Most of Erekle II’s 4km defensive wall still stands, with 23 towers and each of its six gates named after a local village. Part of the wall runs along Chavchavadze on the hilltop on the northwest side of town, where you can enter the tiny Stepan Tsminda Church inside a tower. The best stretch to explore runs down beside Gorgasali on the northeast side of town. Here you can climb up one tower and walk along the walls down to two more.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
26.36 MILES
Prince Alexander Chavchavadze (1786–1846) was one of the most colourful and influential characters in Georgian history, and the palace and gardens he…
0.31 MILES
This well-displayed, modern museum has good exhibits on Kakheti archaeology and history downstairs, and a room of 13 paintings by Kakheti-born artist Niko…
27.49 MILES
A very professional modern operation 7km southeast of central Telavi, producing 1.5 million bottles a year – 30% is qvevri wine (under the Vinoterra label…
25.84 MILES
This 200-year-old mosque is easily spotted thanks to its tapering octagonal minaret, freestanding with red-brick patterned facets. The mosque itself is a…
29.21 MILES
This remote, 244-sq-km nature reserve climbs to heights of over 3000m in the Caucasus above the small town of Lagodekhi in eastern Kakheti near the…
26.49 MILES
This interesting smallish winery produces wines of numerous appellations under the Shumi and Iberiuli labels, and has a vineyard of 432 vine varieties,…
12.8 MILES
A few kilometres outside Dedoplis Tskaro, Eagles Canyon is home to enormous griffon, black vultures and black storks. It's an epic place best explored…
25.34 MILES
Nekresi’s early Georgian architecture and the views across the Alazani valley from its hillside-woodland site are marvellous. The monastery is 4km off the…
Nearby Sighnaghi attractions
0.31 MILES
This well-displayed, modern museum has good exhibits on Kakheti archaeology and history downstairs, and a room of 13 paintings by Kakheti-born artist Niko…
1.28 MILES
Bodbe Convent, the revered final resting place of St Nino, is set among tall cypresses 2km south of Sighnaghi, a pleasant walk on country roads. The…
12.8 MILES
A few kilometres outside Dedoplis Tskaro, Eagles Canyon is home to enormous griffon, black vultures and black storks. It's an epic place best explored…
14.51 MILES
This impressive hilltop ruin is an extraordinary site to behold and it's hard to imagine how it was even constructed atop such a steep peak. The truly…
22.06 MILES
What's special here is the 7.7km of wine tunnels, dug out of a hillside in the early 1960s for storing and ageing wine at constant temperatures. Today the…
25.34 MILES
Nekresi’s early Georgian architecture and the views across the Alazani valley from its hillside-woodland site are marvellous. The monastery is 4km off the…
25.84 MILES
This 200-year-old mosque is easily spotted thanks to its tapering octagonal minaret, freestanding with red-brick patterned facets. The mosque itself is a…
26.36 MILES
Prince Alexander Chavchavadze (1786–1846) was one of the most colourful and influential characters in Georgian history, and the palace and gardens he…