Culture and heritage, read in stone and song

Georgia is one of the oldest Christian countries on earth, with an alphabet of its own and a history most visitors sense but rarely get told properly. This is the trip that fixes that. We build the days around the places where that history is still standing, and we send you out with someone who can read them — the history is where Nia’s guiding is strongest, learned over years on these roads.

Old Tbilisi, layer by layer

We start in the capital, on foot, because Tbilisi is a city you understand by walking it. The lanes below Narikala fortress hold a church, a mosque and a synagogue within a few minutes of each other; carved balconies lean over courtyards that have not changed in a century; the sulphur baths of Abanotubani are the reason the city has its name. We take it slowly and explain as we go, so the old town stops being a backdrop and starts being a story.

Mtskheta, where Georgia became Christian

A short drive north brings you to Mtskheta, Georgia’s ancient capital and spiritual centre. Svetitskhoveli cathedral has anchored the country’s faith for a thousand years, and from the hill above, the small Jvari church watches two rivers braid together below. The country adopted Christianity on this ground in the fourth century, and standing there with the history laid out plainly is the moment most guests say the trip made sense.

Uplistsikhe, and the mountain monasteries

Older still is Uplistsikhe, a whole town carved into the rock west of Tbilisi — halls, a theatre and wine cellars cut from the stone, lived in for thousands of years before the churches came. We pair it with the monasteries that suit your route: the eleventh-century cathedral at Alaverdi, the cave cells of David Gareja on their desert ridge, or the frescoed halls of Gelati near Kutaisi.

The sound of it

Georgian polyphonic singing sits on the UNESCO list of the world’s living heritage, and hearing it in the place it belongs — a supper table, a village church, a monastery choir — is the part guests carry home. Where the timing allows, we arrange for you to hear it sung rather than recorded.

What we look after

A private car and a driver who knows the roads, entry and timings arranged so you are never in a queue when the light is best, and the history told at the depth you want it. Tell us how far you like to go into a place, and we will shape the week around it, with a first draft back to you inside a day.