Skip to main content
Geotour

Akhaltsikhe (Rabati Castle)

Samtskhe-Javakheti · History

Getting there
About 205 km (3–3.5 h) from Tbilisi via Borjomi on a good paved road
Best time
April–October
Recommended stay
1–2 hours

About Akhaltsikhe (Rabati Castle)

Akhaltsikhe is the main town of Samtskhe-Javakheti in south-west Georgia, about 205 km (3–3.5 h) from Tbilisi via Borjomi, and the usual stop on the way to Vardzia. Its landmark is Rabati Castle, a 7-hectare walled complex where a church, a mosque, a madrasa, a Jakeli palace, a bathhouse and a history museum stand side by side, restored in 2011–12. Most travellers spend an hour inside the walls; the old Jewish quarter and its synagogue lie just west of the castle.

Tours Including Akhaltsikhe (Rabati Castle)

See all 8 tours

Must-See Attractions

  • Rabati Castle

    Walk the walls and towers, the Jakeli palace, the domed Ahmadiyya mosque and the madrasa, all inside one set of walls.

  • Samtskhe-Javakheti History Museum

    The museum inside the castle holds archaeological finds, weapons, textiles and Ottoman-era objects from the region.

  • Akhaltsikhe Synagogue

    The synagogue in the old Jewish quarter, west of the castle, carries the date 1863 on its façade; ask us in advance if you want to visit it.

  • Upper walls

    The top of the castle gives a view across the town and the Potskhovi river valley.

Nearby

  • Sapara Monastery

    A monastery with 10th–14th-century churches on a forested hillside, about 12 km (30 min) from town.

  • Vardzia

    The 12th-century cave monastery of Queen Tamar, about 60 km (1–1.25 h) south.

  • Khertvisi Fortress

    A medieval fortress above the meeting of two rivers, about 45 km (50 min) south on the Vardzia road.

  • Borjomi

    The mineral-water spa town, about 50 km (50 min) north-east.

Location

View on map

Good to know

Getting there

About 205 km (3–3.5 h) from Tbilisi via Borjomi on a good paved road; about 60 km (1–1.25 h) north of Vardzia.

Best time

April–October

Best time

Spring and early autumn are mild for walking the castle walls, midsummer afternoons are hot, and in winter the town is quiet but the castle stays open.

Recommended stay

1–2 hours

Fees

Rabati Castle about 20 GEL for foreign visitors (15 GEL for students); audio guide about 15 GEL.

Time needed

1–1.5 hours for the castle and museum, plus 30 minutes for the Jewish quarter.

Heads-up

The synagogues are in town, not inside Rabati.

What to wear

Comfortable shoes for the steps and cobbles inside the castle; shoulders and knees covered in the church and mosque.

History & culture

Culture

The town grew up on the border between the Georgian, Ottoman and Persian worlds, and it shows: Orthodox and Armenian churches, a mosque and a synagogue stand within a short walk of each other. Samtskhe-Javakheti also has a large Armenian community.

History

Akhaltsikhe was the seat of the Jakeli princes, the atabegs who ruled the Samtskhe principality from the 13th century. The Ottomans took the town in 1579, and from 1625 it was the centre of an Ottoman province (eyalet); in 1752 Haji Ahmed Pasha Jakeli built the Ahmadiyya mosque inside the castle. Russian troops captured Akhaltsikhe in 1828, and the 1829 Treaty of Adrianople made it part of the Russian Empire. A Jewish community lived west of the fortress from at least the 18th century; its surviving synagogue carries the date 1863.

Local Cuisine

Meskhetian cooking is known for tenili, a fine-stranded cheese, and for trout from the farms along the Mtkvari; look for both in the restaurants around Rabati and on the road to Vardzia.

Accommodation

Several small hotels and guesthouses in the town centre and near Rabati Castle, mostly simple mid-range places. It works well as an overnight stop between Borjomi and Vardzia.

Nearby destinations

This page in other languages