Uplistsikhe Cave Town-Fortress is situated on a rocky massif in 15 km eastwards to town Gori on the left bank of the river Mtkvari. Uplistsikhe (Georgian The Lord’s Fortress) – an ancient cave city complex, one of the first cities on the territory of Georgia. Uplistsikhe carved into the rock. The city emerged at the end of II – at the beginning of I millennium BC e., experienced several ups and downs, was finally abandoned in the XIX century and is thus a multi-layered archaeological site, one of the most important monuments of Georgian culture. The uniqueness of the monument lies in the fact that, thanks to its structure, it retained the remains of architectural and religious buildings built over several millennia. In its heyday, Uplistsikhe included more than 700 caves and cave structures, of which only 150 have survived to date.
The cultural monument was registered by Georgia in 1993 for the list of UNESCO World Heritage. Since 2004, Uplisziche has been restored with funds from a World Heritage and World Heritage project by the Georgian government. Concrete pillars were pulled into individual buildings for structural safety.
Access : Coordinates: 41.968333, 44.204167 / From Tbilisi to Uplistsikhe can be reached by train. trains starts every day and leaves early in the morning. You can also get from Tbilisi by shuttle bus, which leaves from the Didube metro station. The distance from Tbilisi to Uplistsikhe is about 80 km. bus stop Uplistsikhe From Gori here all year round buses and minibuses. As elsewhere, there is an opportunity to get a taxi, which will take you back and forth, and the taxi driver will wait as long as necessary. It will cost you about 30 GEL
Attractions -site layout : the Hellenistic theater / Tamara Hall / large throne room / Temple Uplistsuli / The city has an elongated structure, and it is located on the side of a mountain, so that from the southern end to the northern one it is necessary to go up all the time. Approximately in the middle is the Uplistsuli temple, convenient as a landmark. Below to the temple is a road carved in stone, and on the right and left of it there are various forms of stone halls, to which the administration has come up with beautiful names.
Almost strictly to the west of the temple (and a little down) is the very three-nave basilica. It can be recognized by a round deep well approximately in the center. Traces of supporting columns and some traces of columns carved in the walls of the temple remained.
Nearby, to the south, is a complex structure known as the “Tamara Hall”. This is a central hall with two side rooms. In the right room are visible remnants of wine jugs. The ceiling of the central hall is designed to look like wooden beams. This is the most famous hall of the whole complex; in any case, it is precisely that it is most densely covered with inscriptions of all eras – mostly the end of the XIX century.
Go next : Vardzia , a cave city complex and monastery / Ateni Zion, a temple in the village of Ateni / City of Gori / Tbilisi , the capital of the country / Stepantsminda
