Cycling Georgia: Vardiza & Ninotsminda

This is the second of seven parts detailing my cycle tour around Georgia & Armenia in August and September 2024. Here are links to Part One, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six and Part Seven. My first few days in Georgia had exceeded my expecations. The mountain and valley scenery was spectacular, the towns were charming and the roads were quiet and great for riding. I was excited to continue through the Lesser Caucasus with my next stop the small village of Tmogvi - in the Kura River Gorge.

From here I would visit the impressive looking cave city at Vardzia, before climbing up towards the border with Armenia. The route I planned was a mixture of gravel and paved roads, but I couldn't find too much information about them so was riding somewhat into the unknown!





It would have been possible to cycle nearly all the way from Akhaltsikhe to Tmogvi on the S11 road. This seems to be a popular route with cycle tourists, but didn't look the most fun option to me. The road runs through the valley and is gently rolling with some impressive views of the gorge; but it is also used by quite a few big trucks. I was keen to take a more scenic route with more climbing, hoping to get better views of the impressive mountainous landscape.

In the morning I was considering to ride to Sapara Monastery. The lady who owned my hotel in Akhaltsikhe had said it was in a beautiful setting and that it was worth a visit, but it was an out and back route with several hundred metres of climbing (albeit on a paved road), and in the end I decided against it.



Instead I left Akhaltsikhe, riding a short distance on the S11 alongside a few cars and trucks, before turning off at Minadze. Here I joined a quiet concrete road alongside a small river. After crossing the river at Mushki, there was really nice climb to Chobareti. This had a good paved surface and a couple of steep sections, but was mostly pleasant gradients.

There were great views of the mountains, as well as looking down at the Kura River valley. If it wasn't for the Soviet era raised gas pipe running above the road, I could have imagined this being in parts of Spain, Greece or some other Mediterranean country.

I had the road to myself here, with absolutely no traffic as I flew down a descent and over a rolling section to Iveria.



At Iveria the road turned into a dirt trail through the village, which then descended steeply towards the river, turning into a fun singletrack. I was searching for the bridge to cross the river, which wasn't exactly where it should have been according to my map! Eventually I found it, but it was currently in use by a couple of cows. A short wait ensued while they crossed, allowing me to then wheel my bike over the fast flowing river below.

I rejoined the S11 for another 4km, and then turned off again, crossing a bridge a motorbike bridge and following a very good quality gravel road along the western bank of the river.



The scenery here was really picturesque, with great views of the river and surrounding hills. Even more impressive was Kherstvi Castle which rose up around bend.

I crossed another bridge to get to the foot of the castle and walked up to the imposing looking fortress. To be honest, it looked better from a distance, as all that remained were its external walls. However, it was nice to get a vantage point from the castle looking back at the confluence of the Kura and Paravani Rivers. It was nice to see exactly why this spot was chosen way back in the 10th century.

A story (possibly a legend) states that Alexander the Great led his army beneath the hill on his way to Persia - although the historical and archaeological evidence is pretty thin to support that.



From the castle the route rejoined the road and continued south alongside the Kura River to Tmogvi. This is a beautiful section of road which snakes through an increasingly steep sided gorge.

Tmogvi is around halfway around the road and I stayed at a guesthouse there for two nights. My plan for the next day was to continue through the gorge to Vardzia.

Vardzia

The ride to Vardzia was quite hilly and had exceptional views throughout. It was a slightly disappointment to arrive after only 10km because it would have been nice to cycle further through such picturesque scenery.

Vardzia, a monastery complex dating from the 12th century, is an incredible site. It is essentially a town which was constructed from hundreds of caves built into the side of the mountain.



It was founded by the much celebrated Georgian queen Tamar as a defensible town in a volatile location. The complex was primarily a religious one, with several churches and accommodation for monks. But it was also a thriving community, with 27 wineries, pharmacies and even a kind of royal palace where Tamar may have stayed.

There were secret passages and stairways to keep the town secure as well as to safeguard the large amounts of gold stores there.



As a visitor to the site today you leave your bike at the car park and then walk up the road to the entrance. You are then free to explore the hundreds of different caves at your leisure. There is not much written information at the site - I recommend purchasing the audio guide with your ticket to fully understand what you are looking at and the context of the site.

When I visited there were a few coach parties (apparently its a popular day trip from Tbilisi), but they didn't stay long. They went to see around ten 'highlights' and then left, presumably to go to Akhalstsikhe or another neaby attraction.

