Sartichala Sunflower Fields: A Quick Summer Side Trip From Tbilisi

Kakheti province, the epicentre of Georgia’s wine industry, is known for its vineyards. Grapes aren’t the only thing that grows here – the area is home to another prestigious crop: Kakhetian sunflowers.

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⚑ View the location of the sunflower fields here on Google Maps

Important! Sunflowers aren’t grown at this location every year. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the fields were replaced with corn. Check locally before you set off to avoid disappointment.

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Sunflowers bloom throughout the Alazani Valley, the fertile river dale that runs from Pankisi at the foot of the Greater Caucasus through Kakheti, past the popular wine tourism towns of Telavi and Sighnaghi.

As an alternative summer day trip from Tbilisi, a group of friends and I decided to visit one of the bigger sunflower farms in the area, located on the outskirts of Sartichala, a village just 30 kilometres (about a half-hour drive) from Tbilisi.

Sunflowers are cultivated here to produce sunflower oil, a staple of Eastern Georgian cuisine and an essential component of any Kakhetian supra. You can taste raw sunflower oil drizzled on tomato and cucumber salads, among other dishes, in many restaurants around Tbilisi.

Like UNESCO-Listed qvevri wine, Kakhetian sunflower oil is a bit different to your usual cooking oil. The warm amber colour apparently comes from the supercharged phenols (the same compounds that give extra-virgin olive oil its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties). Kakhetian oil is always cold-pressed to maintain its flavour and quality.

Sunflowers are an important commercial crop in Kakheti and are popular because they don’t require irrigation. The field we visited was quite dry, with small rivulets running parallel to the rows of flowers.

Sunflowers have been farmed here for generations, but it wasn’t until the 1960s when new technologies were introduced that there was a boom in production. In the 1990s, the industry declined because it was cheaper to import oil from Russia and Ukraine.

In recent years there’s been a resurgence, and organic Kakhetian sunflower oil is now considered something of a specialty product (but I’ll bet it’s still the go-to oil in most of Kakheti’s home kitchens). An ideal Georgian souvenir, you can find bottles sold in shops around Tbilisi, including at Sunflower Health Food Store off Rustaveli.

Almost half of Kakheti’s sunflower farms are located in Dedoplistskaro, closer to the border with Azerbaijan, but there are a few scattered along the highway closer to the city. The Sartichala farm is located just off the highway that connects Tbilisi and Sighnaghi, so you can easily make a quick stop here on your way to the wine region. 

Flowers for days

There’s no farmhouses, no factories – the only reason to visit Sartichala is to frolic in the boundless fields and snap photos (yes, this is fast becoming an Instagram spot!). It’s not necessarily a popular tourist attraction or a must-do, but if you’re bound for the wine route, it does make for a nice little stopover.

When we visited, we saw two other groups of tourists. Who knows, maybe the Sartichala sunflower fields will make a name for themselves in the years to come.

This particular field is massive, with flowers stretching out as far as the eye can see. The sunflowers aren’t planted in perfect rows like other fields in Europe, but the whole thing is a bit ad-hoc, which adds to its charm. As you walk around the field you can find narrow passageways to cut through.

Despite the vastness, every individual flower has its own personality. While some solemnly kowtow to the sun’s rays, others are perfectly formed with their canary-yellow ray petals pressed skywards.

A few of the more mature flowers had already started to deteriorate, shedding their inner disc florets to reveal their seeds. All of the sunflowers stood a little bit taller than me – the highest stems must be around 6 feet.

We saw thousands upon thousands of honey bees dancing between the blooms. Some flowers had up to half a dozen tiny bees on them at once! They were busy pollinating and didn’t bother us at all as we walked along the edge of the field.

Sunflowers only bloom for around 20 days, so you have a short window to see them in all their glory. We visited in the first week of August and some of the larger flowers were already starting to wither (although we saw plenty of fresh blooms and a few yet-to-emerge flowers, too).

After we were done frolicking, we took a quick drive through Sartichala, a village of around 6,000 people with its own interesting history. The colony of Marienfeld (now part of Sartichala), established in 1818, was the very first Swabian German settlement in the South Caucasus.

Sadly, all the German families were deported under the Soviet regime in the 1940s, forced overland to Azerbaijan where they boarded ships across the Caspian to meet their exile in Central Asia.

Unlike in Asureti – another former German colony in neighbouring Kvemo Kartli region that I’m planning to visit later this year – there’s no architecture (or indeed any trace) of this period of history left in Sartichala. As far as we could see, anyway.

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Tips for visiting the Sartichala sunflower fields

• Go in summer – as mentioned, there is only a short window of time to see the sunflowers in full bloom. I recommend going in July or early August.
• Leave early – the sun is very harsh in the middle of the day and the field is completely exposed.
• Wear covered shoes – there’s not much walking involved, but you do have to cross a couple of shallow irrigation channels and through some muddy patches. Take care not to slip! For more tips on what to wear in Georgia, check out my packing guide.
• Be respectful – this is a private farm and although there are no restrictions on entering, you should still be mindful that this is someone’s property. Don’t trample or pick the flowers.

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How to get to Sartichala from Tbilisi

We travelled to Sartichala by van with a private driver. It’s also possible to reach the sunflower fields by marshrutka or private car.

By marshrutka: Most vans bound for Sighnaghi or Telavi pass by Sartichala. The fields are located after the turn off for the Gombori Pass, so if you’re taking a Telavi van, you’ll need to make sure it follows the Kakhetian Highway all the way. There’s also an option to take a shared taxi.

Read my complete guide to travelling to Telavi/Signaghi from Tbilisi.

By car: A private transfer from Tbilisi to Sighnaghi and back starts from $63 when booked through GoTrip. You can incorporate as many stops as you like – including wineries, churches and castles in the area – as well as the sunflower fields. This is a door-to-door service, and you’ll have a professional English-speaking guide to accompany you.

Read my review of GoTrip, or reserve a car and driver now.

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Accommodation near Sartichala

The maximum amount of time you’ll want to spend in Sartichala is a couple of hours. If you want to stay nearby in Kakheti, there are a couple of cute guesthouses in the area, including this incredible house in Khashmi. It looks like the perfect weekend retreat!

Otherwise, there are plenty of accommodation options in Sighnaghi, an hour’s drive from Sartichala. I personally recommend Zandarashvili Guest House, a terrific family run guesthouse in the centre of town with home-cooked meals and views over the valley.

If you’re continuing on to Sighnaghi, I highly recommend stopping at Giuaani Winery along the way. Located in the village of Manavi halfway between Sartichala and Sighnaghi, it’s one of my favourite wineries in Kakheti.

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