Alaverdi
religion
About Alaverdi
Rising over the vineyards of Kakheti, Alaverdi has stood since the 11th century, when King Kvirike raised it as a theological center that would weather centuries of invasions. Its cathedral remains one of the tallest churches in Georgia, and the monks here still keep a living wine tradition in their own cellar. Visit in autumn for the Alaverdoba harvest festival, climb the bell tower for views across the plain, then continue to the nearby wine towns of Telavi and Tsinandali.
Culture
A pilgrimage site, Alaverdi hosts Alaverdoba, a harvest festival. Vineyards and monastic wine traditions thrive.
Travel Tips
Currency: GEL; cash for donations. Language: Georgian; some English at monastery. Safety: Safe, peaceful. Transport: Car/minibus from Telavi; short walk.
Tours Including Alaverdi
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Georgia in 14 Days — Grand Discovery
The definitive two-week journey across Georgia, east to west and mountains to sea. From Tbilisi you explore the wine villages of Kakheti, climb the Military Road to Gergeti Trinity beneath Mount Kazbek, and visit Stalin's Gori, the cave town of Uplistsikhe and Queen Tamar's cliff city at Vardzia. Then west into ancient Colchis — Kutaisi's UNESCO monasteries — and up the Enguri gorge to the medieval Svan towers of Mestia and Ushguli, before finishing on the Black Sea at Batumi. Fourteen unhurried days, every region, expertly guided.
Georgia & Armenia — 12 Days
Twelve days through two of the world's oldest Christian nations. You'll spend a week in Georgia — Tbilisi's Old Town and sulphur baths, the wine villages of Kakheti, a lone church beneath Mt Kazbek, Stalin's Gori, a rock-hewn cave town, and Queen Tamar's cliff monastery at Vardzia — before crossing south into Armenia. There, five days take in shimmering Lake Sevan, vibrant Yerevan, the holy city of Etchmiadzin, the pagan temple of Garni, cliff-set Geghard and Noravank, and Khor Virap in the shadow of Mt Ararat. One seamless Caucasus journey, fairly priced and expertly guided.
Heart of Georgia Heritage — 5 Days
This five-day route follows the spine of Georgian history at a comfortable, unhurried pace. You walk through Gori, Stalin's birthplace, and explore the rock-cut town of Uplistsikhe carved into a cliff above the Mtkvari river. In Imereti you stand inside the great medieval monasteries of Colchis, then turn east into Kakheti, Georgia's wine country, where vineyards roll toward the Caucasus. You taste in family cellars around Telavi, visit a cathedral that has watched over its valley for a thousand years, and end above the Alazani in walled Sighnaghi. History, faith and wine, expertly guided and fairly priced.