Archaeological site · Avranlo, Tsalka Municipality, Kvemo Kartli
Avranlo Fortress
ავრანლოს ციკლოპური ციხე · Avranlo Megalithic Fortress
A cyclopean fortification of huge dry-laid stones on the Tsalka plateau, rising in three tiers above the Ktsia river beside the village of Avranlo and dated to the first millennium BC.
Where it is
41.6625, 43.8841
Why go
What survives is walling rather than buildings. Walls two to two and a half metres thick climb from the foot of the hill, across its slopes, to the summit, and the upper enclosure has been broken up inside in a way archaeologists have not explained; no trace of the ancillary structures such a stronghold would need has been found. A small medieval church stands at the fortress, and excavation nearby shows a settlement that lasted into the 2nd century. This is a site for travellers curious about Georgia's megalithic builders, and it pairs with the canyons around Tsalka.
Near Avranlo Fortress
Archaeological site
Shaori Fortress
A megalithic stronghold of the second millennium BCE on the summit of Mount Shaori, 2,752 metres up north-west of Paravani Lake, built of large basalt blocks laid without mortar.
23 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Church
Ateni Sioni Church
A 7th-century church of green-grey sandstone on a cliff above terraced vineyards in the Ateni valley near Gori, built to a design that resembles Mtskheta's Jvari.
32 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Monastery
Rkoni Monastery
A monastery complex of churches, towers and monks' dwellings in the upper Tedzami gorge south of Kaspi, reached over a medieval stone bridge and watched over by Rkoni Fortress on a rocky hill.
33 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ
Fortress
Gori Fortress
An oval citadel on a rocky hill in the middle of Gori, ringed by walls up to ten metres high and anchored on its western side by the Tskhrakara, the 'nine-door' structure.
40 km · straight-line distance; driving distance and time differ