Samtskhe-Javakheti Road Trip 2026: Borjomi, Rabati, Vardzia

Core loop

3 days

Tbilisi to Vardzia

267 km

Vardzia entry

15 GEL

Rabati, upper

20 GEL

Why this drive

Everyone goes north to Kazbegi and east to Kakheti. The south is two hours from Tbilisi and gets a fraction of the traffic, and it is the part of the country that looks least like the rest: a wooded spa gorge at Borjomi, a dry river canyon with fortresses on its ledges, a cave city cut into a cliff, and a treeless volcanic plateau above 2,000 m with the largest lake in Georgia on it. The food changes too, and so does the language once you are up on the plateau, whose eastern half was 95 percent Armenian at the 2014 census.

The route

Car, driver or van

This is a trip for your own car. Vans reach Borjomi, Akhaltsikhe and, once a day at a useful hour, Vardzia, but nothing public goes to Khertvisi, Sapara, Tmogvi or the plateau lakes. The main roads are all paved and a compact handles them; the questions are the rental contract's road bans, below, and winter tyres from November. For two or more people who would rather not drive, a GoTrip driver is priced per car before you book.

Day 1: Tbilisi to Borjomi

The first hour west is flat farmland and trucks. At Khashuri you turn south and the road climbs into a forested gorge, the air cools, and you see why the Russian aristocracy built here in the 1890s. Borjomi sits at 794 m and is famous for the salty mineral water in the green bottles and for the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park behind it, 85,083 hectares of forest with marked multi-day trails and a visitor centre in town.

The Central Park runs up the Borjomula gorge from the middle of town, open 06:00 to 20:00 for 5 GEL, free before 09:00 and for children under eight, according to a Borjomi guide updated 25 June 2026; Ekaterina's spring at the front is where you fill a bottle with the warm original for nothing and decide whether you like it. A cable car from the park rises to the viewpoint above the gorge, 15 GEL one way, 10:00 to 20:00, and the outdoor sulphur pools at the top of the park are 15 GEL. The Romanov palace at Likani, built in the 1890s, has been closed for restoration for several years. The Kukushka, the narrow-gauge train to Bakuriani, has not run since 2020 and the railway plans a restart around January 2027; the Bakuriani guide covers the resort up the hill.

Day 2: Akhaltsikhe and Rabati

The gorge dries as you drop towards Akhaltsikhe, the regional capital, 200 km and about 3.5 hours from Tbilisi by the direct road. Rabati, on the hill above the town, is a fortress where Georgian churches, an Ottoman mosque, a synagogue and a madrasa share one set of walls, rebuilt heavily in 2012; the restoration is not subtle, and the view over the town and the valley is the reason to climb it. The lower courtyard is free; the upper fortress costs 20 GEL for foreign adults and is open 09:00 to 18:00, with the history museum 15 GEL extra and closed on Mondays. Allow two to three hours for the fortress and an hour for the old quarter below it. The Akhaltsikhe guide explains what is original and where to sleep.

With the afternoon free, Sapara is 12 km away on a sealed road: twelve churches in a forested gorge, the 13th-century church of St Saba built for Beka Jaqeli with 14th-century murals, and no crowds. There is no public transport, so it is a taxi from town or your own car.

Day 3: Khertvisi and Vardzia

The road south from Akhaltsikhe follows the Mtkvari into a canyon with fortresses on its ledges. Khertvisi, 16 km before Vardzia at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Paravani rivers, is a 10th to 11th-century fortress, 10 GEL to go in; the view from the road is the better one. Tmogvi, the ruined fortress on the cliff further on, is a scramble with no path and no facilities, for the view rather than the building.

Vardzia is the reason for the trip. Giorgi III laid out the cave complex in the 1150s to 1180s and his daughter Tamar had the Church of the Dormition carved and painted between 1184 and 1186; it ran for about 500 m along the cliff in up to nineteen tiers with around 500 caves until the earthquake of 1283 brought the cliff face down. A few monks still live here.

Entry is 15 GEL, the audio guide 15 GEL and the shuttle up from the car park 2 GEL. The site opens at 10:00 and closes at 19:00 from May to September, 18:00 in spring and autumn, 17:00 from mid-November to the end of February. Be at the gate at opening: the coaches from Tbilisi arrive late morning. Wear proper shoes, the tunnels are steep and low. The Vardzia guide has the caves one by one.

