Region3 h by car from Tbilisi2 h 30 min by car from Kutaisi3 h 15 min by car from BatumiPopulation 155,9006,413 km²
Samtskhe-Javakheti is a region — a region of Georgia, about 3 h by car from Tbilisi, 2 h 30 min from Kutaisi and 3 h 15 min from Batumi. Home to about 155,900 people.
Samtskhe-Javakheti is southern Georgia — a high volcanic plateau of lakes and wide skies, dropping into forested gorges along the Kura river. Its landmarks are among the country's most extraordinary: the cave city of Vardzia, carved into a cliff face in the twelfth century, and the restored Rabati fortress at Akhaltsikhe, a walled town of mosque, church and palace.
Borjomi, in a wooded gorge, is the home of Georgia's famous mineral water and the entrance to the vast Borjomi-Kharagauli national park. Above it, Bakuriani is a family ski resort in winter and a cool mountain retreat in summer; Abastumani, higher still, is known for its pure air and its old observatory. The lake plateau of Javakheti — Paravani, Tabatskuri, the Vanis Kvabebi caves — is birdwatching and big-sky country.
The region combines naturally with Vardzia as a two-day trip from Tbilisi or as a link between the capital and the western Black Sea coast via Kutaisi.
