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Borjomi, Vardzia

We left Kutaisi by marshrutka. The road is long: 135 kilometers of switchbacks. We started searching online for a place to stay in Borjomi. Booking.com had only two options, both fully booked. We called a number found through Google in someone’s story about a trip to Georgia. They told us there were no rooms, but they would definitely think of something. They told us to get off by the tourist center, though we could not explain where exactly because we were going there for the first time and knew no landmarks.

A few minutes later, the marshrutka driver’s phone rang.

After the call, the driver turned around and happily reported that he had been told where to drop us off.

It turned out that the person we had just spoken to had, through some chain of people, found the phone number of the driver of the marshrutka we were riding in at that moment and called him to explain exactly where to drop us off.

This impressed me so much that I fell in love with Borjomi before even arriving there.

To create the right atmosphere, press Play and keep reading :)

Initially we planned to arrive in Borjomi, spend the night, and continue the next day.

Arthur met us at the tourist center. He had already been told that we were on the marshrutka looking for a place to stay, and he was waiting together with the guesthouse owner. After hearing our plan to “spend the night and leave the next day,” Arthur said that in one day we would learn nothing about Borjomi. We wanted to ride the narrow-gauge railway and try Borjomi itself. Arthur easily and harmoniously planned our cultural and ethnographic program for three days, adding many interesting things and providing the necessary information. We gladly accepted his offer, because until then there had been no certainty about the rest of our trip through Georgia, and suddenly there was.

If you are planning to visit Borjomi, or have already arrived here, be sure to visit the tourist information center, meet Arthur there, tell him about your plans, and listen to his advice.

You will save money and time, and protect yourself from negative impressions of Borjomi.

Contact information is provided at the bottom of the page.

Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park

After leaving our things at the guesthouse, we went for a walk in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park. Along the way we stopped to admire Borjomi’s beautiful landscape.

Borjomi National Park covers an area 30 km from north to south and 70 km from west to east, and is considered one of the largest in Europe.

The park is civilized by European standards: trails are laid out, camping and picnic areas are arranged, there are fire pits, huts for overnight stays, and so on. Rangers on horseback regularly patrol the park, just in case.

People come here to hike in the mountains and look at animals and flowers. There are viewpoints from which you can see the sea. Nine trails run through the park, designed for one- to three-day trips, and they can be combined to make a longer route.

Entrance is free, but you are supposed to register so that the administration knows where you went and for how long, and can start rescuing you if you are overdue.

We chose the shortest little trail, about two kilometers, I think. But even we did not finish it while climbing up the mountain. Of course, one should come here separately with a tent for a real hike.

Vardzia

tamartour.ru — Vardzia

Vardzia is a cave monastery complex from the 12th and 13th centuries. Along 900 meters of the left bank of the Kura River, up to 600 rooms were carved into the steep tuff wall of Mount Erusheti: churches, chapels, residential cells, storerooms, baths, refectories, treasuries, and libraries.

On the way we got stuck in traffic.

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Mountains and gorges.

There are several hot springs near Vardzia. We stopped at one of them. A small pool with hot water: very mixed sensations.

Borjomi-Bakuriani Narrow-Gauge Railway

The Borjomi-Bakuriani narrow-gauge railway was built in 1898-1901 to bring vacationers to the mineral springs of Bakuriani. Today it is mostly used by tourists who want to admire mountain views from the carriage windows, though after the resort season ends local residents often use it as well.

The elevation change along the way is 1200 meters. In Bakuriani you could really feel it: it was much colder.

At the beginning of the train ride, it was impossible to tear yourself away from the views from the windows.

Borjomi Park

Before leaving, we walked through the park and drank Borjomi straight from the well. It tastes the same as from the bottle, only still.

Right before leaving, we stopped by the tourist center again because Arthur had asked us to. He asked whether we liked everything, whether there had been anything negative, and gave us a disc of Georgian music.

Here is the link to this compilation: yadi.sk — Georgian music compilation, 118 MB.

Contacts

We stayed in a wonderful house for 20 GEL. Food was not included, but for a small extra fee the hosts offered to feed us. We agreed to dinner. It consisted of probably a dozen different dishes, and they also treated us properly to wine.

It was Temur whom we called from the marshrutka, assuming he might have a place for us to stay. Later he drove us to Vardzia. In the end it turned out that he too was going from Borjomi to Kakheti to pick grapes, so he took us there.

Borjomi Information Center

Borjomi Tourism Information Centre

And one more address.