David Gareji Monasteries and Hermitage

I honestly thought this was a WHS (the spanish wikipedia says so...)

David Gareji monasteries IS a set of monastic complexes, atop a desertic plateau in the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan. The landscape itself IS nothing short of spectacular.

This place is HUGE. It was a very important pilgrimage site from the 11th to the 13th century, home to a thriving school of fresco painters funded extensively by the georgian kings.

Most people visit David Gareji in the georgian side and udebno in the azeri side. Getting there requires some determination but thankfully no border control. To put It bluntly, the site is in the middle of nowhere and the roads are quite bad. 

David Gareji itself doesn't boast much as far as I remember, but It's probably the first complex you'll see. The true highlight of the visit IS imo udebno, which is accesible via David Gareji. The path IS a bit hard to find. My recomendation? you can find detailed instructions online: FOLLOW THEM and if you're lost ask the border guards. What awaits you IS a cornise filled to the brim with caves decorated with religious paintings from the 8th century onwards. Dozens of them, scattered across the cliff. The caves themselves are not protected (thus Many are vandalized) and some of them are...dubiously accesible, so visiting them feels a bit like an adventure. As you finish the path across the precipice, which Will take you a couple hours you …

The David Gareji Monasteries and Hermitage are located in the far southeast of Georgia, right on the border with Azerbaijan. There is no public transport that goes all the way there, but every day at 11 o'clock a special shuttle bus (The Gareji Line) departs from the Pushkin statue in the center of Tbilisi. This will take you to the monastery for 25 lari (8 EUR), and will return 3 hours after arrival. You cannot reserve this bus and I was afraid that it would be very busy on a Saturday when I had planned to visit. It was, but in that case they just send another bus.

The drive there takes 2.5 hours, with the landscape becoming more and more beautiful along the way. At the end you’re in a vast steppe with rolling green hills and many birds. The monasteries are built against a cliff, and that gives them their special charm. In the rocks there are hundreds of natural and carved caves: they were used as monks cells, chapels and churches. The site consists of two parts: the Lavra monastery at the entrance, where a dozen or so monks live and they are busy renovating at the moment. And the Udabno monastery, at the top of the rocks.

The shuttle bus is ‘transport only’, so for finding the sights we’re on our own. I started to follow an arrow marked 'Udabno' that points up from behind the monastery shop. This turned out to be a …

Several monasteries spread over a 30 km stretch of semi-desertic breath-taking landscape. The most famous, and easy to reach, monastery is Davitis Lavra, and the nearby cliff rock-cut chambers of Ubadno.

Getting there is quite easy, either with own car or with numerous day-tours organized from Tbilissi. Public transportation is limited to the daily « gareji line» shuttle bus, which I did not experience. Google map insist to get there through Rustavi, but this road is in extremely bad condition and not signposted at all. So do take the north road passing through Sagarejo and Udabno village, which is well signposted. It takes about 2 hours. The last 6 km is on dirt road, which are however passable by regular car. The road is spectacular, with magnificiant landscape.

Davitis Lavra (Saint David’s lavra) is the main monastery, nestled between rock cliffs. There is a church shop (only selling candles and icons). It is an active monastery, with two active churches in which Saint David is buried. It was founded in the 6th century, but most of the buildings, and the protective walls are later addition (17the century).

Ubadno monastery (not to be confused with Ubadno village) is located on a ridge above the Lavra. I really enjoyed discovering some of the rock-cut chambers forming this complex. To get there, next to the Lavra church shop is a dirt path going up the hill. The path allows fine views over the Lavra. It can be very slipery after rain. It splits …

Davitgareja (or David Gareji ) monastery is a nice day trip from Tbilisi, if you have your own vehicle. 4WD is not a must, but can be useful, specially on the last couple of kilometers. Theoretically you can get close to the site by public transport, as there are villages on the road to the monastery, but buses are quite erratic there, and you have to get some kind of private transport for the last part of the way. Organized trips to this region are also available in Tbilisi, but, as everywhere they are highly overpriced.

The road is OK up to Sagarejo, where you can see a big signpost. There turn right. On the following cca 10 km, the road is getting worse and worse. The first half is tar, but after the villages there is only a dirt road in various condition. We rented a Pajero so it meant no difficulties for us, and we have seen Russian tourists with a Lada Samara - so an urban car can do it. The landscape is astonishing - the barren semidesert of Southern Goergia, dotted with cows and sheep, witnesses of the unchanged ways of Caucasian animal husbandry in the last five thousand years.

Davitgareja is the end of the road. It is a real hermitage, where almost no influence of the outside secular world disturbs the contemplation. There is no entrance fee, and one of the monks, who speaks Russian sold us a guidebook in Russian and English. We …