Georgia with Dashbashi Canyon

1. Day 1

   Arrival in Tbilisi

   Arrive at Tbilisi

   Met at Tbilisi International Airport and transferred to your hotel to check in.

   Evening

   Overnight in Tbilisi.

2. Day 2

   Tbilisi walking tour

   Morning

   Breakfast at the hotel.

   Tbilisi old city tour

   Tbilisi has been the capital since the fifth century, sitting on both banks of the Mtkvari at the crossing between Asia and Europe — medieval, neoclassical and modern architecture within a few streets of each other, and the sulphur baths that the city was founded around. The walk takes in the Metekhi church and plateau, the Narikala fortress from the fourth century, Abanotubani and the Leghvtakhevi gorge behind it, the botanical garden that was once the royal one, Sioni Cathedral, the mosque and the synagogue, Sharden street, Erekle II street and the Iron and Cotton streets, the Bridge of Peace and Anchiskhati from the sixth century. It ends at the old walls, by the Rezo Gabriadze marionette theatre.

   Tbilisi cable car

   The line up to Narikala. Entry included.

   Evening

   Overnight in Tbilisi.

3. Day 3

   Mtskheta, Uplistsikhe and Borjomi

   Morning

   Breakfast at the hotel. A long loop west and south, so an early start is worth asking for.

   Jvari Monastery

   On a hill nine kilometres above Mtskheta, on a site that held a pagan deity before a cross — jvari — was raised there and a church followed in the fifth and sixth centuries. The first cross-domed church in Georgia, and UNESCO-listed.

   Svetitskhoveli Cathedral

   In Mtskheta, 24km from Tbilisi. The first wooden church in Georgia went up here in 337; the cathedral standing now was built in the eleventh century and remained the largest in the country until the twenty-first. UNESCO-listed.

   Uplistsikhe

   A rock-hewn town ten kilometres from Gori and one of the oldest urban settlements in the country — streets, halls, a theatre from the Roman period and pagan temples cut straight into the cliff. Entry included.

   Borjomi and Borjomi Central Park

   A spa town in the south, in the Lesser Caucasus, known for the mineral springs that gave the water its name. The spring itself is in the central park, and park entry is included.

   Evening

   Overnight in Tbilisi.

4. Day 4

   Kazbegi day tour

   Morning

   Breakfast at the hotel.

   Full day

   Zhinvali Reservoir and Ananuri

   North on the Georgian Military Highway, following the Aragvi to the Zhinvali reservoir — 11.5 square kilometres, 75 metres deep, and the source of drinking water for around half of Tbilisi. Ananuri fortress stands on its bank: the residence of the local dukes and a serious defensive position in the middle ages, with a richly decorated main church inside the walls. The reservoir was built alongside it in the twentieth century, which is why the fortress now has a lake view it was never designed for.

   Panorama Gudauri

   A round stone-and-concrete structure on the highway near the Gudauri ski resort, overlooking the Devil's Valley in the Caucasus.

   Gergeti Trinity Church

   The last climb is by off-road vehicle, included both ways. The church stands alone on the hill above Stepantsminda with Mount Kazbek behind it.

   Evening

   Back down the highway. Overnight in Tbilisi.

5. Day 5

   Kakheti: Bodbe and Sighnaghi

   Morning

   Breakfast at the hotel.

   Into Kakheti

   East into the country's main wine region, where the grape has been worked for something close to eight thousand years. The valley holds everything from small family cellars still fermenting in buried clay qvevri to industrial-scale wineries.

   Bodbe Monastery

   Just outside Sighnaghi, and one of the main pilgrimage sites in the country: the relics of St Nino, the fourth-century woman who converted the Georgians, are kept here. The terrace looks over the Alazani valley to the Caucasus.

   Sighnaghi

   A small hill town above the Alazani valley, inside a city wall, with narrow streets of pastel houses. Its marriage registry opens twenty-four hours a day, which is where the city-of-love reputation comes from.

   Evening

   Overnight in Tbilisi.

6. Day 6

   Dashbashi Canyon

   Morning

   Breakfast at the hotel.

   Full day

   The Diamond Bridge, Tsalki

   The glass bridge is what the whole project at Dashbashi was built around: 240 metres long, strung 240 metres above the canyon floor, and designed to sit into the landscape rather than on top of it. The view is a full 360 degrees, and the floor under your feet is the point. Entry included.

   Evening

   Overnight in Tbilisi.

7. Day 7

   Departure

   Morning

   Breakfast at the hotel and check out.

   Transfer to Tbilisi International Airport for your flight home or onward.

Entry rules, tourism taxes and health requirements change without notice and depend on your passport. Everything above is confirmed by our operations desk before your booking is finalised.