Photo: Lorenz King, JLU, university Giessen.deMartvili (Chkondidi) Monastery
Samegrelo's spiritual centre in the Middle Ages, on a high hill above the town.
Martvili Monastery, known in the past as Chkondidi, was the spiritual centre of Samegrelo in the Middle Ages. It stands on a high hill above the town, with a view over the whole valley.
Today it houses the monastery of St Andrew the First-Called and the convent of St Nino. Patriarch Ilia II revived the complex in 1998.
The monastery is on the way from Salkhino to Martvili Canyon, so the two fit well into one day.
Photos
Dadiani Summer Residence
The summer palace of the princes of Mingrelia, a centuries-old park and a historic wine cellar — the heart of Salkhino.
Church of the Virgin, Salkhino
An 18th-century church in the grounds of the Dadiani residence, part of the Salkhino monastery.
Martvili (Gachedili) Canyon
The emerald Abasha river, waterfalls and boat rides through Colchian forest.