Cycling in Georgia

Our tour starts today in Tbilisi. There are no planned activities for today, as most flights from London are scheduled to arrive in the very early hours of tomorrow morning. Please note, if you plan to arrive on an early flight this morning, we cannot guarantee an early check-in at the hotel.

If you'd like an airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into Tbilisi International Airport (TBS), which is a 25-minute drive from the hotel.

After breakfast this morning, our tour leader will meet us in the hotel reception at 8.30am for a welcome meeting followed by a tour of Georgia's cosmopolitan capital city on foot.

We'll start our visit in the old quarter at the Church of Metekhi, before continuing through narrow lanes past cafes and restaurants to the Synagogue, Sioni Cathedral and Anchiskhati Church. Heading into the newer part of town, we'll take a stroll along Rustaveli Avenue, where we can admire the architecture of many grand buildings that line Tbilisi's main street. We'll take the cable car up to Narikala Fortress overlooking the city and, from there, walk down to the brick-domed Sulphur baths.

This afternoon we'll drive to Mtskheta (a one-hour drive) the spiritual capital of Georgia. Here, we'll visit Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, founded on the site chosen by St. Nino as the place for the first church in Georgia, and the 6th-century Jvari Monastery - both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Later, we'll return to Tbilisi for the evening.

There is no cycling today.

Leaving the capital this morning, we'll drive for around one hour back to Mtskheta, where we'll start our first cycle ride. Before we pedal off, we'll have time for fitting and adjustments to make sure everybody is happy with their bikes.

Our cycle route follows the Mtkvari River and we'll see how the valley opens up the further we ride. It's worth noting that there will be passing traffic as we ride through villages and towns, but this will thin out towards the second half of our ride. We'll stop along the way for a picnic lunch before we reach our destination in the cave town of Uplistsikhe.

Uplistsikhe is a unique settlement, the entire town - including streets, churches, palaces and residential buildings - has been carved into the mountainside. Dating from the first millennium BC, it gradually grew to be an important city on the Silk Road trade route. After exploring what remains of this unusual place, we'll board our bus and drive on for around 30 minutes to Gori, where we'll spend the night. Gori is the birthplace of Stalin and it's possible to visit his family home, train and statue here.

Our total cycling distance today is approximately 61 kilometres/9.9 miles with a total accumulated ascent of 640 metres/2,100 feet and descent of 520 metres/1,706 feet.

After breakfast this morning, we'll drive a short distance out of town where today's ride begins.

Our cycle route follows the Mtkvari Gorge as far as the town of Kareli, after which we'll continue to Dzama Gorge. Along the way, we'll pass by villages and small settlements but there's relatively light traffic on our route. At around the halfway point, we'll detour to cycle up into the forest-covered hills to visit the Kintsvisi Monastery - a Georgian cultural heritage site famous for its frescos. The route until this point is mainly undulating or flat but as we approach the monastery the route becomes increasingly uphill - the majority of today's total ascent is on this climb.

After visiting the site and enjoying a break, we'll continue on our route with a lovely long descent before some more undulations and flat terrain through villages and across the valley to the main highway where we'll finish in Osiauri village.

From Osiauri, we'll drive for around 90 minutes to Akhaltsikhe where we'll stay in our first family-run Georgian guesthouse. Georgian cuisine is famously good with influences from Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Food and wine are central to Georgian culture and feasts can last for hours. There are a variety of vegetarian dishes, but many dishes are meat-based.

Our total cycling distance today is approximately 65 kilometres/40.4 miles with a total accumulated ascent of 790 metres/2,592 feet and descent of 735 metres/2,412 feet.

Today's ride tackles a few more hills and takes us through beautiful landscapes to one of Georgia's most significant sites, the cave town of Vardzia.

Our route follows the Mtkvari River upstream for the entire day. The first 48 kilometres/29.8 miles, until we reach Khertvisi Fort, is along the road that leads to Turkey and Armenia and there will be some trucks and articulated lorries in the passing traffic. The ride starts with some gentle ascents and descents until after the dam when these become more pronounced. We'll stop to view Khertvisi Fort from the outside before completing the final 17 kilometres/10.6 miles on a quieter, undulating road with some steeper and longer ascents until we reach Vardzia. We'll check in to our family-run guesthouse and have a very late lunch on arrival before exploring this remarkable site later in the afternoon.

Bigger and more dramatic than Uplistsikhe, Vardzia was cut into a cliff face by King Giorgi III in the 12th century as a stronghold against the Turkish Sultanate (the Turkish border is only 10 kilometres/6.2 miles away). Vardzia was subsequently developed by his daughter King Tamar, who created a cave monastery that became a centre of Georgian culture. This network of caves once numbered 3,000, with up to 19 tiers in some places. Much of it was destroyed after a huge earthquake in 1456 and only about 600 chambers remain today. There are numerous churches, meeting halls, refectories and wine cellars, all interconnected by tunnels and stairways.

