Uplistsikhe is an ancient cave town located in eastern Georgia. In 2003 it was in quite a poor condition – the old road was all in pits and ruts, and even though the entrance was free, there were barely any visitors. Not long time ago it was renovated. Cafes and toilets were built there, the road was restored and admission became 3 GEL (slightly more than 50 rubles – $ 1.7). Let’s take a tour over this ancient place. The first inhabitants of Uplistsikhe used natural caves. Probably at the end of the 1st – the beginning of the 2nd century BC these caves were reconstructed. Several hundreds of different buildings (churches, public buildings and homes) were carved in the rocks. Wells and gutters, city gates, streets and city fortifications were constructed. Uplistsikhe is one of the oldest settlements on the territory of Georgia. It was formed in the 16-15th century BC. Then, over the centuries the city has been rebuilt several times, abandoned and left to decay, but each time it has been somehow revived. And now, for almost 200 years since the cessation of raids and wars, no one’s been living here. People moved down to the valley of the Kura river.
