Uplistsikhe is an archaelogical site located 10km east of Gori on the north side of the Mtkvari (Kura) river. Between the 6th century BC and the first century AD Uplistsikhe was one of the main political and religious sites of pre-Christian Georgia, with temples dedicated to the sun goddess. Nowadays Uplistsikhe consists of a number of rock-cut dwellings (houses built into the rock), located on a rocky plateau with countless caves. Most caves have no decorations, but in a few there are some wall or roof carvings. On top of the plateau there is a 9th-10th century Christian basilica, built out of bricks. Uplistsikhe is accessible by road from Gori.
01 Buses parked along the street 02 Yellow cliffs 03 Path to caves 04 Rock path to Uplistsikhe 05 Staircase
06 View of Mtkvari valley from Uplistsikhe 07 Rock path to Uplistsikhe 08 Cave cluster
09 Cave cluster 10 Cave cluster
11 Cave cluster 12 Caved stone roof 13 Cave 14 Cave
15 Path to basilica 16 View of cave town with basilica 17 Basilica
18 View of cave town with basilica 19 Basilica 20 View over Mtkvari valley
21 Abandoned village along Mtkvari river 22 Uplistsikhe
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