Mtskheta is recognised as the centre of Georgian Orthodoxy, and a holy city (just like Vagharshapat is a holy city of the Armenian Apostolic Church). Mtskheta also used to be the capital city before Tbilisi, so because of this, you’ll find several UNESCO listed monasteries and churches all within walking distance of each other (except one), as well as cobbled streets lined with traditional buildings. Georgia doesn’t really have what we would recognise as an ‘old town’, but Mtskheta is the closest we found.

It’s only a half hour journey from Tbilisi, so it works out as a great half-day trip that you can do independently.

This travel guide will help you out with all the things to do in Mtskheta, where to eat, and how to get there without a tour.

History of Mtskheta

Mtskheta was the capital city of the Kingdom of Georgia from 3rd century BC to 5th century AD. It was the location where Georgia was declared a Christian state back in 326 AD, and you can even see the tombs of the first king and queen of Christian Georgia in one of the UNESCO churches here! The capital city was then switched to Tbilisi, and Mtskheta’s importance began to decline.

Getting to and from Mtskheta

From Tbilisi

Marshrutkas leave Tbilisi regularly from Didube bus station. Didube is hard work; it is manic. You can easily reach Didube bus station by metro, then walk through the market and brace yourself. Ask anyone how to get to Mtskheta (მცხეთა), and they will point you in the right direction. The marshrutka should have a sign in the windscreen with the Georgian and English translation. It’s about a thirty minute journey so it will only cost a few GEL. 

To get back to Tbilisi, hang around at the bus stop just outside the museum, or just flag down any marshrutka with Tbilisi written in the window. Pay the driver in cash.

From Borjomi

Marshrutkas leave Borjomi to head back to Tbilisi hourly (ish). Head down to the bus station and find a marshrutka marked with a Tbilisi sign, but tell the driver you want to jump out at Mtskheta. Buy your ticket from the desk in cash before you get on the marshrutka. We paid 12 GEL for the ninety minute journey. The driver will drop you at the side of the motorway, at a set of stairs. The stairs will lead you to another road where a couple of marshrutka will likely be parked up. Pay the driver 1 GEL, and he will drop you into the centre of the city, near the museum.

Top Spots to Visit in Mtskheta

Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

Svetitskhoveli literally means life-giving pillar/column. It is believed that a Georgian who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus, brought Jesus’ robe to Mtskheta. His sister held the robe and died. She was buried with the robe, and from her grave began to grow a tree.

The original structure built on this site was a wooden church completed in the 4th century AD, but the current cathedral was built between 1010 and 1029. It is decorated inside with beautiful and intricate paintings (mostly from the 17th century), and has carvings and niches on the outside. Some Georgian kings have been buried inside the cathedral.

Make sure you have a wander around the grounds as well as inside. See the 18th century defensive wall, and some small characterful doors.

Museum of Mtskheta

Now, we didn’t actually go into the museum, but the mosaic above the entrance is reason enough to stop by. It looks to me as though it depicts the story of the tree of Svetitskhoveli cathedral mentioned above. Grapes, qvevri (clay wine-making vessels) and pomegranates are also shown. It is particularly colourful and striking.

Samtavro Convent

Samtavro Convent was originally built in the 4th century but reconstructed in the 11th century. The complex consists of the main church, a nunnery and a small chapel. Inside the church, you’ll see the intricately decorated tombs of King Mirian and Queen Nana – the Georgian monarchs who first declared the country to be Christian back in 326 AD. Take a look inside the very small chapel outside for some really old and intricate artwork from floor to ceiling.

Bebrist Sikhe Fortress Ruins

Understood to be built in the early medieval ages, the ruins of Bebrist Sikhe have largely fallen into disrepair. There are warning signs around as the crumbling structure is not maintained and there are some sheer drops once you walk up to the top. You’ll get some great views over Mtskheta.

Mtskheta Antioch

This looked great from the outside, but every time we tried to get in, the door was locked. If you have visited, please let us know what it’s like!