Detours

• Abastumani. A faded spa town at 1,340 m, 27 km west of Akhaltsikhe and 45 minutes by road (van 3.5 GEL), under the 1932 observatory on the ridge. The daytime tour is 20 GEL a head with a 100 GEL minimum per group; the night sky tour is 40 GEL a head with a 200 GEL minimum, 21:00 to 01:00 in summer and earlier in the other seasons, and cloud cancels it, so keep a second evening. The sulphur bath in town is 20 GEL an hour. Approach from Akhaltsikhe: the road on to Sairme over the Zekari Pass is banned in Localrent's terms.
• Dashbashi canyon. On the plateau road home via Tsalka, 88 km from Tbilisi: the 240 m glass Diamond Bridge of 2022 above a gorge of springs and waterfalls. The operator quoted foreign adults 50 to 80 GEL in September 2026, opens at 10:00 and closes the bridge in rain or fog; weekends are busy.
• Timotesubani. A medieval church in the hills above the Borjomi road, a short detour on the way home if the day allows; ask in Borjomi for the road.

Our guide to Georgia's quieter corners has Abastumani, Dashbashi and the plateau in detail.

The Javakheti plateau

East of Akhaltsikhe the road climbs onto an alpine steppe above 2,000 m with volcanic cones, stone villages and a string of lakes. Paravani, at 2,073 m and 37.5 square kilometres, is the largest lake in the country, and the lakes and their wetlands are protected under the Ramsar convention for their birdlife; spring and autumn migrations are why birders come. The population of Ninotsminda municipality was 95 percent Armenian at the 2014 census, and the churches, food and language shift accordingly.

Come between June and September. Paravani freezes solid every winter under half a metre or more of ice, the wind never stops, and even in July a night by the lake can be close to freezing. The through road via Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda is the way; the southern approach from Bakuriani over the Tskhratskaro Pass is unpaved in parts and not open in winter, and the tracks to the lake shores want ground clearance. Bring layers whatever the forecast, download offline maps, and fill up in Akhaltsikhe.

Where to stay

Akhaltsikhe is the base: guesthouses below the castle walls from 70 GEL for a double with breakfast, within ninety minutes of everything on this page. Borjomi has the widest choice of hotels and is the place for a slow first night on a longer plan. Guesthouses near Vardzia are few and fill early; the Akhaltsikhe guide lists the ones that take online bookings. On the plateau, Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda have simple rooms and generous hosts, and no luxury. Book the July and August nights a week or two ahead.

When to go

What it costs

Prices checked September 2026 on the linked guides, a Borjomi guide updated 25 June 2026, a Vardzia guide updated 20 September 2026, gotrip.ge and localrent.com.

Without a car

It works for the core, not for the detours. Vans leave Didube for Borjomi hourly from 08:00 to 19:00 for 12 to 15 GEL, and for Akhaltsikhe every 40 to 60 minutes for 15 GEL, about 3.5 hours; the local train to Borjomi is 1 to 2 GEL at 06:35 and 18:35, takes about 3 hours 50 minutes with 17 stops, and is the cheapest scenic ride in the country and the least comfortable. From Akhaltsikhe the Vardzia vans leave the bus station at 10:30, 12:20, 16:00 and 17:00 for 8 GEL and take about 90 minutes; ask the driver to stop at Khertvisi on the way back. Abastumani has its own van (3.5 GEL); Sapara and the plateau lakes are taxi or nothing. The marshrutka guide explains how the yards work.

Mistakes

• Doing Vardzia from Tbilisi in a day. 267 km each way, coaches at noon, the drive back in the dark.
• Arriving at Vardzia expecting the whole cliff. Half the route has been closed since May 2026.
• Driving past Khertvisi. The view from the road is free and takes five minutes.
• Planning the plateau in April or November. The pass is shut and the lakes are ice.
• Taking a rental over the Zekari or Goderdzi passes. Both are banned in the contract and no insurance applies.
• Packing for the canyon only. Borjomi can be warm while Paravani is near freezing on the same afternoon.
• Leaving the tank low. Fill up in Borjomi or Akhaltsikhe; there is little south of the castle.

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