GeorgiaOfficial tourism
Zhinvali Reservoir

Where fortress walls meet drowned valleys

Zhinvali Reservoir

Why go

Zhinvali Reservoir is the placid, jade-green lake that pools below the 17th-century Ananuri fortress, one of Georgia's most photographed sites. Created in 1986 by damming the Aragvi River to supply Tbilisi with water and hydroelectric power, the reservoir drowned the old valley and village of Zhinvali—whose church tower still surfaces in drought years. The contrast is the draw: crenellated stone battlements reflected in still water, with the snow-capped Greater Caucasus rising behind. It sits on the historic Georgian Military Highway, the 19th-century Russian imperial route to Vladikavkaz, and remains the essential pause between Tbilisi and Kazbegi.

On the ground See

  • Ananuri fortress complex—two churches with carved facades and a 17th-century bell tower perched above the water
  • The reservoir shoreline at low water, when the submerged ruins of old Zhinvali village become visible
  • The viewpoint from the highway switchback above, capturing fortress, lake, and mountain in one frame

Practical Know before you go

Best light and clearest reflections April–October; the site lies directly on the Georgian Military Highway (SH3), 64 km north of Tbilisi, with no entry fee to the fortress.

Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · reviewed quarterly