Hike to Gergeti Trinity Church and beyond

We arrived in Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) last night. It was already getting dark so we went out for supper and then went to bed.

Kazbegi is most known for the 14th century Gergeti Trinity Church on the mountain side overlooking town. The next morning we set out to hike up to the church and then beyond, to see how far we would get.

At the bottom of the trail to the church

 On the trail to the church

Gergeti Trinity Church

Outside the church

Entry to the church

Continuing past the church

The view back

The peak is Mount Kazbek

View of Gergeti glacier and Mount Kazbek. We climbed approximately 4,000 feet from the start of the trail.

Heading back down

View of of the town of Kazbegi

We had an excellent hike!

Continuing down the trail

Old tower ruin on the way down

Travel day to Stepantsminda, Georgia

This morning we drove to the town of Stepantsminda (Kazbegi), located approximately 10 km south of the border with Russia.

Along the way we stopped at a roadside stand to buy some honey, and I noticed that one of our tires was going flat. We put the temporary spare tire on the car and then continued on, keeping an eye out for a tire shop. I wasn't sure what we would find since it was Sunday, but eventually we found a place that was open. The guy spoke no English, and Google Translate was no help, but through gesturing we ended up with a used replacement tire installed for the equivalent of $25. The old tire had a bulge, likely from driving on it too long while it was going flat.

Getting the tire replaced.

We took a short side trip to see the 6th century Jvari Monastery overlooking the town of Mtskheta.

The Jvari Monastery with remnants of wall

The church

Church entry way

Interior

View of the town of Mtskheta from the Jvari Monastery

We then drove down to Mtskheta and visited Svetitkhoveli Cathedral, a medieval Eastern Orthodox cathedral dating from 1029.

By Levan Gokadze - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

It's a popular place for weddings

We then continued north on the Georgian Military Highway to the Ananuri Fortress.

Church inside fortress

Church entrance

As we drove north the hills turned to mountains and the "highway" narrowed and switchbacked up to the Jvari pass. It was an interesting experience - transport trucks, buses, vans & cars all trying to get to their destinations as fast as they could, generally with no regard for speed limits, passing lanes, or any other rules. But the views were amazing!

View from the Georgian Military Highway near the top of the Jvari pass.

We finally arrived in Stepantsminda (Kazbegi) and checked into our guesthouse.

View from our window

Day trip from Telavi, Georgia

Today we drove out to see several interesting sights around Telavi. First, the Alaverdi Cathedral, built in the 11th century.

Alaverdi Cathedral, surrounded by a fortified wall.

Part of the outside wall

Alaverdi Cathedral

Fresco above door

A short drive nearby was the Ikalto Monastery. The church was built in the 9th century.

Ikalto Monastery church

Ruins and church

Old ruins with pottery vessels used to make traditional Georgian wine.

We then visited the Shumi winery

We sampled their wines

Our last stop was the mansion of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze (1786–1846).

Chavchavadze Estate

Fancy light bracket

Porch

Gardens

Telavi, Georgia

Telavi is a town of about 20,000 people in a area of vineyards and historical sights. We spent three nights here, exploring both the town and surrounding area.

View of Telavi

Batonistsikhe castle - unfortunately closed while we were here.

800 year-old plane tree

View over a neighbourhood

Side street

Market

Graveyard

Interesting snail sculpture

 Outside the castle walls