Our total cycling distance today covers approximately 49 kilometres/30.4 miles with a total accumulated ascent of 1,205 metres/3,953 feet and descent of 1,035 metres/3,395 feet.

This morning, we'll head to Lake Paravani (around a 2.5 hour drive) where we'll start today's ride.

Georgia's largest lake is located on the treeless plains of the Javakheti Plateau, known locally for its harsh winters where temperatures can reach 30 degrees below zero. In summer, this area of lakes and nature attracts many birds - you can even spot crane nests in the villages.

The first 5 kilometres/3.1 miles of our ride are spent riding across this impressive landscape before a sweeping descent on smooth tarmac leads us towards Tsalka where the route flattens out with small ups and downs and some sections of road with potholes and broken tarmac. The roads are quieter in the morning, for the first 30 kilometres/18.6 miles, and then become a bit busier after Tsalka.

After a break to visit Tsalka, our route then ascends out of town, and we'll stop for a picnic lunch with views. There is a short and steep descent after lunch, into more forested hills, then a section of flat terrain before a long descent to the end point of the ride. Although we climb a few hills, the general trajectory today is downhill. At the end of the ride, we'll drive for about 90 minutes back to Tbilisi.

Our total cycling distance today is approximately 43 kilometres/27 miles with a total accumulated ascent of 315 metres/1,033 feet and descent of 480 metres/1,575 feet.

Travelling east from the capital, this morning we'll drive for about 90 minutes through forested countryside into the central mountains. Back on our bikes, we'll start our ascent of the Gombori Pass, the most challenging part of our holiday.

The first few kilometres/miles see us gently ascend through sloped wooded paths - the final 10 kilometres/6.2 miles of the ascent is steep with some very pronounced sections. It's worth remembering that it isn't a race and, as always, our support vehicle is on hand in case anybody wants to opt out of the uphill. Please also note, there will be passing traffic throughout the ride today.

Our efforts are rewarded with fine views from the Gombori Pass (1,620 metres/5,315 feet) and there is a short trail leading to a viewpoint above the café. We'll have our picnic lunch here before starting a long descent through the woodland into Kakheti, Georgia's wine region, with the Caucuses looming ahead of us.

We'll drive the steep final 3 kilometres/1.9 miles (there will also be the option to cycle) to our guesthouse overlooking Telavi, a small town in the foothills of the Tsiv-Gombori mountain range. The rooms at our family-run guesthouse are simple, nonetheless it offers quirky and spacious communal areas, and a lovely seating area immersed in a relaxing garden.

Georgia is one of the oldest wine regions in the world. Having been producing wine for over 8,000 years, its traditions of wine are inseparable from the national identity. We'll spend the next few days discovering more about Georgian wine, starting this afternoon with a visit to a local master craftsman who'll show us how Qvevri are made. These large earthenware vessels are buried underground as part of the traditional Georgian wine-making method. We'll also get the chance to try Chacha (Georgian grappa).

Our total cycling distance today is approximately 39 kilometres/24 miles with a total accumulated ascent of 1,020 metres/3,346 feet and descent of 1,110 metres/3,641 feet.

After breakfast and before leaving Telavi this morning, we'll visit the local food market where stalls are loaded with local produce.

Today's cycle ride starts out of town and takes us along mainly straight, flat roads (with passing local traffic) past vineyards to the small town of Kvareli. Our first stop is at Gremi Fortress - once the capital of Kakheti province in the 16th and 17th centuries, Gremi served as a trading town on the Silk Road. We'll then stop for lunch with a local family, giving us another chance to sample traditional Georgian food made with vegetables and fruit grown in the family's garden. There'll be time to relax in the quiet green yard before we head to Sagaredjo for a bio wine tasting and to learn about the qveri-to-glass process. Later in the afternoon, we'll drive back to Tbilisi for our final night in the Georgian capital.

Our total cycling distance today is approximately 45 kilometres/28 miles with a total accumulated ascent of 280 metres/919 feet and descent of 600 metres/1,969 feet.

Our trip ends this morning in Tbilisi.

There are no activities planned today, so you're free to depart at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you'd like an airport transfer today, you'll need to depart from Tbilisi International Airport (TBS), which is a 25-minute drive from the hotel.

If you haven't seen enough of the Georgian capital, you can add extra nights onto your tour. Please contact us to book additional accommodation. The Sulphur Baths, the Blue Gallery, Dry Bridge extraordinary flea market and the Botanical Garden are just some of the highlights you might like to experience.