Gori – Uplistsikhe

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Visit Gori fortress, medieval citadel, situated above the city of Gori on a rocky hill. first explicitly mentioned in 13th-century records, archaeological evidence suggests the hill was fortified as early as the 1st millennium BC. Its strategic location at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Greater Liakhvi rivers made it essential for controlling trade routes, with its possession often deciding control over the entire region.

Continue the tour at Uplistsikhe, a remarkable 3,000-4000-year-old rock-hewn cave city, where ancient streets, tunnels, and temples bring Georgia’s early civilization to life.

After the lunch on the the way back from Uplistsikhe we visit house museum of Joseph Stalin. Museum is a controversial, Soviet-era complex dedicated to the leader’s life. Opened in 1957, it includes his small birthplace hut encased in a neoclassical pavilion, a large exhibition building, and his private armored train car. The museum offers a curated, pro-Stalin view, showcasing his belongings and personal items, largely omitting the, “horrors which went on through his leadership.