Vanta is a village in the Telavi district (Akura rural council), at the foot of the northeastern slope of the Gombori range, on the Vantiskhevi River, 600 m above sea level, 13 km from Telavi and 4 km from Tsinandali (the nearest railway station). Vanta is first mentioned in the sources in the 14th century, though a large settlement already existed here in the early feudal era. On a high hill near the village stood a Georgian architectural complex of the 8th–9th centuries. The ruins of a feudal lord's great palace and a hall church survive, and close by are the remains of a bath and later buildings of various purposes. The two-story palace, built of cobblestone, had one large and one small hall on each floor. The first floor, with narrow little windows, served auxiliary and utility purposes (a great fireplace survives); the second floor was residential, lit by tall, wide horseshoe-arched windows. A broad external staircase led up to the building, and the floors between stories rested on wooden beams. The Vanta palace is an important monument of secular architecture of the early feudal era.