Half of Vardzia is shut after a rockfall. The half that is open still takes two to three hours

The complex used to be walked as a circuit: in at one end, up through the tunnels and chambers, out at the other. A rockfall this year ended that. The route now stops at the Church of the Dormition, and everything past it is closed, which is roughly half the complex. You come back out the way you went in, through the same tunnels, against whatever group is coming up behind you. No date has been given for reopening, so anyone planning a trip should treat the shorter route as the route.

Entry is 15 lari for adults, free for children under six, with no student or pensioner discount. An audio guide is another 15 lari, and the shuttle bus from the ticket office up to the cave entrance is 2 lari a head — worth taking, because the approach road is a climb on its own. Card payment is usually fine but there is no cash machine on site. Hours shift with the season: from 1 October to 14 November the site runs 10am to 6pm, dropping to 10am–5pm from 15 November. Allow two hours at a steady pace, three if you take the audio guide.

Vardzia sits about 225 kilometres from Tbilisi on sealed road, four to five hours each way. Public transport there and back in a day does not work: the van timings are too tight, so the marshrutka option really means staying overnight in Akhaltsikhe, 60 kilometres away, and going on from there. That leaves an organised tour, a hired driver for the day, or your own car. A driver has the advantage of stopping at Khertvisi Fortress on the way, which is on the same road and costs nothing extra in time.

This is steep stairs, low tunnels and uneven rock. The guide is blunt that it is not wheelchair accessible and not a good idea for anyone with serious mobility problems, and the tunnels are narrow enough to be unpleasant if you dislike enclosed spaces. July and August bring real heat with almost no shade in the late afternoon, which is why late May, June, September and October are the recommended windows — and October is one of them now. The church is active: men need long trousers, women a long skirt and head covering, scarves are available at the door, and photography inside is not allowed.