Narikala: the fortress that was Persian, Arab, Mongol and Georgian

By Prof. Giorgi Pkhakadze, MD, MPH, PhD · 15/09/2026

Updated 23 October 2026

Every visitor to Tbilisi ends up on Narikala, because every visitor takes the cable car from Rike park across the river and up the cliff, and the cable car stops there. The view is the reward — the whole city in its gorge, the river, the domes of the baths, the new bridge and the old balconies — and most people take it and go. The walls they are standing on are worth a minute.

Fifteen centuries of owners

The first fortress here was Persian, built in the 4th century when Tbilisi was a Sasanian outpost and before it was Georgia’s capital; the name may come from a Persian word for citadel. King Vakhtang, who founded the city, took it. The Arabs took it in the 7th century and held Tbilisi for four hundred years as an emirate — a Muslim city with a Georgian hinterland — and expanded the fortress; the name Narikala is usually traced to the Mongols, who called it “little fortress” in the 13th century after they had made it larger. David the Builder retook Tbilisi in 1122 and made it his capital. The Persians came back, and the Turks, and the Persians again: in 1795 Agha Mohammad Khan burned the city and the fortress with it. The Russians, arriving six years later, used it as a magazine, and in 1827 the gunpowder exploded and took most of what was left.

So the walls you climb are a patchwork — 4th-century foundations, Arab and Georgian masonry, Persian brick, 19th-century collapse — and nobody has seriously rebuilt them since. That is their charm. Tbilisi’s history is one of being taken and taken back, and Narikala is that history with a handrail.

What is there

Two lines of wall along the ridge, a keep at the top with a view down the Kura gorge, and inside the lower enclosure the church of Saint Nicholas, rebuilt in the 1990s on the plan of a 12th-century original, with bright frescoes of Georgian history inside. West along the ridge stands Kartlis Deda, the Mother of Georgia — a twenty-metre aluminium woman from 1958 holding a cup of wine for friends and a sword for enemies — and beyond her the path down into the botanical garden, which was the fortress’s kitchen garden and is now the most peaceful place in the city.

How to do it

Cable car up from Rike park (two minutes, a few lari), walk the walls, then walk down through the lanes of the old town — the descent past the mosque and into Abanotubani is the best fifteen-minute walk in Tbilisi. Sunset from the keep is the hour, when the city lights come on below you. The walls have no rails in places and the stone is worn; good shoes, and hold on to children.

See it with GTour

Narikala, the cable car and the walk down are the first morning of the Tbilisi & Mtskheta first day, and the opening of Georgia in 7 days.

This story in Georgian — ქართულად: shenidasveneba.ge

Quick answers

What is Narikala? Narikala is a fortress perched on a cliff above Tbilisi, Georgia, reachable by cable car from Rike park. Its walls date back fifteen centuries and offer a sweeping view of the city, the river, and the old town below.

Who built Narikala and who has controlled it over the centuries? The first fortress was built by the Persians in the 4th century, then taken by Georgia's King Vakhtang when he founded Tbilisi. It later passed through Arab, Mongol, Georgian, Persian, Turkish, and Russian hands, making its walls a patchwork of different eras and builders.

Where does the name 'Narikala' come from? The name is usually traced to the Mongols, who called it 'little fortress' in the 13th century after enlarging it. An earlier theory links the name to a Persian word for citadel, reflecting the fortress's original 4th-century Persian origins.

Why are the walls of Narikala left in ruins rather than rebuilt? The walls were heavily damaged over time, notably when Agha Mohammad Khan burned the fortress in 1795 and when a Russian gunpowder magazine exploded there in 1827. Nobody has seriously rebuilt them since, and this unrestored, patchwork state is considered part of their charm.

What can visitors see inside the fortress complex? Inside the lower enclosure stands the church of Saint Nicholas, rebuilt in the 1990s on the plan of a 12th-century original with bright frescoes of Georgian history. Nearby along the ridge is Kartlis Deda, the Mother of Georgia, a twenty-metre aluminium statue from 1958 holding a cup of wine and a sword.

What is Kartlis Deda and what does it symbolize? Kartlis Deda, or Mother of Georgia, is a twenty-metre aluminium statue erected in 1958 standing west along the ridge from Narikala. She holds a cup of wine for friends and a sword for enemies, symbolizing Georgian hospitality and defiance.

What is the best way to experience a visit to Narikala? Take the cable car up from Rike park, walk along the fortress walls, and then descend through the old town lanes past the mosque into Abanotubani, described as the best fifteen-minute walk in Tbilisi. Sunset from the keep is recommended as the best time to visit, though visitors should wear good shoes since some areas have no rails.

Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0