Kakheti
Georgia's main wine region: Sighnaghi and Telavi, qvevri wine cellars, Alaverdi and David Gareja monasteries, and mountain Tusheti.
16 destinations
Kakheti borders Russia to the north and Azerbaijan to the east and south. It runs from the Alazani Valley and steep mountain passes to arid steppe, and includes the high mountains of Tusheti.
The National Wine Agency calls Kakheti the most important Georgian winemaking region. Telavi, with the palace of King Erekle II, and walled Sighnaghi, above the Alazani Valley, are bases for wine tastings. Near Telavi, Tsinandali has the Aleksandre Chavchavadze House Museum.
Churches and monasteries include Alaverdi, Ikalto, Shuamta and Bodbe, and the David Gareja complex stretches across 25 km. For nature, there are the Lagodekhi Protected Areas, the oldest in Georgia, and Vashlovani National Park. In Tusheti, Omalo and Dartlo are villages of slate houses and towers.
On the map
Places to visit
Sighnaghi
Sighnaghi is a small walled town at about 790 m on a ridge above the Alazani Valley in Kakheti, about 113 km (2 h) east of Tbilisi.
Bodbe
Bodbe is a working convent 2 km from Sighnaghi in Kakheti, about 115 km (2 h) from Tbilisi, and the burial place of St Nino…
Tsinandali
Tsinandali is the 19th-century country estate of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze, about 10 km south-east of Telavi in Kakheti…
Telavi
Telavi is the main town of Kakheti, Georgia's wine region, on the slopes of the Gombori range above the Alazani Valley, about 95 km (2 h)…
Alaverdi
Alaverdi Cathedral rises over the vineyards of the Alazani valley in Kakheti, about 20 km north-west of Telavi and 2–2.5 hours from…
Gombori Pass
The Gombori Pass (1,620 m) carries the shortest road from Tbilisi to Telavi over the forested Gombori range, about 95 km and 2 hours in…
David Gareja
David Gareja is a monastery complex cut into the sandstone cliffs of a semi-desert ridge on the Georgia–Azerbaijan border…
Gremi
Gremi is the citadel of the former royal capital of the Kingdom of Kakheti, on a hill above the Alazani valley about 20 km north-east of…
Ikalto
Ikalto Monastery stands among old trees on a slope above the village of Ikalto, about 10 km west of Telavi in Kakheti.
Shuamta
Shuamta is a pair of forest monasteries on the Gombori range, just off the road about 7 km before Telavi in Kakheti.
Abano Pass
Abano Pass (2,826 m) carries the only road into Tusheti: about 70 km of unpaved, mostly single-lane track from Kvemo Alvani in Kakheti…
Dartlo
Dartlo is a stone-tower village at about 2,000 m in the Pirikiti Alazani valley of Tusheti, about 12–15 km from Omalo by 4x4 track.
Omalo (Tusheti)
Omalo is the main village of Tusheti, a high mountain region in north-east Georgia reached by a single dirt road over the Abano Pass (2,826…
Vashlovani National Park
Vashlovani is Georgia's semi-desert national park in the far south-east of Kakheti, on the Azerbaijan border, reached on slow dirt tracks…
Gurjaani
Gurjaani is a wine town on the Tsiv-Gombori slopes above the Alazani valley in Kakheti, about 110 km east of Tbilisi on the road to Telavi.
Lagodekhi National Park
Lagodekhi Protected Areas, founded in 1912 as Georgia's first nature reserve, cover the forested southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus…
Tours that stop here
Private tours with a stop in this region, with a car and a driver-guide.
- David Gareja Tour with Sighnaghi — Private Day Trip from Tbilisi$79 pp for 4
- Kakheti Wine Tour from Tbilisi — Private Day Trip to Sighnaghi$99 pp for 4
- Kakheti Village Cooking Day: Bread, Khinkali & Churchkhela — Private$107 pp for 4
- Kakheti Grape Harvest (Rtveli) Day — Private Trip from Tbilisi$117 pp for 4
- Vashlovani National Park by 4x4 — 2-Day Private Tour$225 pp for 4
- Kakheti Wine Tour — 3-Day Private Tour from Tbilisi$450 pp for 4
- Tusheti 4x4 Tour — 4-Day Private Trip to Omalo & Dartlo$580 pp for 4
- Georgia Wine Tour: Kakheti & Kartli — 7-Day Private Tour$1,115 pp for 4
- Georgia in Winter — 6-Day Private Tour: Tbilisi, Kakheti & Gudauri Snow$755 pp for 4
- Heart of Georgia — 5-Day Private Heritage Tour$650 pp for 4
- Georgia 4x4 Tour: Tusheti, Khevsureti & Kazbegi — 8-Day Private Trip$1,095 pp for 4
- Georgia Highlights in 5 Days — Private Tour: Tbilisi, Kakheti & Kazbegi$640 pp for 4
- Romantic Georgia for Two — 4-Day Private Tour$615 pp for 4
- Georgia and Armenia Tour — 12-Day Private Trip$1,840 pp for 4
- Classic Georgia — 8-Day Private Tour$1,035 pp for 4
- Georgia in 14 Days — Private Tour incl. Svaneti & Batumi$2,025 pp for 4
- Grand Tour of Georgia — 10-Day Private Tour, Mountains to the Black Sea$1,365 pp for 4
Good to know
Best time to visit
The grape harvest fills September and October. In the Alazani Valley, winters average around 0°C and summers 23–25°C. Tusheti's tourist season runs from about June to September or October, while the road over the Abano Pass is open; the opening dates depend on each year's snow.
Getting there
By road from Tbilisi, Sighnaghi is about 1 hour 40 minutes away and Telavi about 1 hour 55 minutes. The Lagodekhi Protected Areas are about 160 km from Tbilisi. For Tusheti, it is 130 km from Tbilisi to Kvemo Alvani over the Gombori pass, then 80 km, about four hours, to Omalo.
Food and wine
Saperavi is Kakheti's most widespread grape, alongside Rkatsiteli, Kakhuri Mtsvane and Kisi, and many wines are made in qvevri, a method on UNESCO's Intangible Heritage list since 2013. Local dishes include mtsvadi, chakapuli and khashlama, with churchkhela and tatara, made from grape juice, for dessert. In Tusheti, try Tushetian khinkali, guda sheep's cheese and kotori, the local khachapuri.
Travel tips
From Kvemo Alvani to Omalo the road is for off-road vehicles only, and the Abano Pass closes outside the summer months because of heavy snow. To visit Vashlovani's border areas (Mijniskure, Takhti-Tepa and Kakliskure), register at the park's visitor centre in Dedoplistskaro and carry a copy of your ID. At David Gareja, the Lavra is open, but the Udabno monastery is closed or its access is unpredictable.
Plan your trip
Tell us the places you want to see and we'll build a private tour around them, with a car and a driver-guide.
This page in other languages