Uplistsikhe (Gori)

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Already in the morning the family is screaming at each other again and it is because I still want to see the caves otherwise I would have left the place. The owners don’t speak a word of English and I don’t think they are unfriendly to me but it’s hard communicating. I take my daypack with me and walk to the busstation.  

The woman behind the counter doesn’t understand me so I show her my piece of paper where I wrote my wanted destination. She writes down the time of 10:30 and a young boy walks in front of me to find the right one among the dozens of minibuses. He even speaks a little English and I ask if the van will stay here so that I can have something to eat.I don’t have breakfast yet and I would love to eat something before my bus leaves.

I don’t think there’s anything to eat where I’m going. I think he udnerstands because he points to a building where indeed a small coffee shop is located. I order a kachapuri and a cup of coffee and from the window I have a beautiful view of the market and my busstop. Fifteen minutes before time I walk through the stalls where you have to be very careful on the many low-hanging lines towards the van. The driver knows exactly what I want and assigns me a spot on the bus where I can take a seat. 

As always you pay in the bus afterwards if you do not have a ticket. At half past ten we drive out of Gori, through some small villages whose road surface is in need of a terrible refurbishment and the houses too. There are two women in front of me who are chatting and the language has something like Turkish, maybe even Hebrew. After about 20 minutes of bumping road the man calls me forward and points at a large iron suspension bridge over the river. I have to go over it and then walk back on the other side. This must be the village of "Krakhvrehli" and from the shore near the bridge I see the caves of Uplistsikhe which rise above the surface. That’s my destination of today. 

I walk across the bridge over the Mtkvari river where some boys are fishing from and see what kind of fish they catched. From there you can already see the site and there is only one road so you can not miss it – it suppose to be two kilometers but for my knowledge it’s less. Nonetheless, I get sweaty (there is a lot of wind and it is partly cloudy but still hot) at the super modern complex where you have to buy a ticket.

I walk up the first black iron stairs leading to the first small caves in this big cave system which seems to have been inhabited since the 10th century BC. This would make it one of the oldest establishments in the entire Caucasus region. I climb up the rocks and see more caves on the hill and even a church where a tour group enjoys the view. The most important period seems to have been between the 6th century and 1st century BC when there was a very important caravan route between Asia and Europe. 

There is not much to see inside the caves, but it remains an impressive sight to realize that a city has been here with about 20,000 people. I climb further up the slooping hill and from here I have a perfect view of the valley, the villages, the rivers that flow here and the mountains on the other side of the valley. In the 11th century the city fell into disrepair when the then leader moved the capital to the remote "Tbilisi". A few centuries later it was totally destroyed by the Mongolian horde. Even the forest that was luxuriant here was destroyed. Now it’s hard to find a few trees together.

The church does not really belong here between all these very old caves - nevertheless it is beautiful in this environment and inside it is a peaceful haven; no wind and no burning sun. I read that most caveruins that you encounter now were used as a temple and the whole reminds me of the cave complexes I have seen in India - "Ellora" and "Ajanta". I sat a while on some rocks to suck it all-in but now it’s time to walk back to the valley and over the bridge to catch the bus back to Gori. 

Gori - Uplistsikhe (Kvakhvreli): several times a day there is a minibus (marshrutka) from the bus station in Gori with direction Khvakhreli. In a village near a large iron suspension bridge close to the site. The journey takes about 20 minutes and the costs are 1 Gel.

Spending time:

You can stretch your time in this complex for as long as you like - if the weather is nice you have a beautiful view not only on the caves, but also the whole landscape, the river, villages etc. It is probably advisable to wait until the tour groups are gone so you have the church and the complex for yourself which makes it even more interesting. You can also take a nice walk to the top of the mountain.

TIPS:

Take some warm clothes with you because the caves are built at a altitude and even if it is warm or even hot in the valley, suddenly the weather can change immediately. A flashlight is not really necessary but a thin rain jacket and a fleece you can take.

You may also be wise to eat something before your leave fort his site; take a snacka and some water with you. There is a restaurant but it is quite pricey.