Sapara Monastery

Sapara stands southeast of Akhaltsikhe at the end of a tight valley, built onto a terrace in the cliff face. The location was chosen so that the monastery is almost invisible from below — the name itself means hidden. That concealment is largely why it survived while other monasteries of Meskheti were destroyed.

A community existed here by the 9th or 10th century, but Sapara flourished under the Jaqeli princes. At the end of the 13th century Beka Jaqeli built the main church of St Saba, which remains the centre of the complex. Its walls carry painting from the same period, one of the significant surviving examples of medieval Georgian wall art.

Altogether the site holds around a dozen churches and chapels, a bell tower, monastic quarters and partly preserved defensive walls. It is an active monastery with a permanent community of monks.

Worth focusing on:

• the frescoes of St Saba's church and the painted sanctuary
• the view down the valley from the edge of the terrace
• the quiet, which unlike at Vardzia is genuine — coaches rarely make the climb

Sapara is only half an hour from Akhaltsikhe and pairs naturally with a visit to Rabati Castle on the same day.