Fortress · Ananuri, Dusheti Municipality, Mtskheta-Mtianeti
Ananuri Fortress
ანანურის ციხე · Ananuri · Ananuri fortified ensemble
A 17th-century fortified ensemble beside the Zhinvali Reservoir on the Georgian Military Highway, where two churches, towers and a turreted wall stand together.
Where it is
42.1636, 44.7039
Why go
The larger church, built in 1689, is the one to study: its façades carry fine relief carvings of human, animal and plant figures, including a carved north entrance, and inside are remains of 17th–18th-century murals that include the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers. Some of the dukes of Aragvi are buried in the Church of the Virgin. A tower with a stepped pyramidal roof of Svan type rises within the walls. UNESCO's tentative-list entry notes that the reservoir has changed how the ensemble is seen, since water now lies right below it. It is a natural stop on the drive north towards Stepantsminda.
Base yourself nearby
city
Tbilisi
Georgia’s capital is a layered city of old balconies, sulfur baths, hillside neighborhoods, contemporary restaurants and centuries of history along the Mtkvari River.
Historic town
Mtskheta
Mtskheta was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Iberia and is the place where Georgia adopted Christianity in the fourth century. Today it is a small, walkable town twenty kilometres from Tbilisi holding Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the hilltop church of Jvari, the working convent of Samtavro and the archaeological remains of the pre-Christian royal city, inscribed together on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is simultaneously Georgia's most important pilgrimage destination and its most accessible serious historical site.
Near Ananuri Fortress
Fortress
Skhvilo Fortress
A cobblestone stronghold on a ridge near Kvemo Chala in Kaspi Municipality, overlooking the Lekhuri valley and Tiriponi field, with a five-storey tower whose only door is six metres off the ground.
27 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Church
Samtavisi Cathedral
An almost square domed cathedral built in 1030 by the architect Hilarion Samtavneli in Shida Kartli, known for the carved cross and blind arcade on its east façade.
30 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Archaeological site
Grakliani Hill
An excavated hill beside the highway between Igoeti and Samtavisi in Kaspi Municipality, where layers of ancient settlement were uncovered along with an inscription in a still-undeciphered script.
31 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Fortress
Ksani Fortress
A partly ruined fortress of the Mukhrani princes on Mount Sarkineti near Tsikhisdziri, commanding the meeting of the Ksani and Mtkvari rivers, with walls and towers largely from its 1746 rebuilding.
34 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