Rarest cave dwellings in Georgia

Georgia cave dwellings from the Iron Age.

Georgia’s cave towns are rightly famous. There are very few real cave dwellings in this world. One is located in Basilicata in southern Italy and another in northern Sudan in almost desert landscape, but on UNESCO’s exclusive shortlist of conservation and worthwhile culture and nature heritage, we also find Georgia’s most famous cave dwelling: The world-famous cave town of Uplistsikhe, ‘the fortress of the Lord ‘is the most important of them all in the country. Dating back to the Iron Age, the city overlooks the Mtkvari River. It is painstakingly carved out in  sandstone cliffs and is no less than 8 acres and has survived erosion, age, war earthquakes, and man’s often inappropriate intervention.

Rare cave dwellings in Georgia. Uplistsikhe ruins

The city is a mixture of pre-Christian and Christian building styles and has played an important role in Georgia’s history: a well-protected place of war against Muslims in the 8th-9th century and later deeply implicated in the Mongolian’s many attacks of the 14th century and then abandoned.

Rare dwellings in Georgia

One of many places to visit, others are the David Gareji 6th century monastery with amazing frescoes, that is, the kind of frescoes that are made directly into a wall or ceiling’s limestone plaster and very durable.

Visit Georgia and other cave dwelling sites

• More about Georgia 
• Visit Georgia (travel agency)
• Matera in Southern Italy

Matera