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The most interesting caves of the Caucasus are in Georgia. They include the World's deepest cave (Voronya, in Abkhazia, 1710 m). This cave is in a remote borderline area, and very difficult to get to and Sataplia.
Georgia is rich in monuments of nature, the most popular of which for tourist are included in tourist programs: Sataplia and Dmanisi.
Sataplia is located in 9 km to the north-west of Kutaisi in a reserved zone, where on a 354 hectare area there are well-preserved natural floristic complex, rich in plantations of Colkhetian box-trees and chestnut. Here there are also limestone caves, footprints of dinosaurs, located on a 300-m height above sea level.
Dmanisi, 60-km to the south of Tbilisi on the territory of a medieval town there were found two skulls of human beings dated 1.7 million years. With this discovery the antiquity of a man's origin was increased two times on the European continent.
Although Georgia is rich in fortresses, towers, churches and monasteries the cave towns still remain the highlight of the country. Georgia boasts three big cave complexes:
Uplistsikhe, David Gareja and Vardzia.
They are all located in different parts of the country, thus giving you the opportunity to see different landscapes, and they are all different too, as they were carved out in different times. The oldest Uplistsikhe dates to the 1st millennium BC and was one of the points along the Silk Road; parts of the road where caravans used to pass are still visible today.
avid Gareja - a religious cave complex founded in the 6th century. It is located in a semi-desert, consists of 19 monasteries and boasts wonderful mural paintings.
Vardzia cave town - founded in the 12th century as both a religious and secular town it represents the best picture of Georgia in the Golden Age offering cave churches with well-preserved frescoes, wine cellars, refectories and hundreds of dwellings.
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