Ubisa Monastery

The monastery at Ubisa was founded in the ninth century by Grigol Khandzteli, and its small hall church holds a fresco cycle painted in the fourteenth century by a master named Damiane, whose signature survives: a complete scheme of saints, feasts and narrative scenes in a style showing contact with Byzantine painting of the period, and among the most important medieval painting in western Georgia. A four-storey defensive tower of the twelfth century stands beside the church within a walled enclosure, along with the remains of monastic buildings. It sits in a green valley on the old road over the Rikoti pass, and it is quiet, small and easy to miss.

What you actually see

• Damiane's fourteenth-century frescoes - a complete signed cycle.
• A twelfth-century defensive tower - four storeys beside the church.
• The walled enclosure - the monastic remains around the church.
• A green valley setting - the old road over the Rikoti pass.

When to go

April to October. One to two hours. Modest dress is required. The church may be locked; ask at the monastery buildings.

Honest expectations

Interior lighting is very poor and photography is not permitted, so the frescoes are hard to appreciate. The church is small and the visit brief. Signage is minimal. Public transport is awkward.

Nearby

Zestaponi is west; Khashuri lies east over the pass.