David Gareja Day Trip

David Gareja Day Trip

David Gareja is a rock-hewn Georgian Orthodox monastery complex located in the Kakheti region, on the half-desert slopes of Mount Gareja, some 60–70 km southeast of Georgia's capital Tbilisi. The complex includes hundreds of cells, churches, chapels, refectories and living quarters hollowed out of the rock face.

Part of the complex is located in the Agstafa rayon of Azerbaijan and has become subject to a border dispute between Georgia and Azerbaijan.The area is also home to protected animal species and evidence of some of the oldest human habitations in the region.

This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund

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This tour/activity will have a minimum of 3 travelers

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Ninotsminda cathedral, Ninotsminda, Georgia

Though the cathedral itself (AD 575) is largely in ruins, this is a profoundly impressive site, with extremely well preserved defensive walls surrounding the complex and a belltower that reveals a decidedly Safavid-Persian influence.

The walls themselves were built in the 16th-17th centuries to protect the villagers from the continual Persian incursions. The protruding towers that flank the southern entrance add to the site's powerful effect on the imagination.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: David Gareja Monastery, Mount Gareja, Udabno Georgia

The complex was founded in the 6th century by David (St. David Garejeli), one of the thirteen Assyrian monks who arrived in the country at the same time. His disciples Dodo and Luciane expanded the original lavra and founded two other monasteries known as Dodo's Rka (literally, "the horn of Dodo") and Natlismtsemeli ("the Baptist"). The monastery saw further development under the guidance of the 9th-century Georgian saint Ilarion. The convent was particularly patronized by the Georgian royal and noble families. The 12th-century Georgian king Demetre I, the author of the famous Georgian hymn Thou Art a Vineyard, even chose David Gareja as a place of his confinement after he abdicated the throne.

Duration: 4 hours