 It arcs to the northwest, then into a canyon near Akhaltsikhe where it starts to run northeast in a gorge for about , spilling out of the mountains near Khashuri.It then arcs east and starts to flow east-southeast for about , past Gori, then near Mtskheta, flows south through a short canyon and along the west side of T'bilisi, the largest city in the region.The river flows steeply southeast past Rustavi and turns eastward at the confluence with the Khrami River, crossing the Georgia-Azerbaijan line and flowing across grasslands into Shemkir reservoir and then Yenikend reservoir.