The FINANCIAL — Kakheti, one of the most colorful regions of eastern Georgia, is attracting thousands of tourists each year who are coming to taste the famous Georgian wine and discover the ancient history of Georgia.
According to official statistics, the number of tourists visiting Kakheti this year has increased by 24 times in comparison to the same period in 2010.
Kakheti is an ideal destination for nature lovers and adventure enthusiasts. As the region is quite big, various tours are available according to the tourist’s preference of the type of tour they want. One of them is a tour in Gremi and Nekresi with wine testing in Kvareli and Gurjaani.
Distance from the capital, Tbilisi, to Telavi Municipality, the administrative center of Kakheti, is 158 km. Gremi and Nekresi are located in the Kvareli Municipality which is 143 km away from Tbilisi.
A Trip to Kvareli from Tbilisi is available by train, bus and mini-bus. The journey takes approximately 2.5 hours. The road is in good condition with all the necessary road signs in both Georgian and English.
The local scenery changes along the route from inhabited villages to vast fields. Vineyards occupy a huge territory of Kakheti as the region is known as the motherland of wine. In the villages tourists can buy home-grown fruit and vegetables and they also can taste churchkhela (walnut roll), Georgia’s national sweet dish.
Entering Kakheti tourists can also enjoy a stunning view on Alazani Valley.
The first stop of this tour is Gremi: a 16th-century architectural monument, the royal citadel and the Church of the Archangels.
Gremi, founded by King Levan of Kakheti, was the capital of the Kingdom of Kakheti in the 16th and 17th centuries. The town is composed of three parts – the Archangels’ Church complex, the royal residence and the commercial neighborhood. But only the church survived from the invasion of the armies of Shah Abbas I of Persia.
The area is currently being renovated as the commercial neighborhood is returning to its initial look. From September there will be the sale of natural products made in the monastery and Georgian traditional souvenirs. There also will be a café, Georgian traditional baths and a wine cellar where any tourist will be able to taste the wine. There are also several subways available for travel for tourists.
In the museum near the church there are several centuries old household appliances, tools, weapons, accessories, etc. kept. The oldest exhibit in the museum is a weapon from 8th century BC.
Guides are available in Georgian, English, Russian and German. The price of a guide service is 10 GEL for the whole Gremi tour.
The next stop, Nekresi, is located several kilometres away from Gremi. The town of Nekresi was founded by King Parnajom on the verge of 2nd and 1st centuries BC. King Trdat built a church in the town, which is now one of the oldest Christian churches in Georgia.
The Nekresi complex is divided into two parts – upper and lower Nekresi. The 1.5 km distance between them is covered by a causeway. Mini-buses are available for 1 GEL but tourists can choose to walk the way.
The monastery has an important value for Orthodox tourists and kept there are the 32 Saint's holy relics including the Apostles Matthew’s and Luke’s holy relics. As well as this, the complex includes the Fire Temple which was constructed in 4th century BC.
Beside the churches the complex contains two wine cellars of the 5th and 9th centuries, the refectory of Nekresi, a store for monastery-made products and church accessories and an information centre.
The guide service has the same price as in Gremi, 10 GEL.
The refectory at Nekresi offers various different menus. The lunch menu charges 8.50 GEL per person. Tourists can taste traditional Georgian food as well as international dishes. Prices are similar to those in Tbilisi’s restaurants. Tourists can also taste monastery-made wine and cognac. They have a musical ensemble at Nekresi showing Georgian traditional dances and singing Georgian folklore.
After Nekresi, tourists can visit the tourism information center in Kvareli where bikes are available for hire. Five different bike tours are available around the town. Bikers are provided with the maps of the tours and the necessary accessories. There are bike signs along the roads to help guide the tourists.
Later tourists can visit the Wine Tunnel which is 7.5 km in length. Here there is permanent temperature of about 14 degrees for the benefit of the grapes. Various wines are kept all along the tunnel and there is also a small ethnologic museum.
Tourists are met at the entrance with samples of sparkling wines. Later in the tunnel they will taste about different 8 types of wines starting from soft white wine and ending with dessert wine. The price of the wine tour in the tunnel depends on the size of group. It is approximately 15-20 GEL per person.
After the wine tunnel, tourists can taste home-made wine in the Wine House at Gurjaani. When in season, guests of the Wine House have the opportunity to participate in the grape harvest, pressing and winemaking, brewing of Georgian vodka, baking Shoti (Georgian national bread) and making Churchkhela. There is a gift shop selling handicrafts as well. The maximum capacity of the Wine House is 12 people per night.
After this tour, the tourists can return to Tbilisi on the same day.
This tour gives a good picture of Kakheti to the visitors. But the region has many more popular destinations including Sighnaghi, Lopota Lake, Lagodekhi and Vashlovani Protected Areas.
Round trip flights to Georgia from Europe cost approximately 500 USD.
Discussion about this post