Uplistsikhe

Uplistsikhe is one of the oldest urban settlements in the Caucasus, cut directly into a sandstone ridge above the Mtkvari river and occupied from the end of the second millennium BC until the Mongol raids of the fourteenth century. At its height it was a major pagan religious centre and a stop on trade routes, and what survives is a honeycomb of rock-cut spaces: a large hall with a coffered ceiling carved to imitate wooden beams, a pharmacy with niches for jars, wine cellars with sunken qvevri pits, a theatre-like space, and streets worn into the rock by centuries of feet. A brick basilica from the Christian period sits incongruously on top. Tunnels run down towards the river, and the whole ridge gives a wide view over the valley.

History

Uplistsikhe is one of the oldest urban settlements in Georgia, and medieval tradition credited its founding to the mythical Uplos, grandson of Kartlos; the earliest traces of people here go back to the end of the 2nd millennium BC, and its oldest surviving structures are of the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, when it was a major political and religious centre of Kartli. With the conversion of Kartli early in the 4th century it lost ground to Mtskheta and later Tbilisi, though it went on growing as a town and gained its first Christian basilica in the 6th century. It became a main Georgian stronghold again while Muslim rulers held Tbilisi in the 8th-10th centuries, when a three-church basilica was built, and the Mongol raids of the 14th century brought its final eclipse (Wikipedia, Uplistsikhe).

What you'll find

• Tamar's Hall - the large rock-cut hall with a carved coffered ceiling.
• Wine cellars - sunken qvevri pits carved into the floor of storage caves.
• The escape tunnel - a rock-cut passage running down towards the river.
• The basilica - the later Christian church built on top of the pagan city.

When to go

Spring and autumn; summer on the bare ridge is very hot with no shade. Combine with Gori and the nearby Ateni Sioni church for a full day from Tbilisi.

What to expect

The rock is worn smooth and can be genuinely slippery, especially after rain, and there are drops without railings in several places; sensible shoes are not optional. Interpretation on site is minimal, so a guide or good reading beforehand makes the difference between caves and a city. There is no shade.

Nearby

Gori and the Ateni valley are close; Mtskheta lies on the road back to Tbilisi.

Key facts