Fast Facts:
- Country: Georgia
- Capital: Tbilisi
- Location: Georgia is a country in Eastern Europe. Set on the coast of the Black Sea, it lies to the south of Russia, and to the north of Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
- Language: Georgian
- Currency: Georgian Lari (GEL)
For this trip:
- Month of Travel: February
- Weather: Went as low as -1 deg C
- What to Wear: Make sure to pack snow-friendly footwear and add lots of warmers and layers to your outfit. Wearing thick winter socks, scarves and bonnets we found were a must while earmuffs would be good for extra protection. Touchscreen winter gloves were quite useful especially when you rely on your phone a lot for documentation.
This was it! We were never allowed to travel before getting married, so this really was our first trip as a couple. We spent four days in Georgia Winter Wonderland and here we listed down Our Favorite Parts of our Trip.
- Up the snowy mountains
This is easily the highlight of our trip. We drove to Gudauri ski resort, which was 120km from Tbilisi.
On our way, we passed by Jinvali Lake, one of the main sources of water in Tbilisi.
We also visited the Ananuri Fortress, which was the seat of the Aragvi Eristavi – Dukes dynasty since the 13th century and was the scene of numerous battles.
Within the complex, we saw two churches – the Church of the Virgin and the Church of the Assumption.
We continued the drive and the view started to get more and more picturesque.
Ta-dah! After a quick lunch at a nearby hotel, we have arrived! We rode a gondola lift and then a chairlift to reach this spot.
But as you can see, this still wasn’t the highest point. You can still go further!
Before getting here, we were given an option to do paragliding but this would take up most of our time in the resort. We decided to do other activities like driving a snow mobile…
And learning how to ski!
It was cold but not chilly. We were lucky there was enough sun that day and activities to keep us warm.
- A glimpse of ancient Georgia
We took a tour of Mtskheta, the old capital of Georgia and Uplistikhe, an ancient cave town that represents various structures dating from the 12th century BC to the 17th century AD.
Before you head to Mtskheta, drop by Jvari Monastery, a 6th century Georgian Orthodox monastery which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It overlooks Mtskheta, formerly known as the Kingdom of Iberia (or Kartli), a significant monarchy in the Caucus. It is believed that this is where St. Nino, a female evangelist, successfully converted King Mirian III to Christianity, which was then declared as the state religion of the kingdom.
After this, we headed to Svetiskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, another World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO, and the second largest church building in Georgia.
This place is known as the burial site of Christ’s robe, which is said to have been worn by Jesus during or shortly before his crucifixion.
We continued the drive to Uplistikhe, one of the oldest urban settlements in Georgia, and a major political and religious center of the country. It lost its position to Mtskheta and later Tbilisi with the rise of Christianity in the 4th century; re-emerged later on as a principal stronghold during the Muslim conquest in the 8th and 9th century; and finally was abandoned completely in the 14th century with the Mongol raids.
The eight-hectare complex was divided into three parts – (1) North, with a Christian basilica at the summit;
(2) Middle with the bulk of the rock-cut structures featuring more intricate caves designed for their queens; and
(3) South connected to the Middle via a narrow rock-cut pass and a tunnel that led to the streets.
- Capital Highlights
Tbilisi has a beautiful and rich combination of history, modern infrastructures and natural beauty preserved from when it was founded around the 4th and 5th century.
From here we rode a cable car to Narikala Fortress (seen on top of the mountain), which was regarded earlier as the most fortified structure in Tbilisi. It was destroyed by an earthquake and since then, has not been restored completely.
Behind us are Sulfur Baths. We skipped this part but reviews like this one from Vogue say it’s great for the skin so must be worth a try.
Cross the Bridge of Peace, a bow-shaped pedestrian glass and steel bridge connecting the Old Tbilisi with the new district.
Visit the Holy Trinity Cathedral, one of the largest religious buildings in the world by total area. This is also the main Cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church, whose faithful make up over 80% of the country’s population.
Check out the Georgian National Opera Theater.
See Freedom Square, which was named in 1918 during the foundation of the First Georgian Republic after the fall of the Russian Empire.
Other Things To Do
If you have an extra day or two, you may also consider the following.
Discover Georgian wine making in Khaketi. During this tour, they can also take you to Sighnaghi, the City of Love, but we weren’t able to see a lot of it that day due to heavy snowfall and poor visibility.
Visit an art gallery. You can choose from here.
And of course, eat Georgian food! We’ll be honest; although there were standout dishes, we did not enjoy the others too much. We may be too used to the Middle Eastern, South and Southeast Asian strong flavors, hence we found some dishes bland. However, we encourage you to explore and definitely try the following!
Khachapuri – Georgian cheese filled bread that comes in multiple versions. Some have eggs, meat or different types of vegetables in them.
Ojakhuri – A pork dish with fried potatoes, onions and herbs. We had this several times but just noticed that this one didn’t have the potatoes. Lol!
Dinner with our new friends! See the Khinkali on the table. They are Georgian dumplings, but are not to be eaten like the Chinese dumplings you know. See here for instructions.
On our first travel together, everything seemed magical… even if it was too snowy to climb up to Kazbegi, which we imagine would be captivating in autumn and spring, or even when our feet felt like they were freezing to death… we had happy hearts throughout our stay. This is indeed a new chapter of rediscovering each other and broadening our horizons. We’re grateful our first stop was Georgia. Apart from their gorgeous country, the people, who were so warm and welcoming, made this trip extra memorable and us extra excited to explore more of this big and beautiful world.