# Uplistsikhe Cave Town — opening hours, tickets, how to get there and what to see

> gtour.ge — G Tour, Gateway to Georgia. Cite as: GTour desk, gtour.ge.

- Canonical: https://gtour.ge/sights/uplistsikhe-cave-town/
- Author: Mariam Lomidze
- Published: 2026-10-27
- Updated: 2026-10-27
- Language: en
- Russian edition: https://gtour.ge/ru/sights/uplistsikhe-cave-town/

Uplistsikhe is a rock-hewn town cut into a volcanic-tuff ridge above the Mtkvari River, about 10 kilometres east of Gori in Shida Kartli. Settlement here goes back to the late Bronze and Early Iron Age, and the site was a major pagan cult centre before Christianity reached Kartli after the 4th century. It has been on Georgia’s UNESCO Tentative List since 2007.

### What you see

Uplistsikhe (“the Lord’s Fortress”) is a town carved almost entirely out of rock rather than built on top of it. Paths climb through a maze of chambers, courtyards and tunnels cut into soft volcanic tuff, with roughly 150 surviving rock-cut structures out of what was once a much larger complex. The main points of interest include the so-called Hall of Queen Tamar (Tamaris Darbazi), a vaulted ceremonial hall with a carved coffered ceiling; a theatre-like structure thought to have served ritual or civic gatherings; a stone “pharmacy” chamber with niches for jars; wine cellars (marani) with sunken clay vessel pits; and a pagan temple platform later reused for Christian worship. At the summit stands the Uplistsikhe Basilica, a three-nave church built around the 9th-10th century from dressed stone, marking the site’s conversion to Christian use centuries after its pagan beginnings. A narrow rock-cut tunnel, built to give defenders covered access to the river during sieges, drops down the cliff face toward the Mtkvari.

### History

Archaeological layers show occupation from the late Bronze and Early Iron Age, with the town developing into a fortified urban centre during the first millennium BC. By the Hellenistic and early medieval periods Uplistsikhe had become one of the principal political and religious centres of pre-Christian Kartli, serving as a cult site associated with sun worship before Christianity became the state religion after the 4th century ([UNESCO Tentative List entry](https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5134/)). The town continued as an important fortress and trade post through the early medieval kingdom of Kartli, retaining strategic value because it commanded a crossing point on the Mtkvari and sat on a route linking the [Black Sea](https://gtour.ge/georgia/batumi/) coast with [Mtskheta](https://gtour.ge/georgia/mtskheta/) and points east. Its decline began with the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, which caused serious destruction, and the site lost its urban function in the following centuries, eventually surviving only as a ruin inhabited intermittently by local farmers. Systematic archaeological study began in the Soviet period, and the site has been under state protection and partial restoration since. It was added to Georgia’s Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage status in 2007, recognising it as one of the oldest and best-preserved rock-hewn urban sites in the Caucasus ([National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation](https://heritagesites.ge/)).

*Image: Panoramic view of the cave town's carved chambers stretching along the rocky plateau. Photo: applsdev / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0*

### Opening hours and tickets

| Item | Usual pattern |
| --- | --- |
| Opening hours | Daily, roughly 10:00–18:00 in summer and 10:00–17:00 in winter; checked at booking |
| Adult ticket | Around 15 GEL for foreign visitors, less for Georgian citizens and students; checked at booking |
| Guided tours on site | Local guides sometimes available at the entrance for an extra fee; not guaranteed |

Hours and prices are set by the site administration and can change seasonally or for maintenance, so confirm before travelling, for example through the [Georgian National Tourism Administration](https://gnta.ge/).

