Shida Kartli
West of Tbilisi: Gori with its fortress and Stalin Museum, the rock-cut town of Uplistsikhe and Grakliani Hill, settled since the Paleolithic.
3 destinations
Shida Kartli lies in eastern Georgia, in the centre of Kartli. Its main city is Gori; Kaspi, Kareli and Khashuri are other towns, while Tskhinvali and Java are under Russian occupation.
Human history here begins in the Paleolithic, as Grakliani Hill shows. Uplistsikhe, a town carved into a cliff some 3,000 years ago, was the main cult centre of Iberia. Gori Fortress, documented from the 13th century and rebuilt in its present form in 1775, stands on a rocky hill in the city centre and looks out over Gori and the Caucasus.
In Gori, the Stalin Museum holds more than 60,000 objects, among them his armoured railway carriage and the small house where he spent his first years. Nearby are the 12th-century Gorisjvari church and the 7th-century Ateni Sioni.
On the map
Places to visit
Gori Stalin Museum
Gori, in Shida Kartli about 86 km west of Tbilisi, is the town where Joseph Stalin was born in 1878, and its Stalin Museum is the main…
Uplistsikhe Cave Town
Uplistsikhe is a rock-cut town on a sandstone ridge above the Mtkvari river, about 12–15 km east of Gori and 1.25–1.5 h west of Tbilisi.
Grakliani Hill
Grakliani Hill is an open archaeological excavation beside the Tbilisi–Gori highway near Kaspi, about 50 km west of Tbilisi.
Tours that stop here
Private tours with a stop in this region, with a car and a driver-guide.
- Mtskheta Tour with Gori & Uplistsikhe — Private Day Trip from Tbilisi$69 pp for 4
- Georgia Highlights in 5 Days — Private Tour: Tbilisi, Kakheti & Kazbegi$640 pp for 4
- Georgia Archaeology Tour — 5 Days, Private: Cave Cities & Dmanisi$670 pp for 4
- Heart of Georgia — 5-Day Private Heritage Tour$650 pp for 4
- Classic Georgia — 8-Day Private Tour$1,035 pp for 4
- Georgia Jewish Heritage Tour — 7-Day Private Trip$1,175 pp for 4
- Grand Tour of Georgia — 10-Day Private Tour, Mountains to the Black Sea$1,365 pp for 4
- Georgia and Armenia Tour — 12-Day Private Trip$1,840 pp for 4
- Georgia in 14 Days — Private Tour incl. Svaneti & Batumi$2,025 pp for 4
Good to know
Best time to visit
Shida Kartli's climate is moderately warm and very dry in places, with summer highs of 22–40°C and winter temperatures around 1°C. In spring, the plants around old monuments such as Uplistsikhe come into blossom.
Getting there
Gori is about 80 km west of Tbilisi, about 1 hour 10 minutes by road. Uplistsikhe is a half-hour drive from Gori, and Gorisjvari church is 4 km from the city centre.
Food and wine
Kartli cooking has fish, meat and vegetarian dishes: try chakapuli, pkhaleuli and soups of sorrel, buttermilk or cornel, and the sweet nazuki bread sold on the road to Surami. Local wines include Goruli Mtsvane, Chinuri, Shavkapito and Tavkveri, and Kartli is known for its sparkling wines.
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.
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