Vardzia is a cave city and an ancient monastery in Georgia. The city is an excavation from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountains on the banks of the Kura River, located thirty kilometers from Aspindza. The caves stretch along the cliffs for some five hundred meters and have up to nineteen tiers.
The city includes the Church of the Dormition, dating back to the 1180s during the golden age of Tamar and Rustaveli. It features some amazing wall paintings, which are a delight for travelers to see. However, the site was abandoned in the 16th century.
Cave settlements, such as Uplistsikhe, have existed across the Kura River since at least the 5th century BC.
The caves are situated very high up, requiring a significant climb to reach them. There are deep caves with extensive tunnels that one has to navigate carefully. The cave city was actually a monastery where nuns and monks lived in seclusion to meditate and dedicate themselves to the service of Christ.
Vardzia was built during the 12th century and is associated with the reign of two monarchs, Giorgi III and his daughter, Queen Tamar. At that time, Vardzia was a hub of cultural and religious life.
In its heyday, this rock-hewn burg consisted of 6,000 rooms spread across nineteen levels, including 25 wine cellars, a nunnery, and 15 chapels. All this came together to create a vibrant city and monastery.
The Mysterious Rock Cave City of Vardzia
Under the reign of King Giorgi and the watchful eyes of his daughter, an elaborate series of caves and chambers were chiseled deep into the belly of Erusheti. Among them were secret escape tunnels and a tangle of dead-end halls to confuse enemies. Over the years, it evolved into a sprawling monastery with over two thousand monks, thanks to fertile terraces and a complex irrigation system.
Literature and art flourished in this region. A medieval poet named Shota Rustaveli became the most popular poet in Vardzia.
However, the region’s prosperity was short-lived as Vardzia was hit by a massive earthquake in 1283.
Now, after eight hundred years, a handful of monks still tend to Vardzia. Further into the mountains are labyrinths of untouched tunnels, some more than 600 feet long, connecting everything in an ancient web.
One of the most fascinating structures is the bell tower jutting out of the rocks. The only problem is that the bell is missing, stolen by the Mongols during their raid of the city.
I climbed deep inside the tunnels with my friend Joseph. It was exhausting, as the tunnels were very narrow, and I had to watch my head all the time. There were a series of wooden ladders that I climbed bit by bit to explore the winding caves that seemed to go on endlessly.
