Mtskheta and Gori, Georgia's old capital and Stalin's home town

The road west from Tbilisi follows the valley of the Mtkvari river, and within an hour it passes through most of Georgian history. First comes Mtskheta, the old royal capital where Georgia became Christian. Then Uplistsikhe, a town cut into a rock face long before that. And then Gori, an ordinary provincial town that happens to be the place where Joseph Stalin was born, and which still has a museum in his honour.

Most visitors see the three together in a day from Tbilisi, or on the way west. It is a long day, and an unusually varied one.

Mtskheta

Mtskheta stands where the Aragvi river flows into the Mtkvari, a short drive north of Tbilisi, and for centuries it was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Iberia, in eastern Georgia. It was here, according to Georgian tradition, that St Nino converted the king to Christianity in the fourth century, and the town has been the spiritual centre of the Georgian Orthodox Church ever since.

Its great cathedral, Svetitskhoveli, stands in a walled precinct in the middle of the small town. Georgian kings were crowned and buried here, and tradition holds that Christ's robe is buried beneath it. Inside it is lofty and dim, with frescoes, icons and the tombs of kings.

On a hill across the river, high above the confluence, stands the Jvari Monastery, a small, perfectly proportioned stone church of the sixth century, built where St Nino is said to have raised a cross. The view from its terrace, down onto Mtskheta and the meeting of the two rivers, is a famous one.

Svetitskhoveli, Jvari and the Samtavro Monastery together form the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.

Uplistsikhe

Some ten kilometres east of Gori, on a rocky ridge above the Mtkvari, Uplistsikhe is a town cut into the soft sandstone: streets, stairways, halls, houses, cellars and a theatre, all carved out of the rock, with a later church of brick perched on top. It was inhabited for many centuries, a pagan religious centre before Christianity and a trading town on the routes through the Caucasus. Walking up through its carved streets, with the river valley spread below, is something you remember. Wear shoes with a good grip: the rock is smooth and can be slippery.

Gori and Stalin

Gori itself is a quiet provincial town, with a ruined fortress on a hill in the middle. It is known for one reason. Ioseb Jughashvili, who became Joseph Stalin, was born here, and grew up in a small brick house in the town.

That house still stands, preserved under a grand classical canopy in a park, and next to it is the Stalin Museum, a large building of the Soviet era that tells the story of his life. It is a strange place, and it is meant to be visited thoughtfully. Its displays, for the most part, still present him as the Soviet era did, with paintings, photographs, gifts and personal belongings, and they say little about the purges, the famines and the millions who died under his rule. Outside stands the green railway carriage in which he travelled. Many visitors find it unsettling; it is also a revealing glimpse of how history is remembered, and contested, in the former Soviet world.

How to go

Explore's seven-night A Taste of Georgia - Tbilisi to the Caucasus Mountains goes from Tbilisi to the wine country of Kakheti, with Signaghi, Kvareli, Telavi and the Pankisi Valley, then to Mtskheta, Uplistsikhe and Gori, before heading north by way of Ananuri to Stepantsminda, Sno and Gergeti in the high Caucasus. It departs in May, June and September.

Explore's eight-night Cycling in Georgia rides from Tbilisi to Mtskheta, Uplistsikhe and Gori, then by way of Kareli, the Kintsvisi Monastery and Osiauri to Akhaltsikhe, the cave monastery of Vardzia, Khertvisi Fort, Lake Paravani and Tsalka. It runs from May to September.

Explore's eleven-night Upgraded - Treasures of Georgia and Armenia covers Tbilisi, Kvareli, Tsinandali and Telavi, Ananuri, Pasanauri, Stepantsminda and Gergeti, Mukhrani, Borjomi, Vardzia and, across the border in Armenia, Gyumri.

Spring and autumn are the best times for the trip west: the hills are green in May and golden in September, and the summer heat in the valleys is past. Start early, give Mtskheta the morning, and save Uplistsikhe for the late afternoon, when the low sun brings out the colour of the rock.