### How to get there

From [Tbilisi](https://gtour.ge/georgia/tbilisi/), Uplistsikhe is about 85 kilometres west, roughly 1.5 hours by car via [Gori](https://gtour.ge/georgia/gori/) on the main E60 highway. Public transport involves taking a marshrutka from Tbilisi’s Didube station to Gori (about 1–1.5 hours), then a taxi for the final 10 kilometres to the site, since there is no direct public bus to Uplistsikhe itself. From [Kutaisi](https://gtour.ge/georgia/kutaisi/) the drive is about 140 kilometres, around 2 hours on the same highway corridor. With GTour, the site is covered on the Gori & Uplistsikhe — Cave City Day Trip, a private day tour from Tbilisi that also stops at Gori Fortress and the Stalin Museum (https://gtour.ge/tour/gori-uplistsikhe/); the site also appears on the longer Christian Georgia pilgrimage itinerary (https://gtour.ge/tour/christian-georgia-pilgrimage-8-days/). A private car with driver for a custom day trip from Tbilisi is listed at €150 for a sedan (see https://gtour.ge/data/).

*Image: The brick basilica overlooking the Mtkvari river valley from the Uplistsikhe promontory. Photo: lumoplank / Wikimedia Commons, CC0*

### How long and the best time

Most visitors need 1 to 1.5 hours to walk the full circuit of the rock-cut structures and the basilica at the top; add time if combining with Gori’s fortress and museum on the same day. Spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October) bring the mildest temperatures for climbing the exposed rock paths. Summer visits are best done early morning or late afternoon to avoid the midday heat, since there is almost no shade on the site.

### Tips

- Wear flat, closed shoes with good grip; the rock surfaces are uneven, sloped and can be slippery after rain.

- Bring water and sun protection in summer, as the entire site is open and shade is scarce.

- Photography is unrestricted and the ridge-top views over the Mtkvari valley are good through most of the day.

- Visitor numbers are generally light outside peak summer weekends, so queues are rarely an issue.

- Combine the visit with Gori town (Stalin Museum and Gori Fortress), about 15 minutes away by car.

- Children should be supervised near unguarded drops and tunnel openings.

### Nearby

- Gori Fortress

- Stalin Museum, Gori

- Ateni [Sioni](https://gtour.ge/georgia/sioni/) Church

- Kintsvisi Monastery

- Mtskheta (Svetitskhoveli and Jvari)

See it with G Tour

Uplistsikhe Cave Town is on these private tours: [Mtskheta, Gori and Uplistsikhe — Kartli in a Day](https://gtour.ge/tour/mtskheta-gori-uplistsikhe-day-trip/) · [Gori & Uplistsikhe — Cave City Day Trip](https://gtour.ge/tour/gori-uplistsikhe/) · [Georgia Classic in 7 Days — Tbilisi, Kazbegi, Kakheti and Mtskheta](https://gtour.ge/tour/georgia-classic-7-days/). A travel expert adapts any of them to your dates.

[See the tour](https://gtour.ge/tour/mtskheta-gori-uplistsikhe-day-trip/)   [Plan my trip](/plan-your-trip/)

### Questions

**Is Uplistsikhe a UNESCO World Heritage Site?**
Not yet; it has been on Georgia's UNESCO Tentative List since 2007, a step before possible full inscription.

**How much time should I plan for the visit?**
About 1 to 1.5 hours for the site itself, more if combined with Gori's fortress and Stalin Museum nearby.

**Can I reach Uplistsikhe by public transport from Tbilisi?**
Yes, by marshrutka to Gori and then a short taxi ride, though there is no direct bus to the site.

**Is the site suitable for visitors with limited mobility?**
No, the paths involve climbing uneven rock-cut steps and slopes without handrails in most places.

### Sources

- [UNESCO Tentative List, Uplistsikhe](https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5134/)

- [Georgian National Tourism Administration](https://gnta.ge/)

- [National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia](https://heritagesites.ge/)

- [Georgia.travel, Shida Kartli region](https://georgia.travel/)

Town page: [Village Uplistsikhe](https://gtour.ge/georgia/uplistsikhe/) · All sights: [sights of Georgia](/sights/) · Questions: info@castle.ge

Rock-hewn dwellings of Uplistsikhe with the medieval basilica crowning the cliff above. · Photo: Alf Altendorf / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0