocks in carsharing cars