Mtskheta-Mtianeti
The ancient capital Mtskheta and the Georgian Military Highway to Kazbegi — history and high mountains on one axis.
Click a marker for details. Coloured lines are ready-made road trips.
Mtskheta-Mtianeti starts immediately north of Tbilisi and runs up to the main ridge of the Caucasus. Its southern end is low and historic: Mtskheta, Georgia's first capital, with Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in the middle of town, and above it on a rock spur the Jvari Monastery, looking down on the confluence of the Aragvi and the Mtkvari. Both are UNESCO-listed and both are half an hour from the capital.
North of that begins the Georgian Military Highway, the country's most famous drive. The green water of the Zhinvali Reservoir, the fortified complex of Ananuri on its shore, then a long climb to Gudauri — a ski resort in winter, and in summer the way to the Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument and the Jvari Pass at 2,379 metres. Beyond the watershed lies Kazbegi: the town of Stepantsminda, Gergeti Trinity Church at 2,170 metres against the cone of Mount Kazbek, the Dariali Gorge and the Gveleti waterfalls.
The side valleys are a different world again. Truso opens west of the highway with mineral springs and rust-coloured travertine terraces. In Khevsureti, Shatili is a village built as a single mass of stone towers near the northern border, reached over a high unpaved pass.
Seasonality is sharp. Mtskheta, Ananuri and Zhinvali are open all year; Gudauri runs from December to March for skiing; Truso and Shatili are realistically June to September. Half a day covers Mtskheta, a full day gets you to Kazbegi, and a night in Stepantsminda makes it far better.
Best for
- Half a day in Mtskheta for Svetitskhoveli and Jvari
- A two-day run to Kazbegi with an overnight stop
- Skiing at Gudauri between December and March
- Summer 4x4 trips into Truso and Khevsureti
Driving conditions
The Military Highway (S3) is paved for its whole length, but it is a mountain road and behaves like one. The stretch between Gudauri and Kobi is avalanche-prone, and in heavy snow the police close it for hours or days at a time; winter tyres are required from November to March and chains are worth carrying. Queues of freight lorries heading for the Dariali border crossing are common and make overtaking awkward on the narrow sections.
The last six kilometres up to Gergeti Trinity are steep and badly broken — you need real ground clearance or one of the local jeeps. Truso and Shatili are unpaved and 4x4 only; the Datvisjvari Pass towards Shatili is usually open from June to October. Fill up in Pasanauri or Gudauri. The classic mistake is attempting Kazbegi as a winter day return and crossing the pass in the dark.
In this region — 23 places
Monastery★★★★★5Jvari Monastery
A 6th-century church on a cliff above the meeting of the Aragvi and Mtkvari — the starting point of Georgian architecture.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 27 km · 0:35
- Car needed: Economy class
Monastery★★★★★5Samtavro Monastery
The quieter half of Mtskheta's UNESCO ensemble — a working nunnery holding the graves of Georgia's first Christian king and queen.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 26 km · 0:35
- Car needed: Economy class
Archaeology★★★½☆3.5Armaztsikhe-Bagineti
The excavated acropolis of Iberia's ancient capital, on a terrace above the meeting of the Mtkvari and the Aragvi.
- Time needed: 1.5 h
- From Tbilisi: 30 km · 0:45
- Car needed: Economy class
Monastery★★★★★5Svetitskhoveli Cathedral
The 11th-century cathedral of Mtskheta, said to hold the robe of Christ — the mother church of Georgian Orthodoxy.
- Time needed: 2 h
- From Tbilisi: 25 km · 0:30
- Car needed: Economy class
Monastery★★★½☆3.5Shio-Mgvime Monastery
A 6th-century monastery in a dry limestone canyon, built around the cave where the Assyrian father Shio lived and died.
- Time needed: 1.5 h
- From Tbilisi: 35 km · 0:50
- Car needed: Economy class
Monastery★★★½☆3.5Zedazeni Monastery
A 6th-century monastery on a wooded ridge above Mtskheta, with the Mtkvari and Aragvi valleys spread out below.
- Time needed: 1.5 h
- From Tbilisi: 40 km · 1:00
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Winery★★★★☆4Château Mukhrani
The 19th-century palace and working cellar of the Bagration-Mukhrani princes on the Mukhrani plain west of Mtskheta.
