{"id":227,"date":"2020-08-27T10:08:47","date_gmt":"2020-08-27T10:08:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/staging\/?destination=vardzia-monastery-caves"},"modified":"2024-06-06T01:37:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T17:37:46","slug":"vardzia-monastery-caves","status":"publish","type":"destination","link":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/destination\/vardzia-monastery-caves\/","title":{"rendered":"Vardzia Monastery Caves"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/api.mapbox.com\/styles\/v1\/visitsilkroad\/clvl3cel701dq01phev10aq9m\/static\/pin-s+ff0000(43.2842442,41.3811879)\/43.2842442,41.3811879,12.5,0\/725x300?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoidmlzaXRzaWxrcm9hZCIsImEiOiJjbHV2YWEzbDMwMWRvMmpvYXd1NzRkNDcwIn0.iA4-BEz1MfIrSQRk3uxVkw\">\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Getting There<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The 200km from Tbilisi can be travelled by private car, in a taxi, or by minibus via a transfer in the town of Akhaltsikhe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to Expect<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>With over 240 accessible rooms, Vardzia cave monastery stretches along the cliff above the Kura river for some 500 metres.\u00a0Explore the remains of several chapels, wine cellars with buried amphora, a pharmacy, a still-dripping, curative natural spring pool, and the Church of Dormition, famous for its frescoes. Take a guided or audio tour, or carefully walk and climb through the caves yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class='pixels-photo'>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/500px.com\/photo\/130799699\/vardzia-monastery...-by-olga-kadler-baltrusaitiene\" alt=\"Vardzia monastery... by Olga Kadler-Baltrusaitiene on 500px.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n  <img src='https:\/\/drscdn.500px.org\/photo\/130799699\/m%3D900\/v2?sig=680053ccd323dbf3f6074245fef779076a35f490c390c37d00b2a999229b76df' alt='Vardzia monastery... by Olga Kadler-Baltrusaitiene on 500px.com' \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<script type='text\/javascript' src='https:\/\/500px.com\/embed.js'><\/script>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">History<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>While the Vardzia cave complex dates back to the 12th century, excavations have found evidence of Bronze Age civilisation in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class='pixels-photo'>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/500px.com\/photo\/181281721\/inside-vardzia-by-tomas-havrila\" alt=\"Inside Vardzia by Tom\u00e1\u0161 Havrila on 500px.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n  <img src='https:\/\/drscdn.500px.org\/photo\/181281721\/m%3D900\/v2?sig=d537cd42da6a02c7ec251ff55fd4a4262c87eb8734c6a96eb4a35660aaa2f795' alt='Inside Vardzia by Tom\u00e1\u0161 Havrila on 500px.com' \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<script type='text\/javascript' src='https:\/\/500px.com\/embed.js'><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Golden Age (1100s) under Queen Tamar, the Church of the&nbsp;Dormition was built and decorated. Vardzia was abandoned after the&nbsp;16th century Ottoman takeover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Facilities Available<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Entrance fee: 15 GEL<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>English-speaking guide: 45 GEL<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Audioguide rental: 15 GEL<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Transport up to the first cave: 2 GEL<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Restaurant and hotel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vardzia is a 12th century cave monastery, located four hours by car from Tbilisi in the region of Samtskhe-Javakheti. On the prospective list for UNESCO\u2019s World Culture Heritage, Vardzia is a spectacular site of open caves that are free to explore. The caves offer incredible views, while the nearby restaurant, situated by the river, gives a chance to taste the cuisine of Samtskhe-Javakheti.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4420,"parent":0,"template":"","destination_type":[17],"location":[20,115],"site_type":[164],"featured":[175],"class_list":["post-227","destination","type-destination","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","destination_type-site","location-georgia","location-samtskhe-javakheti","site_type-archaeological-ancient-monuments","featured-featured"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/destination\/227"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/destination"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/destination"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/destination\/227\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18718,"href":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/destination\/227\/revisions\/18718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"destination_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/destination_type?post=227"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=227"},{"taxonomy":"site_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/site_type?post=227"},{"taxonomy":"featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/visitsilkroad.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured?post=227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}