It was easy to avoid the groups and to find areas where you could explore the cave dwellings alone.



Vardzia was at its peak from its founding until the 16th century. It managed to ward off Mongol invaders in the 14th century and only finally succumbed to an assault by Persians in the mid 16th century. Apparently a betrayal allowed the Persians to discover the secret passages and enter. They thoroughly sacked the very rich site, taking huge amounts of gold and punishing the monks who had resisted them.

Not long afterwards, Vardzia became part of the Ottoman Empire. This led to the monks departing, and the caves were used as dwellings by Ottoman shepherds and agricultural workers.



I highly recommend visiting to appreciate the scale and complexity of the town. From Vardzia I also did a short hike along the river towards Tmogvi Castle which offers another fantastic viewpoint of the Kura Gorge.

There are some good (although slightly touristy) restaurants nearby. I went to the less crowded 'Vardzia Restaurant' on the other side of the bridge and had a delicious khachapuri, jonjoli salad and chicken mtskvadi. They also had some tasty locally brewed beer.




From Vardzia it was a short ride back along the gorge to the guesthouse at Tmogvi. The following day I would ride the same road once more, before climbing away from the river into the high altitude plains close to Armenia.

Ride to Ninotsminda

The climb out of the gorge was spectacular. It was on an excellent gravel road with a very consistent gradient of around 6%. There were great views looking down into the valley as well across to the caves at Vardzia.

The top was marked by a small church, where I rested at a small picnic area soaking in the scenery.



There was some anti-Russian graffiti here, which hinted at some of the tensions in Georgia in the run up to the election of October 2024. From what I understand, the country is roughly split between pro-Russian and pro-European Union parties. Particularly amongst the older generation there remains a fondness for Soviet times and a knowledge of Russian culture and language. Whereas the younger and more urban population typically speak English and look more towards the West.

The issue has become acute following Russian involvement in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. And, more recently, the war in Ukraine has seen many Russians emmigrate to cities like Tbilisi and Batumi, pricing out locals from certain areas.

I suppose that the Georgian people have historically been in a similar position, debating the advantages and disadvantages of whether or not to ally with their powerful neighbours such as the Byzantines, Persians or Ottomans.



From the top of the climb I continued on a newly paved road to the village of Okami. The scenery for the remainder of the ride was superb, with open views as far as the eye could see. The route passed through farmland, where the harvest was taking place, with high mountain peaks towering in the distance.

I was really pleased that I chose to take back roads and trails in this section, as it allowed me to see a very different side to Georgia, compared with if I had followed the busier and flatter S11 road.



There was a fun climb out of Okami which started off as a dirt track which soon became lightly cobbled, presumably to provide assistance to tractors. A fast descent then took me through a few small villages including Dilipi.

From Dilipi there was a steep climb, with quite a bumpy surface. It was hard work, but just short enough that I could power over it. The descent from here to Patara Khanchali was a bit muddy in places but still all rideable.



At Patara Khanchali the track turned into a road and stayed that way as it rounded Khanchali Lake heading into Ninotsminda. Again, I can't overstate just how much I enjoyed this ride. From the first climb up from Vardzia, to the spectacular off-road riding through the villages, it was beautiful, challenging and fascinating at the same time.

Ninotsminda is not the most charming town, it is mostly newly built concrete houses without too much historic interest.



Despite being in Georgia, the majority of the population in Ninotsminda are Armenian, and it certainly had a different look and feel to the other Georgian towns I had visited. There was a good supermarket situated just back from the main road, where I was able to get supplies to refill my panniers!

It was here I discovered the Armenian love of sweets for the first time. Almost half the supermarket was dedicated to aisles of chocolate, candy and other sugary treets - often sold individually by weight.



I felt like I already had a taste of Armenia in Ninotsminda, but tomorrow I would cross the border into Armenia proper. I had really enjoyed Georgia so far, and would be returning in a couple of weeks, but I was excited to see what Armenia would have in store.



Part 1 - Kutaisi & Akhaltsikhe

Part 3 - Gyumri & Yerevan

Part 4 - Lake Sevan & Haghpat

Part 5 - Stepanavan - Tbilisi

Part 6 - Mtskheta & Roshka

Part 7 - Shatili & Mutso


Georgia & Armenia Tour Overview


Cycle Touring Guides