Telavi

With its nearly 22,000 inhabitants, Telavi is the main city and the capital of Kakheti. It is a pleasant and peaceful village extending over a hill of 1863 feet tall, where you can see the Alazani valley. Its surroundings hide some of the most famous wineries in Georgia.

It is a good place to set up the base camp and visit them since it has a very acceptable hotel infrastructure. In our view, Schuchmann and Chateau’s Mere wineries offer the best accommodation and an ecological experience at the level of the most connoisseurs. Telavi is very well connected with Tbilisi and the rest of the localities of the region.

About Kakheti province

Wine is like the blood of Kakheti. It is the easternmost region of the country and the epicenter of oenology in Georgia. Few areas in the world have such a strong emotional bond with this elixir. Almost all families have their own production and the love for this drink is felt through their parties and traditions.

They are cheerful people who love good food and simple life. If you like the world of wine, you will have a nice surprise here. One of the best dates to visit is the harvest time (rtveli).

Kakheti is also a place rich in history with a very marked identity since it enjoyed periods of sporadic independence in the past. It hides some of the most visited monasteries such as Davit Gareja, Alaverdi or Bodbe.

It is also a land of contrasts, with a diversity of climates and landscapes ranging from the remote alpine valleys of Tusheti in the north, the subtropical forests of Lagodekhi, to the semi-desert zone of Vashlovani. It shares borders with Russia in the north and with Azerbaijan in the south and east. It occupies around 18% of the national territory and it is home to just over 400,000 people.

History

Telavi began to be an important city between the 8th and 10th centuries. But when David Aghmashenebeli united Georgia in the 12th century and he annulled the Kingdom of Kakheti and Ereti, the city began a period of decline. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Persians killed 60,000 Khaketians and he enslaved another 100,000. The town gradually regained its former splendor in the second half of the seventeenth century when became the capital of the Kakheti Kingdom once again.

What see in Telavi?

Batonistsikhe Fortress

It is in the center of Telavi, in front of the tourist office. It was the residence of the Kakheti kings during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and inside there are two churches from the Erekle II era, the ruins of the royal baths, a pantheon and the Persian-style palace that Erekle II had built. There are also several museums and an art gallery.

The millenary tree of Chadar Street

Address: Chadar Street.

The branches of this old banana tree have offered shade to the inhabitants of Telavi for more than 900 years. It is one of the symbols of the city and they say that if a group of people surrounds it with their hands intertwined and they make a wish, it turns into a reality. The trunk is really huge, so you will have to gather a few people.

Wineries

GWS (Georgian Wines & Spirits Company)

Address: Achinebuli-Telavi.

Phone: +995 32 25 07 607

E-mail: gws@gws.com.ge

It is one of the largest wineries in Georgia and it has won more than 200 national and international awards. It has two brands of wine: Tamada and Old Tbilisi. They also produce Chacha and sparkling wine. They offer visits where they teach you their facilities and their production processes.

The final crowning glory is a tasting of four different types of wine. It is in the city of Telavi itself and you can get there on foot. Price per one person (35 GEL), for groups of three (30 GEL) and for more than ten (15GEL). More information: www.gws.ge

Schuchmann Wines

Address: village of Kisiskhevi.

E-mail: datunashvili@schuchmann-wines.com.

Phone reservations: +995 5 77 25 22 13.

Visiting this winery and hotel mix is a treat for the senses, in every respect. It is quite clear the love for the details. They offer attentive treatment and exquisite wines. The establishment is the result of the business capacity of the Germans and the wine knowledge of the Georgians.

They produce 15 different types of wines and between 10,000 and 15,000 bottles a year. It is 3 miles from Telavi. They offer visits to 15 people and it costs 20 GEL, depending on the number of different types of wine you want. The tastings are usually accompanied by a small snack. The mansion also offers magnificent rooms to accommodate its customers (170-450 GEL). For more information: www.schuchmann-wines.com

Chateau Mere

Address: village of Vardisubani.

Phone reservations. +995 595 990 399 / 595 990 390.

E-mail: mailbox@mere.ge / winiveria.mere@gmail.com

It is a winery-hotel inside a castle-shaped building. Its rooms have beautiful views of the Alazani valley and the Greater Caucasus (price from 295 to 435 GEL). The upper suite has a Jacuzzi on the roof. Chateau Mere also has a pool. They produce wines for the Winiveria brand.

During visits to the wineries, they teach their production process, facilities and there is a tasting, too. Individual price: 50 GEL with a tasting of two wines; 70 GEL if three are tested. The larger the group, the more prices per person are reduced. For more information: www.winiveria.ge

Teliani Valley

Address: 3 Tbilisi Highway.

Phone: +995 32 2313245.

