David Gareja Monastery
A monastery cut into the rock of Mount Gareja, on the half desert edge of the Iori Plateau some 60 to 70 km southeast of Tbilisi. Hundreds of cells, churches, chapels and refectories are hollowed out of the cliffs, some still painted with old frescoes.
- Where
- Udabno, Kakheti, Georgia
- Grade
- Heritage site
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site, plus 3 for its grade
- Coordinates
- 41.4475, 45.3764
Get the David Gareja Monastery stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at David Gareja Monastery. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Kakheti volume with your photos and a note.
Near David Gareja Monastery
Sighnaghi 49 km
One of the smallest towns in Georgia, on a steep hill in the heart of the Kakheti wine country. Pastel houses and cobbled lanes sit inside old defensive walls, and it looks out across the Alazani Valley to the Caucasus in the distance.
Bodbe Monastery 50 km
A convent 2 km from Sighnaghi where the relics of St Nino, who brought Christianity to Georgia in the 4th century, are kept. First built in the 9th century and much remodelled in the 17th, it is one of the country's major places of pilgrimage.
Abanotubani 54 km
The old bathhouse quarter of Tbilisi, where low brick domes rise from the ground above hot sulphur springs. The city takes its name from this warm water, tbili meaning warm in Georgian, and people still come to soak in the baths.
Metekhi Church 54 km
A stone church on the Metekhi cliff, on the left bank of the Kura facing the old town. Most of what stands was built between 1278 and 1289 under King Demetrius II, though tradition traces a church here back to the 5th century. A statue of King Vakhtang Gorgasali on horseback stands beside it.
Holy Trinity Cathedral 54 km
The main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church, built between 1995 and 2004 and the third tallest Orthodox cathedral in the world. It draws on the styles of Georgian church building across the centuries, with a Byzantine undertone, and its gilded cross shows from much of the city.
National Botanical Garden of Georgia 54 km
A garden of 161 hectares in the Tsavkisis-Tskali gorge, just behind Narikala fortress and the old town. Once the Tbilisi Botanical Garden, it holds more than 4,500 kinds of plants along paths that follow the stream up the valley.
Narikala Fortress 54 km
An ancient fortress of two walled sections on the steep ridge above Tbilisi and the Kura, between the sulphur baths and the botanical garden. Inside stands St Nicholas church, rebuilt in 1996 and 1997 on the site of a 13th century one lost to fire, its walls painted with scenes from the Bible and Georgian history.
Rike Park 54 km
A modern park on the left bank of the Kura, joined to the old town by the glass Bridge of Peace. Its lawns and fountains face the old quarter across the river, and the cable car that rises to Narikala fortress starts here.
More heritage sites in Kakheti
Questions
Where is David Gareja Monastery?
David Gareja Monastery is in Udabno, Kakheti, Georgia. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Sighnaghi (49 km), Bodbe Monastery (50 km), Abanotubani (54 km).
How do I get the David Gareja Monastery stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at David Gareja Monastery and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Kakheti volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to David Gareja Monastery before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Kakheti volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
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