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Telavi

Kakheti's Capital Among Wineries and Monasteries

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2 daysIdeal stay₹3,240From / night₹1,440Food / day₹720Entry

The main town of Kakheti, over the Gombori Pass from Tbilisi, and the base for its wineries and monasteries: Tsinandali, the 19th-century estate of the poet-prince Alexander Chavchavadze; Alaverdi cathedral, where monks still make wine; Gremi's royal citadel and the old monastic academy at Ikalto. Telavi is also where the shared 4x4s to Tusheti leave from in summer.

Highlights

  • Tsinandali estate and gardens
  • Alaverdi Cathedral and its monks' cellar
  • Gremi citadel
  • Ikalto academy
  • Winery hopping by car
  • Rtveli harvest in September and October

Things to do

  • Tsinandali estate, museum and tastingMorning · 2h 30m
  • Alaverdi Cathedral and Gremi citadelAfternoon · 3h
  • Winery tour by car with a driverAfternoon · 4h
  • Telavi bazaar and Batonis TsikheMorning · 1h 30m

Tours & tickets

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When to go

Best time: May – June, September – October

Heads up

Rtveli: Harvest Season in Kakheti

September and October are the grape harvest (rtveli): the best time to visit the wineries, and the busiest. Book rooms in Sighnaghi and Telavi, and a driver for the wineries, well ahead.

  • Rtveli (Grape Harvest) — Kakheti's grape harvest, from about mid-September into October: families and wineries pick, press the grapes in wooden troughs and seal the juice into buried qvevri, with supras afterwards. Many cellars let visitors join a picking day; book rooms in Sighnaghi and Telavi early, as it is the busiest time of year there.
  • Alaverdoba — The feast of Alaverdi Cathedral near Telavi in September: a pilgrimage, an all-night vigil and a fair round the monastery walls. Crowded roads near Alaverdi on the day.