Kvemo Kartli
Just south of Tbilisi: Dmanisi, where 1.8-million-year-old hominid remains were found, Bolnisi Sioni, Birtvisi Fortress and Dashbashi Canyon.
5 destinations
Kvemo Kartli lies just south of Tbilisi and borders Azerbaijan and Armenia. Its municipalities include Bolnisi, Gardabani, Dmanisi, Tetritskaro, Marneuli and Tsalka.
At Dmanisi, bone fragments of 1.8-million-year-old hominids were found, and the Dmanisi Museum-Reserve shows reconstructions of these first Europeans. Bolnisi Sioni, from the 5th century, is one of the first basilicas in Georgia. Birtvisi Fortress sits on a rocky mountain in the Algeti River valley, and Khuluti Fortress is another example of medieval Georgian building.
German settlers came to Kvemo Kartli from 1817, and the largest settlement, Katharinenfeld, is today's Bolnisi, where Fachwerk houses still stand. Near Tsalka, the Dashbashi Canyon has waterfalls, walking trails and a glass bridge.
On the map
Places to visit
Dashbashi Canyon
Dashbashi Canyon is a deep, green gorge of the Khrami river near Tsalka in Kvemo Kartli, about 100 km (2 h) west of Tbilisi.
Dmanisi
Dmanisi, in Kvemo Kartli about 85 km south-west of Tbilisi, is where some of the oldest human fossils found outside Africa came out of the…
Bolnisi Sioni
Bolnisi Sioni is a stone basilica built in 478–493 in the village of Bolnisi in Kvemo Kartli, about 70 km (1–1.25 h) south-west of Tbilisi…
Birtvisi Fortress
Birtvisi is a ruined medieval fortress built into a maze of volcanic rock towers above the Algeti valley in Kvemo Kartli…
Khuluti Fortress
Khuluti is a fortified residence of the Orbeliani lords on a cliff above the Khrami (Ktsia) river in Kvemo Kartli, close to Pitareti…
Tours that stop here
Private tours with a stop in this region, with a car and a driver-guide.
Good to know
Best time to visit
Dashbashi Canyon is beautiful in both winter and summer; when winter temperatures drop to about -6°C, its waterfall freezes. On average, January in Kvemo Kartli is 4°C and July–August 25.2°C, though the Tsalka uplands around Dashbashi are much colder in winter.
Getting there
Tsalka, the nearest town to Dashbashi Canyon, is 88 km from Tbilisi; from there it is 4 km to Dashbashi village and 0.5 km on to the canyon.
Food and wine
Kvemo Kartli is where the oldest traces of wine were found: 8,000-year-old residue at Gadachrili Gora, in Marneuli Municipality, south of Tbilisi. On its wine route, look for golden Rkatsiteli and the strawberry-like Asuretuli Shala.
Travel tips
At Dashbashi Canyon, a 1.8 km path from the visitor centre passes the waterfalls and takes about an hour. A 240-metre glass bridge spans the canyon.
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