Explore Mtskheta Old Town

The old part of Mtskheta really feels like what I recognise as an ‘old town’: cobbled streets, traditional buildings, you’ll also find some souvenir stands near the churches. If you see our new mate, Mr Chunk, say hi from us. He’s the loveliest and chunkiest wee fella.

Jvari Monastery

We didn’t head up here because the weather was pretty grey when we visited Mtskheta. One of the biggest reasons to visit Jvari monastery is for the view. It is situated on top of a hill overlooking Mtskheta and the river, and you’d have to get a taxi out of town. If you have good weather, I’d definitely recommend going up to visit! If not, you can still catch a glimpse of it from down in Mtskheta.

Best Places to Eat in Mtskheta

Mtskheta is pretty small, but there are a few places that I would recommend for a tasty and inexpensive meal.

Check In

A pretty restaurant with seating outside by the river. We tried the vegan mushroom soup and the aubergine and walnut rolls. All really good.

Old Taverna

This (as the name suggests) has a more traditional feel to it. Quite a small place, Old Taverna serves typical Georgian fare. They serve tasty mushroom khinkali and a great Georgian salad with walnuts. Maybe steer clear of the crem of mushroom soup though.

Cafe Tatin

Cafe Tatin has a really cute and homely feel. They do serve food, but we only stopped for a Turkish coffee.

Or if you fancy getting some food back in Tbilisi, take a look at this restaurant guide.

If you want to find out more about traditionally vegetarian Georgian food options, take a look at this post.

Where to Stay in Tbilisi

We stayed at Magnolia, which is a lovely hotel with beautiful rooms with big windows, so that you can catch the stunning sunrise each morning! They serve a buffet breakfast, and have a roof terrace too.

Looking to get well off the beaten path in Georgia? Having spent six months exploring as much of Georgia as we possibly could, Pankisi Valley undeniably sits as one of our favourite spots. Tucked up in the northeast, Pankisi almost feels like you’ve stepped into another country. The language is different, the culture is different, the local dress is different. This fascinating little corner of Georgia is easily accessible from Tbilisi making it a great addition to any visit to the capital city, and there will be no other tourists there!

Get off the beaten path in Georgia, step away from the busy cities, and experience the unique culture, nature and warm hospitality of beautiful Pankisi Valley.

Here’s everything you need to know in this guide.

How to Reach Pankisi from Tbilisi and Telavi

There are two marshrutkas leaving Tbilisi each day from Ortachala bus station: one at 07:30 and another at 14:30. It also stops at Isani bus stop which is near the metro station, however, if you have large luggage, I would recommend going down the hill to Ortachala bus station instead as it will give you time to get it all stowed before other passengers. The journey took about 3.5 hours and cost us 15 GEL (though prices are likely to have increased slightly).

The marshrutka will also stop at Telavi on the way. So, if you find yourself in Telavi, you’ll be able to either jump on this marshrutka as it comes through, or find marshrutkas heading just from Telavi. It takes about 2.5 hours to reach Telavi from Tbilisi.

How to Reach Tbilisi from Pankisi

Pankisi Valley is a long road running through different villages, and the marshrutka travels the length of it. It leaves at about midday every day and stops along the road at several stops. In Duisi, where we were waiting, the marshrutka came by at 12:20.

The day before you travel, ask your accommodation host to call the driver so that they know that you want to get the marshrutka. Everyone has the guy’s number!

Why is the culture in Pankisi so different to the rest of Georgia?

The people living in Pankisi Valley today are Kists. They are the descendants of refugees who fled from Chechnya in Russia across the border into Georgia during the Chechen Wars of the 1800s.

Why is there such little tourism in Pankisi Valley?

Pankisi Valley is still suffering from the fall out of the ‘Pankisi Crisis’. This was a period of time in the early 2000s where the valley was reportedly a hotbed for foreign extremists during the Second Chechen War. When we told other Georgians that we were travelling to Pankisi, you could see the concern in their faces. Yes, Pankisi Valley was definitely not somewhere you should have visited during the early 2000s, but twenty years on, the valley is open to tourism.

