David Gareja Monastery Complex

David Gareja is a network of rock-hewn monasteries carved into the semi-desert badlands southeast of Tbilisi, on the edge of the Gareja ridge near the Azerbaijan border. Founded by the monk David of Gareja in the 6th century, the complex eventually grew to include around fifteen monasteries spread across the steep, eroded hillsides. It is one of the most unusual and impressive religious sites in the South Caucasus.

The Lavra monastery at the base of the ridge is the most accessible and still active, with a working church and cells for monks. From the lavra, a steep path climbs to the Udabno monastery on the ridge crest, where the cave facades open onto a landscape of semi-desert steppe that continues to the Caspian. The frescoes inside the cave churches — painted mostly between the 8th and 15th centuries — include remarkable portraits of Georgian nobles, saints, and everyday life. The round trip from Tbilisi takes a full day; hire a car or take one of the minibus tours that run from the capital.

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A story
The border between Georgia and Azerbaijan runs through the middle of the David Gareja complex — a fact that has led to periodic diplomatic friction. Several of the most important cave churches, including Udabno with its Byzantine-era frescoes showing the faces of Georgian royalty, sit on the Azerbaijani side. Georgia and Azerbaijan have disputed exactly where the line falls for decades, and visits to the upper complex were periodically restricted as a result. The frescoes themselves, exposed to the elements in open cave facades, have been slowly eroding for a thousand years.