Globepouncing backs the consensus among travel blogs that the David Gareja monastery is the #1 day trip from Tbilisi. Here we’ll give you detailed information concerning venturing there on your own, which is an adventure in itself, as well as a bit on the more well-documented topic of what to do after you park the car.
If you plan to drive to David Gareja, you’ll want to have the following:
An SUV or crossover-type vehicle with ample ground clearance and at least a half-tank of gas, i.e., petrol
Google maps and reliable roaming data
Water and food
I’m glad we drove to David Gareja if for no other reason than my motion sickness. A passenger on the ride to DG predisposed to motion sickness will feel awful. As many of you know - but none of us quite understand - if you’re driving, this feeling changes significantly for the better.
The normal route from Tbilisi begins with a fair amount of stop-and-go city driving through Tbilisi and Rustavi. I’ve heard a few people moan about driving in Tbilisi, but it’s really not that bad. Sometimes cars are stopped in the far right lanes of high-volume roads, and sometimes there aren’t lines on wide roads, but The Boss will tell you I kept comparing the driving to Philadelphia, and I stand by that. Eventually, you will reach the countryside, and not long after you reach this paragon of manhood...
...your navigation will prompt you to abandon the paved road (for the rest of the way - sorry). The turn toward adventure is marked by this lone sign:
I may not have trusted Google if not for the sign, so swallow your skepticism in this moment and take the plunge.
Roughly the first half off the paved road isn’t terrible. Lingering fears of becoming stuck increase sharply after passing a couple of Georgian military outposts. Don’t worry about the camps themselves - they’re there to guard the border with Azerbaijan, and they’re well-marked. You won’t unknowingly roll into one; they all have sentries and signs posted. One in particular is marked LIVE FIRING AREA. Important signs such as this one are in the common tongue; they know who’s passing by.
The roads grow steeper and more treacherous after the military camps. Unless you drive directly into a ditch, though, you will be fine. Just keep going. At one point, there is a long, flat stretch where you will find curious little stone structures that we guessed were cow-houses - this guess was confirmed (we would like to think) on our way back when we actually did find cows hanging out in them. It was glorious.
Now, in tribute to the road to DG, enjoy a menagerie of videos of what you will experience on your journey:
Georgia: where rhythm is life...and life is rhythm.
Had enough? I didn't think so. Take one more ride with Kenny Rogers & The First Edition:
All right, then. Now you’ve conquered the road and you’ve parked on a viewing terrace near a decently-sized stone building with good restrooms (0.50 gels - bring your coins) and a little gift shop up the stairs.
Carry on and have a good look at the monastery proper. It’s a beautiful campus, some of which is built into the rock - this is a recurring motif at this site. We recommend starting at the main gate, which is the one up the hill. You will exit through the lower gate, so you won’t miss anything. The views are indeed stunning, but they only get better as you continue the hike upward toward the Azerbaijani border.
Two paths meander to the peak where you find several small stone chapels with the Georgian cross forged on the doors. One way to go is past what appears to be a garage not far from the upstairs entrance to the main monastery campus. We took that trail on the way down. From the top, it follows a long metal railing much of the way before a steep closing bit (I slipped and fell - be careful). We took the other path on our way up, which brought us past a cave chapel guarded by a mighty metal door adorned with crosses.
There are some steps carved into the rock the way we went up, and this way is longer. Eventually you will be on a steep, rugged trail. It’s not very long, but it is very steep - not as steep as the railing and garage path, though. Along either path, keep going up until you can’t go up any farther. Once you are all the way up, you can walk a fair distance from side to side along the peak ridge.
Don’t forget to say hello to the nice Georgian troops near the middle of the ridge.
Most days you can descend the other side of Mount Gareja to see some more caves and cave frescoes, but some days the Azerbaijani border guards are especially feisty - the day we went up was one of these days. When the Georgian troops found out Azerbaijani troops were pushing up the trail and telling hikers to turn back, they grabbed their guns and went to confront them. I suppose we witnessed a real, live border dispute. Danielle muses that our adventure status and my driving status leveled-up on this excursion. I agree.
We then proceeded to head over to the far end of the ridge where there is a break in the metal rail (the one you can follow much of the way down). The break in the rail leads to another chapel built partially into the mountain. Soon enough, Azerbaijani soldiers approached, and we scooted real quick - but not before we enjoyed the best lookout the peak has to offer.
I thought the whole affair was fun to experience. At no point did we feel in danger. The area is disputed territory, but rest assured that it’s tourist-friendly. People were there with little kids; there were Brits, Russians, Australians, Chinese, and us. Several tour vans were there. A fair amount of people did not have appropriate dress or footwear for hiking. It's a place people can go. I suppose it’s just that some days the ‘border’ is here, and some days it’s there. The Caucasus region is a fascinating part of the world. Level-up indeed.
The ride back goes more quickly. Still - be sure not to drive into any ditches or gorges.
Before you leave David Gareja, stop by the gift shop for wine that is made exclusively for the monastery. We sacrificed ourselves for responsible scientific experimentation (you're welcome, world) and found that it’s quite good. In all seriousness, though, we like to contribute to religious sites that don't charge admission - we don't want these places to disappear.
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