Is it safe?

I felt 100% safe and comfortable everywhere in Pankisi Valley. We met some Chechens who had come over from Russia to visit family in Pankisi, and they were shocked to see us. They asked if we felt safe too (it was obvious that they were used to this negative stereotype).

The owner of our guesthouse was warm and welcoming. The kids on the street all wanted to talk to us and practise their English. The women at the bakery refused point blank to let us pay for the bread we wanted. An old man invited us into his house for coffee and biscuits, and wouldn’t let us leave without taking two huge jars of homemade kompot. People in cars stopped for us to ask if we needed lifts. I can tell you that there aren’t many places that we have travelled where I have felt more welcome and safe than here.

Why Should I Visit Pankisi?

Pankisi Valley is still recovering from its history and bad reputation, so any tourism makes a huge impact to the local people. Pankisi has beautiful scenery and walking opportunities, cute villages, tasty cuisine, friendly locals, its own brewery, and it’s only a three and a half hour marshrutka journey from Tbilisi.

How Should I Dress in Pankisi?

As Pankisi is majority Muslim, there is a noticeably different dress in this region compared to the rest of Georgia. You’ll see women with heads, arms and legs covered. I did make sure that I had more conservative clothing on – tshirts instead of vest tops, trousers instead of shorts etc., but no head covering.

Things to Do in Pankisi

Pankisi Valley is pretty remote and doesn’t have loads of big ticket attractions, but these are our recommendations for things to do.

Visit the Kist Beer brewery

Yep, there’s a brewery in a Muslim-majority, dry region, but it makes non-alcoholic beer. As someone who really does not get on with the hoppy taste of beer, this was amazing. So tasty and fresh and we drank loads of it. The brewery is very small, but you can pop in and ask for a tiny tour, a taste, and to buy some beer fresh from the tap. 

Made from rosehip and black hawthorn, this is a must-try! (It even made it on to our list of top Georgian drinks you have to try.)

Wander the villages of Pankisi Valley finding these points of interest:

• Duisi Mosque and its unique minaret
• The Amphitheatre of Dedisperuli
• Jokolo’s traditional cemeteries
• St. George’s Church
• Vainakh Tower
• Nazy’s Guesthouse in Jokolo arranges walking tours, hikes, cooking classes, and many other activities, so if you’re looking for something more active, she will be able to sort it for you.

Facilities in Pankisi

Duisi has the one and only restaurant in the whole valley (called Inside), an ATM, a few grocery shops, and a bakery. The other villages within the valley have less/no facilities and services.

Where to Stay in Pankisi

We stayed at Melissa Guesthouse and absolutely loved it. The rooms are huge, warm and comfortable. There is a communal kitchen and a large garden area filled with vegetables, fruit and flowers. Khatuna, who runs the guesthouse, is friendly and helpful, and a really good cook. Do not miss her breakfast!

This is the question that I asked myself before planning our trip to Gori. Is it right to go to the Stalin museum? The controversial museum that paints the life of Stalin in pink and conveniently scoots over his huge portfolio of atrocities? Even the little logo for the museum website is a friendly-looking cartoon of Stalin. Here’s everything you need to know to come to your own conclusion.

What is in the museum?

The Stalin museum is in a very grand stone building that is completely out of keeping with the rest of the buildings in Gori. The entrance hall is large and open with marble pillars leading the way up to a set of red-carpeted stairs with a huge statue of Stalin at the top.

It’s all a bit dramatic.

The portion of the museum inside the building consists of photos, paintings, maps and artefacts depicting the sugar-coated version of Stalin’s life. There is then a room full of extravagant gifts that world leaders had presented to Stalin, and la pièce de résistance: the death mask. In the centre of a darkened, empty room, and surrounded by white pillars, is a mask of Stalin’s face. This is a shrine, no doubt about it.

