Things to do in Tbilisi & the Caucasus

Tbilisi grew up in a gorge of the Mtkvari river, and its old town still climbs the hillsides in a jumble of carved wooden balconies, churches and domed sulphur baths beneath Narikala fortress. The city is famous for its food and wine, from cheese-filled khachapuri to wines aged in clay qvevri.

The Greater Caucasus rises only a few hours away. The Georgian Military Road heads north past Ananuri fortress and the ski slopes of Gudauri to Stepantsminda, where Gergeti Trinity Church stands below the glaciers of Mount Kazbek. In the north-west, the remote valleys of Svaneti, reached from Kutaisi, are known for their medieval stone defence towers.