It was a dream come true when we spent our 9-day vacation in Georgia. The picturesque views, luscious valleys, stunning landscapes, idyllic countrysides, it's a must-visit place for everyone.
Georgia, a country at the intersection of Europe and Asia, sharing borders with Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and Black sea in the West.
We took a flight on Thursday evening at 7:10 PM and arrived at the Tbilisi airport by 10.40 PM, merely a 3 hour 30 minutes flight. Immigration staffs looked so serious, however, everything went smooth. We booked a hotel room in advance, and hence checked in without any hassle.
We woke up the morning and enjoyed the beauty of Tbilisi city from the balcony while sipping our morning coffee. Our plan was to roam around the city for two days and see all the points of attractions.
Our list for Tbilisi was,
Bridge of Peace
Rike park
The Clock Tower
Tbilisi Funicular railway
Mtatsminda park
Narikala Fortress
Botanical garden
Mother of Georgia ( Kartlis Deda )
Sulphur bath
Chronicles of Georgia
Tbilisi Sea
Firstly, we decided to cover the central attractions of the city, Bridge of peace and Rike park.
On the way, we visited Metekhi St. Virgin Church and the Statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali facing the Mtkvari River ( Kura river).
1. Bridge of Peace
Entrance: Free
The bridge of peace is a glass bridge with modern architecture that connects the Rike park to the other part of the town. It's a unique bridge symbolizes the belief and wish for peace between Georgia and Russia. It offers a breathtaking view of the city and the Mtkvari River.
Boat/Cruise agents are available all around the place who may approach you for a spectacular ride through the Mtkvari river. Boat trip covers some of the most popular tourist attractions, including old town surroundings, Metekhi church, traditional architecture houses, sulphur bath district, Rike park, Peace bridge, House of Justice, Gorgasali statue and many more depending on the price range.
2. Rike Park
Entrance: Free
Rike park lies next to the Mtkvari river and Bridge of peace, where you can relax with the family, enjoy food and drinks. The main attraction in the park is the cable car towards the Mother of Georgia statue. The cost for a drive is relatively cheap: 2GEL ($0.89/ EUR 0.83) for a single ride - you should have to buy a Tbilisi Metro Card before you can use this cable car. It's not a problem to get one on-site at the cable car station. However, there was a long queue in front of the station and hence we chose to walk up the hill.
Another structure in the park was a new theater that was not opened to the public.
3. The Clock Tower (Leaning tower of Tbilisi)
Price: 10-30 GEL (depending on show)
Next in our list was The clock tower (Leaning tower of Tbilisi). It's almost 400 m from the Bridge of peace. There is a small puppet theater inside the tower and twice a day you can see a show called " The circle of Life".
4. Tbilisi Funicular Railway
Price: 2.5 GEL ( one-way)
After having a quick lunch in the afternoon, we planned to visit Tbilisi Funicular railway.
We never expected that its gonna be that fun, but the ride was outstanding.
It is one of the steepest railways in the world and we could enjoy the breathtaking view of Tbilisi and the pine trees all around and it took us to the Mtatsminda Park on the top of the hill.
Probably, you have to wait in the queue for 10-15 min before you can actually start the ride.
5. Mtatsminda Park
Entrance: Free
Park has a lot to offer. Some of them are refreshments, entertainment, roller coaster rides, wedding hall, restaurants, and a giant wheel located at the highest point of Tbilisi.
We spend around 2 hours walking in the park. You can enjoy the stunning view of Tbilisi city from the top. Even though it was a bit windier that day, we really enjoyed and had a wonderful time.
6. Narikala Fortress
Entrance: Free
It is an ancient fortress overlooking the Tbilisi, on a steep hill between the Sulphur baths and the botanical gardens. It is an ancient symbol of Tbilisi's defense. The structure was
established in the 4th century, with the name "Shuris-tsikhe". It was renovated in 1996. It offers you some of the best panoramas of the city.
7. Botanical garden
Entrance: 2 GEL
It lies on the southern foothills of the Sololaki Range, which occupies an area of 161 hectares.
It is located next to the Narikala fortress and behind the Mother of Georgia Statue. It is an ideal place for rest and relaxation which has a variety of flora, including an array of roses, a collection of lilac and conifers. It has a beautiful waterfall and an arched bridge over the waterfall.
8. Mother of Georgia Statue ( Kartlis Deda )
Entrance: Free
The statue was put up on the top of Sololaki hill in 1958 while celebrating Tbilisi's 1500th anniversary. It is a 20-meter aluminium figure of women in Georgian costume with a bowl of wine in the left hand to greet those who come as friends, and a sword in her right hand for those who come as enemies. It's walking distance from Narikala.
9. Sulphur Bath
Price: (60 GEL - 120+ GEL )
The city of Tbilisi is built on hot water. The name is derived from the Old Georgian word ‘Tbili’ means ‘warm’. Legend has it the city was founded by King Vakhtang Gorgasali, the King of Iberia after he went hunting nearby in the heavily wooded region with a falcon. It’s said that the King’s falcon caught a pheasant after which both birds fell into a nearby hot spring and died. Impressed by the warm waters and the potential healing of the hot sulphur springs the King built the capital here and named it Tbilisi.
We chose Gulo's Thermal spa. They offer a range of rooms from 60 GEL on-wards for an hour. We chose a private room for 90 GEL, which was a pretty huge room.The room was split into two sections: a changing room with a leather couch, with marble walls and tiled floors where we prepared for our bath.The second section had a hot sulphur pool, cold water pool, a place for a shower and a toilet. I highly recommend doing this at least once.
10. The Chronicles of Georgia
Entrance: Free
It is a Stonehenge which was created in 1985 but never finished. It's neat the Tbilisi sea.
There are 16 pillars that are between 30-35 meters tall and the top half features kings, queens, and heroes while the bottom part depicts stories from the life of Christ.
How to reach:
Option 1:Take metro from old Tbilisi to Ghrmaghele station and take bus-60 from there.
Option 2: Find a reliable taxi driver. 15 km drive from old Tbilisi.
11. Tbilisi Sea
Entrance: Free
Tbilisi sea or Tbilisi reservoir is an artificial lake. It is located next to the Chronicles of Georgia Stonehenge. It's well known for recreational activities in the summer season.
Finally, we took 2 full days to cover all the above places. Most of them were covered by walking, except the Chronicles of Georgia & Tbilisi Sea.
See you in the next article. Take care.
By - Anju & Sree
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