Anatori Crypts
Medieval burial vaults near Shatili where plague victims walked in to die — the most haunting monument of the Argun gorge.
- Time needed
- 0.5 h
- From Tbilisi
- 155 km · 5:00
- Road
- Unpaved sections
- Car needed
- Crossover / SUV
- Season
- June–September
- Entry
- free
Anatori is the place where people walked to their own deaths. According to local tradition, when plague swept into Khevsureti, the infected villagers of Anatori left their homes to save their families, climbed into the crypts and lay down on stone shelves beside those already dead, waiting for the end. It is perhaps the most radical form of quarantine humanity has ever devised.
The site stands about three kilometres beyond Shatili in the Argun gorge, close to the Chechen border, where the road forks towards Mutso. The complex consists of several rectangular vaults built of slate:
- Burial chambers with small window openings you can look through
- Stone shelves where the dying lay down
- Human bones and skulls, still plainly visible today
Steel grates were fitted over the openings after cases of bone theft were reported. For Khevsur tradition, which blends pagan and Christian custom, the site remains sacred ground — treat it with quiet respect. In winter the road over the pass is closed; the realistic season runs from June to October.
Practical advice
Entering the vaults or touching the bones is strictly out of bounds — this is a cemetery and a sacred place for locals. Twenty to thirty minutes is enough; pair it with Shatili. This is a border zone, so carry your passport — border police sometimes check documents. There is no cafe or toilet here; the nearest are in Shatili. Drone flying is restricted this close to the border.
How to get there from Tbilisi
From Tbilisi via Zhinvali, Barisakho and the Datvisjvari Pass (2,676 m) to Shatili — roughly 150 km and five hours, the last 50 km on mountain gravel. From Shatili it is another 3 km along the Mutso road to Anatori. There are no petrol stations after Barisakho, so set out with a full tank. A high-clearance SUV is the minimum; the road is open only from about June to October. Doing it as a same-day return is punishing — overnight in Shatili instead.
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Nearby places
Shatili
A stone fortress-village in Khevsureti on the Chechen border — one of the most striking places in the Caucasus.
Mutso
An abandoned Khevsur fortress village stacked on a rock spur, thirteen kilometres east of Shatili.
Datvisjvari Pass
The 2,676 m pass on the Shatili road — the gateway to Khevsureti and one of Georgia's most dramatic mountain drives.
Best car for this trip
Unpaved sections
Guides
- Do You Need a 4x4 in Georgia? We rate the road surface and the minimum car class for all 267 places in our database. 227 of them need nothin
- Winter Driving in Georgia: What Closes, What Opens, Which Car Of the 267 places we map, 161 are in season in winter and 52 are flagged as not reachable year-round. The pass
Pickup locations
Car Rental at Tbilisi Airport — 113 km (straight line)
Booking and enquiries
The easiest way to reach these places is by car — you pick the route and the stops.