Betania Monastery - Akhaldaba · ბეთანიის მონასტერი - ახალდაბა
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 8.67 mi
- Elevation gain
- 1,204 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Moderate
- Elevation loss
- 2,848 ft
- Max elevation
- 4,644 ft
- TrailRank
-
42
4
- Min elevation
- 4,644 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Coordinates
- 1411
- Uploaded
- May 11, 2020
- Recorded
- January 2020
near P’ant’iani, Kvemo Kartli (Georgia)
Viewed 1414 times, downloaded 32 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
Duration: 4 h 30 min - if you start walking from the highway; 3 h - if you start walking from the Monastery.
Before you decide to make this trail, take in consideration that the trail is easy to walk until the waterfall, after which it follows the wall of the rock for about 150 m, where might be a chance of rockfall. Also, because of the landslide, a small section of the trail is destroyed and became very steep (see picture).
Because of that section, I rated the trail and moderately difficult. Otherwise, this is a very nice trail
The route starts on the Tbilisi – Kojori highway, at the turn to the Betania Monastery, descends following the car road and after passing around 7.3 km you will find yourself at the entrance of the monastery complex. I strongly recommended covering this distance by car, with high-clearance.
Sadly there is not much information preserved about the Monastery, but it’s defined that The Virgin Mary church was erected at the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century. High dome and the walls of the church are decorated with reach carvings. The interior is painted and here you can find one of the four existing frescoes of King Tamar, which especially increases the importance of the Betania Monastery.
From the monastery, the trail crossеs a small river and ascends the slope of the mountain, from where you can enjoy the beautiful panorama over the Vere Gorge and the monastery. Shortly after, you will find a nice picnic place as well.
From this point trail passes through the beautiful mixed forest, making the journey more enjoyable, then covers the rocky section and ends in the center of the village Akhaldaba.
In Akhaldaba, you can take public transport (bus) to Tbilisi.
Before you decide to make this trail, take in consideration that the trail is easy to walk until the waterfall, after which it follows the wall of the rock for about 150 m, where might be a chance of rockfall. Also, because of the landslide, a small section of the trail is destroyed and became very steep (see picture).
Because of that section, I rated the trail and moderately difficult. Otherwise, this is a very nice trail
The route starts on the Tbilisi – Kojori highway, at the turn to the Betania Monastery, descends following the car road and after passing around 7.3 km you will find yourself at the entrance of the monastery complex. I strongly recommended covering this distance by car, with high-clearance.
Sadly there is not much information preserved about the Monastery, but it’s defined that The Virgin Mary church was erected at the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century. High dome and the walls of the church are decorated with reach carvings. The interior is painted and here you can find one of the four existing frescoes of King Tamar, which especially increases the importance of the Betania Monastery.
From the monastery, the trail crossеs a small river and ascends the slope of the mountain, from where you can enjoy the beautiful panorama over the Vere Gorge and the monastery. Shortly after, you will find a nice picnic place as well.
From this point trail passes through the beautiful mixed forest, making the journey more enjoyable, then covers the rocky section and ends in the center of the village Akhaldaba.
In Akhaldaba, you can take public transport (bus) to Tbilisi.
Waypoints
Religious site
2,617 ft
Betania Monastery
Waypoint
2,644 ft
Entrance to the monastery
Information point
4,639 ft
Info board at the highway
Information point
2,969 ft
Info Board at Akhaldaba
Risk
2,842 ft
Junction. No way-marking
Attention! Here is a junction, but there are no way-marking at this section. You need to rake left trail, which is going down.
Picnic
Risk
3,298 ft
Destroyed part of the trail
This short section of the trail is destroyed because of the landslide
Monument
3,240 ft
Small Settlement
Comments (1)
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Information
Easy to follow
Scenery
Moderate
Nice hike close to Tbilisi. Absolutely worth doing. The washed-out sections are a bit tricky, so maybe do think twice before bringing a small child or someone not used to hiking. Otherwise, it's mostly pretty well-blazed, and even has a few helpful tourist signs.
Nice views from the cross on the hill about the monastery. The forest is quite pleasant, and the village you pass through is bucolic.