Canyon · Dedoplistskaro, Dedoplistskaro Municipality, Kakheti
Artsivi (Eagle) Gorge
არწივის ხეობა · Eagle Gorge · Eagle Canyon · Artsivi Kheoba
A limestone canyon just north of Dedoplistskaro where eagles and vultures nest on the cliffs, with a one-kilometre footpath maintained by the Vashlovani Protected Areas administration.
Where it is
41.4908, 46.0991
Why go
The name means Eagle Gorge, and it is literal: birds of prey nest on the hanging limestone walls, and GNTA counts around sixty bird species here, so it is a birdwatching stop as much as a scenic one. The protected-areas agency keeps a one-kilometre trail through the canyon, about an hour on foot, and the gorge is only four kilometres from Dedoplistskaro, the last two on gravel. A separate half-kilometre path climbs to Khornabuji fortress on its rock, so the two are best seen in one visit.
Near Artsivi (Eagle) Gorge
Monastery
Khirsa Monastery
Founded in the sixth century by St Stephen, one of the Assyrian Fathers, this monastery in Tibaani village in Sighnaghi municipality is built around a domed church with a three-storey bell tower.
13 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Lake
Black Rock Lake
A high mountain lake on Georgia's border with Dagestan at the far end of Lagodekhi National Park, reached only on a three-day trek from the park administration.
54 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Archaeological site
Dolochopi Basilica
The excavated ruins of a fifth-century three-nave basilica on the north-western edge of Kvareli, beside the Duruji River, measuring about 36 by 18 metres.
59 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Nekresi Monastery
A monastery complex among woods at about 480 metres on the northern slope of the Gombori Ridge near Shilda, with churches built between the fourth and the eighteenth centuries.
60 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