Easy hikes and walks in Kakheti

Many couples in love come here to have a wedding ceremony and romantic photo sessions. It is not surprising because Sighnaghi is considered a true city of love in Georgia.

Georgian primitivist painter, orphaned at a young age, was characterized by the naïve, childlike simplicity of his subject matter and technique. He taught himself to paint as a child, creating his own oil for painting, and his specialty was painting directly onto black oil cloth.

A monument to the famous Georgian philosopher.

This is also a monastery founded by a student of Davit Garejali. A watchtower (with azure blue stones - Persian??) stands guard on the mountain ridge, visible from afar. Below it, caves have been dug into the edge of the sandstone rock. The church, with its rather damaged paintings from the 18th century (the communists had detonated a bomb inside to destroy everything, the monk said), has an enormously high interior. I didn't see any icons from the 12th century. You can only get to the monastery with a four-wheel drive jeep. Or walk from the road...

The architectural complex is the only surviving royal palace in Georgia. The complex, with its architectural-historical features, is a remarkable monument of cultural heritage. The museum complex includes: the palace of the King of Kakheti XVII-XVIII centuries, the churches of the King’s Gate X-XVIII centuries, the remains of the philosophical-theological school founded by Erekle, the King’s bath – XVII century, the tunnel in the palace – XVIII century. , Unique gates on the east and west sides. New modern standards building opened in 2018 . The museum also preserves: Numismatic material, pre-feudal sarcophagus, late medieval armor, 17th-19th century copper household items, ammunition, Khevsurian garment collections, rich collections of rugs, manuscripts, books printed in King Erekle’s printing house, fine art. Among them: Dutch, French, German, Russian (works of I. Aivazovsky, A. Kramskoi and other artists of the “Peredvizhniks” period) samples of paintings and small sculptures of the XIX century, as well as Georgian artists (El. Works of Khutsishvili et al.). Source and more information: https://georgianmuseums.ge/en/museum/telavi-historical-museum/

House-museum of King Erekle II (Erekle's palace) - Founded in 1927 as a museum of local lore. It is Located in the Kakheti region, in the city of Telavi. The architectural complex of "Batonis Tsikhe” is a castle which still remains as the only Royal Palace in Georgia. The complex is a remarkable monument of cultural heritage with its architectural-historical features. Museum complex embraces: XVII-XVIII c.c Royal Palace of the king of Kakheti, X-XVIII c.c churches of the court of the king, the remains of the philosophical and theological schools founded by Erekle, XVII centuries' King's Bath, tunnel paved on the territory of the palace - XVIII century, unique gates of the East and West Side. In the museum there are also preserved: numismatic material, early medieval sarcophagus, late medieval armor, collections of XVII-XIX c.c. copper household objects, weapons, Khevsureti clothes, rich collections of rugs, manuscripts, books printed in King Erekles’ press, interesting patterns of art, including: XIX c, Dutch, German, Russian (I. Aivazovsky, A. Kramskoi and the works of other artists of the "peredvizhniki" period),paintings and small plastic samples, as well as Georgian painters (E. Akhvlediani, L. Gudiashvili, J. Khutsishvili and others ) works. The palace known as "Batonis Tsikhe" was the residence of the kings of Kakheti. The church of the palace, the east door and the bath are built in the period of Archil. In the second half of the XVIII century, Erekle II built a huge curtain wall around the palace, the height of which reached five meters. According to the chronicler Papuna Orbeliani, the King Erekle completed the construction of Telavi curtain wall in 1753. Except the main door, the fortress had other standby entrances as well, one in the south and another one in the north. King Erekles’ church is built in 1758. Beside the church, it also performed a defensive function.It had an embrasure under the roof. There is a big pier with a distance of about 10 meters from the church. It reaches 14 meters and there is no similar pier in Georgia. It was built by the Queen Darejan and until the 40s of the XIX century there was a 8-meter long cannon that was always ready to repel the enemy. Source: https://georgiantravelguide.com/en/house-museum-of-king-erekle-ii-erekle-s-palace

Sighnaghi has a well-preserved 18th-century city wall and cobblestone streets. Combined with its location on a hill, this gives it a special charm. In recent years, Sighnagi has been renovated with funds from various sources and prepared for tourism. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sighnaghi

From up here you have a beautiful view of the plain. Some cafes and food stalls invite you to stay and enjoy.