Situated 95km west of Tbilisi, Gori is best known as Stalin's birthplace and in the main square stands only surviving Stalin statue in the former Soviet Union. Born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, the son of a cobbler in 1879, he is revered in Gori as a local boy made good. The Stalin museum houses all sorts of memorabilia and photographs that give insight into the dictators childhood, and personal life. Outside the museum his childhood home is preserved under a mock Greek temple.

About 10km east of Gori along the Kura valley, lies the fascinating cave town of Uplistsikhe, carved out of the cliffs and inhabited between the 6th century BC to the 15th century AD. There are huge echoing halls, corridor like streets, chambers for pagan worship and the remains of Georgia's oldest theatre, complete with auditorium, stage and orchestra pit.