In the south of Georgia near the Turkish border lies an ancient town with a difficult name to pronounce: Akhaltsikhe. Moat visitors who come here just pass through in order to visit the nearby cave site, Vardzia. And although Vardzia is pretty cool and definitely worth a visit, the ‘Vardzia only’ people are missing out. After spending two nights in this town, I realized it has a special charm of its own. Now let me explain.

How to Get There

Although this town is now visited much by foreigners, it is actually quite east to get to. Here’s how by public transport.

From Tbilisi: Hourly marshrutkas 8:00AM to 6:00PM. It takes just over 3 hours and costs 10 lari

From Kutaisi: 8:20 and 13:00. It takes 2-3 hours and costs 12 lari.

From Borjomi: Every hour. It takes about 45 minutes and costs 3 lari.

Where to Stay

So I’ve only stayed at one place during my visit, so I technically have nothing to compare it too, but that said, the one place I stay was awesome, therefore, I will go ahead and recommend it. And unlike the town, its name is more simple to remember: My House. Here’s whats great about it and why you should stay there.

First of all, there’s the staff. They are all members of the same family, and each one of them was incredibly welcoming and helpful. At least one of them was around at all times. The youngest daughter had the best level of English, which the older son could speak the language a bit. The father (who often offered complementary drinks) spoke Russian fluently as well. However, even when there was a language barrier with the members who only spoke Georgian, everyone always found a way to make the guests feel right at home. This included everything from giving recommendations of what to do, where to go, and where to eat in town, as well as making a huge breakfast for everyone staying there.

On top of that, my room was really comfortable too. It came at a time for me, when I really needed a rest and some quiet time. I had spent the past month or so in crowded hostel dorm rooms, and was now particularly looking for some quiet rest with my own thoughts (as well as some time to work on this blog). Don’t get me wrong, hostel dorm rooms can be fun and I do like them, but sometimes I need a little break. These rooms, which each have a full sized bed, bathroom, and shower, were exactly what I needed.

And then, there is the final great thing about this place, the price. Turns out, the individual room with breakfast included, just cold 25 lari ($8/7euro) per night. That’s it. No extra cost or charges. And yes, Georgia is overall quite affordable, but this may be the best deal I’ve found so far.

Where to Eat

Just like my ‘Where to Stay’ section, I only ate at one restaurant in Akhaltsikhe. It was the one recommended by my guesthouse host, called Old Rabati. Turns out, it was so good (and reasonably priced) that I returned there my second night rather than look for some place new. The menu was pretty solid, full of traditional Georgian dishes, and despite being in the center of the old town and near the castle, the prices weren’t bad at all. Each meal (with wine) ended up costing me around 15 lari ($5) total. And the quality was great as well. I thoroughly enjoyed everything I ordered and was even given a complementary free drink on the house each time. The first day, they gave me brandy, and the second was wine.

Bottom line, if you find yourself in Akhalitskhe, go here for dinner. The food is great, the staff is really friendly, the prices are very reasonable, and you’ll likely get a free drink too.

What to Do

Rabati Fortress: I’ll start with the most obvious thing to do and suggest the big castle on a hill overlooking the city. Since the city is fairly small, the place is pretty easy to get to. Wherever you’re staying, it shouldn’t take you much more than a 20 minute walk to get to.It is up a hill, but it’s Georgia, so everything is up a hill. The entry fee is just 6 lari ($2), and with that, you can wander around the whole place as long as you’d like. Here’s what you’ll find.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect before going. Some old castles in Georgia are fully remolded, while others or more in their original state or in ruin. Well, turns our Rabati is completely refurbished and in pristine condition. Once inside, you can climb up to the walls and towers, as well as walk around the gardens and admire the architecture. There’s even a Georgian Orthodox church (which was actually having a wedding at the time of my visit) and a mosque from the Turkish occupation time both inside. On top of that, there were so many interesting little rooms and walkways tucked away from the large open spaces. Unfortunately, modern consumerism did creep in a little, as there were a tourist shop and two modern restaurants. Overall though, it was pretty awesome and absolutely worth a visit.

Explore the Hills

While there, I noticed the town was in a valley, surrounded by foothills and ultimately mountains. This alerted my nature desires, and sent me on a walk… a very long walk. I ended up spending roughly 6-7 hours walking along a road, and later a dirt path up into the hills. Along the way, I passed several farms, villages, old churches, cows (of course) and saw some incredible views. Best of all though, this whole pathway was silent. I saw no other hikers, maybe just two or three farmers, and less that 5 cars passed while I was on the road section. I would have gone even longer, but foolishly I didn’t pack food, and 6-7 hours of hiking can really work up an appetite.

Also, just to mention, I took a direction at random and followed it. There were a few other ways I could have gone, which likely would have been incredible too. One even leads to a very old monastery, called Sapara. So, if you are in the mood for exploring, you have plenty of options. Had I stayed there longer, I absolutely would have seen what the others were like.

Walk Along the River and Enjoy the Quiet

Like most towns in Georgia, there’s a little river running through this valley town. It’s really pleasant, and there isn’t much development around it, so if you’ve been in a city for a while, as I had been, go take a walk along the dirt road/trail that goes alongside and enjoy the flow and lack of surrounding noise. Also, the views (which include the castle from below) are really nice as well. So yeah, this is just a simple one, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Extra

This part is simple: go visit the cave city Vardzia. For this you can either take a marshrutka for 5 lari each way per person (10 total) or hire a taxi wich will be 100 lari for the whole day. The marshrutkas leave at 10:30, 12:00, 13:00, and 15:00.