Downstairs, is a small and newly added room with photos and info on the Russian occupation in 2008. To me, this felt as though it was added as a middle finger up to the museum’s critics. The museum might not be reflecting a full picture of Stalin but they do have a small section about the most recent Russian occupation. It just doesn’t fit; and there isn’t much info.

Outside is the building where Stalin was born, and his private train carriage; both of which you can enter as part of your museum ticket.

Why is it so controversial?

The museum was built in 1957 (soon after Stalin’s death in 1953), and it feels like the exhibits have stayed the same since the point where Gori was feeling nostalgic for beloved ‘Uncle Joe’. While the rest of the country was going through a period of de-Stalinisation, Gori was erecting a shrine. 

We took the guided tour and there was not a single mention of anything negative.

Now, we all know that there is a hell of a lot of negative to say about this guy, but this museum doesn’t feel the need to give any info. No gulags, no enforced collectivisation, no Holodomor.

As far as the museum is concerned, Stalin was the great leader of the Soviet Union and therefore got Georgia and Gori recognised. He was so great, that leaders from around the world gave him loads of over-the-top gifts: look, we have a whole a room of these gifts to prove it to you. 

The Stalin museum feels like classic Soviet propaganda.

What is the feeling towards Stalin in Gori today?

There seems to be some nostalgia in regards to Stalin, while many others see him for the pain that he caused. It is a hugely divisive issue in Gori.

Our tour guide told us about her advocating to change place names in the city such as Stalin Park, Stalin Avenue etc. However, these suggestions were met with pushback. Others argue that Stalin is what is keeping Gori on the tourist map, and that Stalin Avenue, Stalin Park and the controversy surrounding them, helps to bring in this dark tourism. 

There are so many other reasons to visit Gori. Read all about it here.

How much does entry cost?

A ticket costs 15 GEL. This includes a guided tour of the museum in the building, as well as Stalin’s train carriage and house outside. You can pay by card or cash.

Do I need a guide in the museum?

Yes.

And the guide is included in your ticket price, so you should definitely take the tour. It’s not a great tour, but there is little to no information in English in the museum if you were to go around by yourself.

Our tour guide sounded as though she had recorded herself giving the whole spiel, and had just hit ‘play’. So, don’t expect to receive huge insight into the life of Stalin from your guide, but you’ll be learning more than if you had to go and decipher the Georgian info yourself.

We visited in the off-season in Jan, and when we arrived and bought our tickets, we were told that we would have to pay 20 GEL for a guide because we were just two people, and no one else was visiting.

We said ‘no, ta. We’ll wait’. So we waited for maybe thirty minutes. No one else turned up, but they caved and gave us a guided tour anyway. The ticket desk shows that the guided tour is included, so stand your ground if this happens to you too!

How do I get there?

Gori is an easy journey from Tbilisi taking just over an hour whether you travel by train or marshrutka.

We took the 08:50 from Tbilisi Central Station and arrived into Gori just after the 10:00. The ticket price was 8 GEL (+1 GEL online booking fee if you book through TKT.ge). Once you get off the train, walk across the abandoned tracks and head over the bridge into town.

Regular marshrutkas also head to Gori each day. Get to Didube bus station (brace yourself, it’s manic) which is easily accessible by metro, and ask for Gori. Someone will point you to the right van. Pay on the bus in cash. It will likely be around the same price as the train (between 5 and 10 GEL).

Gori bus station is in the north of the city and is a good 30 minute walk into the centre. Local buses will take you into the centre; just ask around at the bus station.

Find everything you need ot know about marshrutka travel in Georgia in this guide.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, it is worth visiting IF you recognise that you need to take everything you learn inside with a pinch of salt. The museum itself isn’t so interesting that I would recommend making a special trip out here. However, if you are planning on visiting Gori (which I thoroughly recommend for anyone interested in historical cities and street photography), it’s a no-brainer.