Visiting Vardzia from Borjomi in one day: my experience

Georgia 2022 part 3: Borjomi, Akhaltsikhe and Vardzia

Along the fast flowing Kura river is Borjomi, a Georgian spa town famous for its mineral water. I already planned to visit three years ago, but had to change plans when I got snowed in for three days on the road from Vladikavkaz to Tbilisi. In May 2022 I returned to Georgia. After travelling from Armenia to Georgia’s capital Tbilisi (read part 1) and visiting Tskaltubo (read part 2) I took a bus from Kutaisi to Borjomi. My plan was to stay here for three days and visit the famous cave city of Vardzia. Usually people visit Vardzia on an organised tour, but I planned to go there on my own. At the time of writing there is not much information online about visiting Vardzia from Borjomi. In this final post on my Georgia trip I’ll share my experience, ending with practical information about travelling here.

Borjomi

The couple running my homestay gave me a bottle of homemade wine as a welcome gift. After chatting and dropping my bags I went for a walk into the forested hills before checking out the town. I followed a trail to the nearby hill named ‘’Cross Mountain’’ for views of the town. The town itself has been a popular spa town since the 19th century, when the Russian aristocracy started coming here. Nowadays it is touristy, especially around the Ekaterine Park, which is more a commercial theme park than a place to relax. There are taps with warm spring water here. Though I saw people filling up their bottles, the water is warm and tastes a bit salty compared to the bottled water from the shops. From the park I headed to the bus station to ask around how to get to Vardzia. The next day I would get a public bus (the common minibuses called ‘’marshrutka’’) to Akhaltsikhe and head to Vardzia from there.

Akhatsikhe

The Georgian alphabet is completely different from the Latin and Cyrillic alphabet, and unfortunately some buses here only have signs in Georgian. To get to Akhaltsikhe I had to flag down a bus. The first bus I flagged down had only Georgian writing and didn’t go the way I was heading. I hopped on the second bus I flagged down, which had Akhaltsikhe written on it in both Georgian and Latin letters.

The large hilltop-fortress ‘’Rabati’’ towers over Akhaltsikhe, literally meaning ‘’Newcastle’’. I looked for a ride onwards to Vardzia, visiting this castle on the way back. The bus to Vardzia would leave in half an hour. A taxi-driver called Amayak approached me. Since he offered me a good price (read below for practical information), and going by taxi would give me more time and freedom, I went with him instead of taking the bus. He first drove me to the Surb Nshan Armenian church for views of the city. Akhaltsikhe has a major Armenian population, hence I heard people greeting each other with the Armenian ‘’Barev’’ instead of the Georgian ‘’Gamarjobat’’.

Vardzia

The road to Vardzia follows the Kura, the same river that flows through Tbilisi and Borjomi. The landscape gets more rough after Akhaltsikhe, where the Kura cuts through barren steep canyons. After an hour we saw Vardzia on the other side of the river. The former cave city is famous, but wasn’t crowded this time of year. While Amayak waited for me near the car, I got a ticket, audio-guide and a ride by golf cart to the entrance of the chambers.

Varzdia consists of hundreds of chambers cut out of a cliff. Built in the twelfth century, it used to have around six thousand chambers until earthquakes destroyed many of them. Nowadays part of the structures are outside because of this. I followed the main route through the system over pathways and through tunnels. It was evident that people once lived here. A chamber used as a pharmacy had tiny holes cut out in the wall to store medicine. I spent almost two hours visiting the chambers, including a bakery, wine-cellars, and chapels.

After driving back to Akhaltsikhe I said goodbye to Amayak and visited Rabati fortress. In the last millennium different rulers left a mark on the fortress, including the Ottomans, as it houses a mosque, church and madrassa. From its walls I had a great view of the city and the surrounding hills. I had read that the last bus to Borjomi would leave at 18.00, so I jumped on a packed mini-bus. There was still a bottle of homemade wine left for me at the homestay, and a plane out of Tbilisi two days later.

Practical info on travelling here

Getting to Borjomi

Buses run between Tbilisi Didube station and the bus station of Borjomi. The ride should take about 2,5 hours. The bus I took from Kutaisi leaves ‘’Kutaisi 2 bus station’’, four kilometres out of the city centre, and arrived at the small bus station of Borjomi three hours later.

Getting to Akhaltsikhe

The minibuses from Borjomi to Akhaltsikhe do not leave from the bus station. Instead you have to flag down a minibus at one of the bus-stops on the main road called Meskheti Street. I used the first bus-stop on Meskheti Street you see after a very short walk going south from the bus station. Ask around at the bus station if you can’t find it. I waited at the bus stop from 8.30 and jumped on a mini-bus at 9.00. The ride took me an hour. I read that the last bus from Akhaltsikhe bus station to Borhomi leaves at 18.00, though I left at 17.15 myself.

From Akhaltsikhe to Vardzia

A mini-bus runs between Akhaltsikhe and Vardzia, but I read it doesn’t go often. Instead I took a taxi from the bus station. I paid 60 GEL for the drive there and back including the waiting time. As anywhere in Georgia, agree on a price before taking a taxi.

Entering Georgia in May 2022

In part 1 I describe how I travelled from Armenia to Georgia.

Travelling around Georgia

Read my blogpost a guide to visiting Georgia for more advice on travelling around Georgia.