- Time needed: 2 h
- From Tbilisi: 42 km · 0:50
- Car needed: Economy class
Fortress★★★½☆3.5Ananuri Fortress
A 17th-century castle on the shore of the Zhinvali reservoir — the most photogenic stop on the Georgian Military Highway.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 70 km · 1:20
- Car needed: Economy class
Lake★★★★☆4Bazaleti Lake
A small lake near Dusheti that a single poem by Ilia Chavchavadze turned into one of the best-known names in Georgia.
- Time needed: 2 h
- From Tbilisi: 58 km · 1:10
- Car needed: Economy class
Town★★★★☆4Tianeti
A quiet upland basin ringed by pine and beech forest on the upper Iori, a traditional summer refuge for Tbilisi families.
- Time needed: 3 h
- From Tbilisi: 80 km · 1:40
- Car needed: Economy class
Lake★★★½☆3.5Zhinvali Reservoir
A turquoise artificial lake in the Aragvi valley — the first big view on the Georgian Military Highway.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 65 km · 1:15
- Car needed: Economy class
Town★★★½☆3.5Pasanauri and the Aragvi Confluence
A village on the Military Highway where the Black and White Aragvi meet and run side by side without mixing.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 92 km · 1:45
- Car needed: Economy class
Mountain★★★★½4.5Khada Valley
A side gorge of the Aragvi near Kvesheti holding some sixty medieval towers among small, nearly emptied villages.
- Time needed: 3 h
- From Tbilisi: 105 km · 2:15
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Ski area★★★★☆4Gudauri and the Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument
Georgia's main ski resort below the Jvari Pass, with a mosaic-lined monument and an enormous mountain panorama.
- Time needed: 6 h
- From Tbilisi: 120 km · 2:10
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Monastery★★★★☆4Lomisa Church
A small stone church of St George at 2,200 metres above Mleta, one of the most genuinely living shrines in eastern Georgia.
- Time needed: 4 h
- From Tbilisi: 108 km · 2:10
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Mountain★★★★☆4Jvari Pass and the Friendship Monument
The high point of the Military Highway at 2,379 metres, with a 1983 mosaic rotunda hung over a sheer drop.
- Time needed: 1 h
- From Tbilisi: 125 km · 2:20
- Car needed: Economy class
Monastery★★★★★5Gergeti Trinity Church
A 14th-century church at 2,170 m with Mount Kazbek behind it — the single most recognisable view in Georgia.
- Time needed: 3 h
- From Tbilisi: 160 km · 3:10
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Mountain★★★★☆4Sno Valley and Tower
A broad treeless valley south of Kazbegi with a restored medieval tower and a field of carved stone portraits.
- Time needed: 1.5 h
- From Tbilisi: 152 km · 3:00
- Car needed: Economy class
Mountain★★★★★5Juta and the Chaukhi Massif
One of Georgia's highest inhabited villages at 2,150 metres, under the pale rock wall of the Chaukhi ridge.
- Time needed: 6 h
- From Tbilisi: 165 km · 3:45
- Car needed: Off-road 4x4
Waterfall★★★★☆4Dariali Gorge and the Gveleti Waterfalls
The narrowest gorge in the Caucasus, right at the border, with two waterfalls and a short, dramatic trail.
- Time needed: 2 h
- From Tbilisi: 170 km · 3:25
- Car needed: Crossover / SUV
Mountain★★★★½4.5Truso Valley
A wild valley of mineral springs, travertine terraces and abandoned towers south of Kazbegi.
- Time needed: 6 h
- From Tbilisi: 145 km · 3:00
- Car needed: Off-road 4x4
Fortress★★★★☆4Mutso
An abandoned Khevsur fortress village stacked on a rock spur, thirteen kilometres east of Shatili.
- Time needed: 2.5 h
- From Tbilisi: 168 km · 5:00
- Car needed: Off-road 4x4
Fortress★★★★☆4Shatili
A stone fortress-village in Khevsureti on the Chechen border — one of the most striking places in the Caucasus.
- Time needed: 4 h
- From Tbilisi: 155 km · 4:30
- Car needed: Off-road 4x4