E-mail: marketing@telianivalley.com

They produce 32 types of wine, chacha, sparkling wines and brandy. The tour of the facilities costs between 20, 30, 40 GEL. Its price varies depending on the number of varieties incorporated in the tasting and the size of the group. They also have their own rooms for the guests. For more information: www.telianivalley.com

Wine Company Shumi

Phone: +995 32 238 11 37.

E-mail: shumi@shumi.ge

There are vineyards with 294 different varieties of Georgian and 90 foreign grapes outside the winery. The visit consists of walking through the vineyards, the museum and one of its wineries. You can taste three different wines (dry and semi-sweet) in the tasting. The company produces 40 types of wine, chacha, and brandy. His best labels are Tsinandali, Saperavi and Muguzani.

Telavi Surroundings

Ikalto Monastery

Opening Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

It is located five miles north of Telavi and it was founded in the sixth century by Zenon Ikaltoeli, one of the ‘Thirteen Syrian Fathers’ who came from the northern part of ancient Mesopotamia to help Christianize Georgia. It has three churches.

The main one, Gvtaeba, is from the 8th-9th centuries and it was built in the place where there was a primitive sanctuary under which was the tomb of the saint. The small Gerget Trinity Church is in the east which is about 1,500 years old, and the last temple added was that of All Saints, dating from the 12th and 13th centuries. In those same dates, Ikalto became a center of studies where among other subjects viticulture was taught.

Alaverdi Monastery

167-feet tall, the Alaverdi Monastery was the highest temple in Georgia for almost a thousand years, until the new technologies allowed the construction of the monumental Sameba Cathedral in Tbilisi. At the beginning of the eleventh century, King Kvirike III of Kakheti decided to build a sanctuary that would be rising to heaven like no other in honor of the Creator.

To that end, he chose the place where the old 6th-century monastery was founded by one of the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers: José Alaverdeli. It is 12 miles from Telavi and today it has become the spiritual center of the region. It was the place where the kings and princes of the region were buried and it is an architectural gem.

It has a ground floor in the shape of a cross and its interior is transparent and stripped-down, typical of the religious buildings of Kakheti. It is illuminated by the 16 windows of the dome and the exterior is surrounded by a seventeenth-century wall with a palace that is the residence of the bishop.

Alaverdi was an important center for the development of Georgian literature. Here one of the oldest manuscripts was written in 1054: ‘The Gospels of Alaverdi’. The Cathedral is 12 miles away from Telavi. There are marshrutkas leaving from Telavi to Alaverdi every twenty minutes. You can check out the tourist office for return times.

Practical information

Telavi Tourist Office

Address: 9 Erekle II Street.

Phone: +995 650 27 53 17.

E-mail: tictelavi1@gmail.com

They offer brochures, information about accommodation, warehouses, transport, restaurants. It is a good point to be well informed of everything that the area has to offer.

Transportation

There are three zones from where the minibusses leave: Rocki, the Old and New Station. They are all on Gamziri Avenue. Marshrutkas leave from:

Rocki station. Address: 73 Alazanis Gamziri (Avenue).
- Telavi-Tbilisi. Every 45 minutes from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (7 GEL)

Old Bus Station. Address: Alazanis Gamziri Street.
- Telavi-Lagodekhi. 3:00 p.m. (6 GEL).
- Telavi-Sighnagi. 3:15 p.m. (5 GEL).
- Telavi-Kvareli. Every 40 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (3 GEL).
- Telavi-Alaverdi. Every 20 minutes from 8:45 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. (2 GEL).
- Telavi-Alvani. Every 20 minutes from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (2 GEL)
- Telavi-Tsnori. 11:00 a.m and at 1:30 p.m. (4.50 GEL).

New Bus Station
- Telavi-Tbilisi. Every 40 minutes from 7:40 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (7 GEL).
- Telavi-Lagodekhi. 07:30, 08:30, 08:40, 1:30 p.m. (6 GEL).
- Telavi-Alvani: 9:30 a.m. (2 GEL).
- Telavi-Omalo. 12:50 and 4:00 p.m.

To get to Telavi from:

Tbilisi-Telavi: from 9:30 a.m. to 4: 45 p.m. GEL (every 40 minutes) from the Samgori station(7 GEL)
Lagodekhi-Telavi: 8:00. 9:00, 12:30, 1:30 y 2:20 p.m. (6 GEL)
Sighnaghi-Telavi: 9:00 a.m. (5 GEL)
Tsnori-Telavi: 7:45, 8:30, 1:45, 3:20 p.m.

Taxis drivers who speak English in Telavi:

Mamuka Jangulashvili. Phone: +995 5 55 15 67 15. Discreet and friendly.
Simon Sesikashvili. Phone: +995 557 07 00 99.
David Luashvili. Phone: +995 593 76 12 16.

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