Okatse and Martvili canyons, Kinchkha waterfall and Prometheus cave
As Vladimir Vysotsky wrote in his poem: "Better mountains can only be mountains that you have not yet been to. " For me, this statement is true, because I really love mountains! I love our Carpathians, I love to wander along the mountain paths for hours, I also fell in love with the mountains of Georgia for their untouched beauty and vast expanses!
On our new trip, we again used the services of gotrip, because we were very pleased with the ratio of price and quality of the trip. Sociable and cheerful driver Gocha, smooth road and breathtaking views - this is what you need!
The road to the canyons leads us towards Kutaisi, about 50 km from the city. But if Kutaisi is easily accessible by public transport, then the canyons are not. And when you have a car with a driver for the whole day, then any trip will be a thrill.
Gocha slightly changed our route and our first stop was Prometheus Cave (Kumistavi), located 20 km from Kutaisi, in the Imereti region in western Georgia.
The underworld can also be very beautiful, and for lovers of such places, of course, I advise you to visit. Tickets at the box office, cost - 20 GEL for an adult ($ 6.7) and 5 GEL for school-age children ($ 1.7), a guide along the route is included in the price. The start of the tour is announced through a loudspeaker. Tourists are offered a 1600-meter hiking route through the grottoes of the cave and a boat trip along the underground river. In any case, the route passes by various and sometimes even bizarre forms of stalactites and stalagmites, which turn on the imagination. More than once it seemed to me that bizarre animals and majestic kings were looking at me, such was their resemblance. The air temperature in summer is quite comfortable, you won’t have time to freeze during the route.
It is worth noting that our children especially liked the tour of the cave.
Prometheus Cave is the largest in Georgia, but only a tenth of it is open to tourists. At the same time, be prepared to spend about an hour on it.
There is high humidity in the cave, which you also need to be prepared for.
However, looking at the beauties of the underworld, you may not have time to feel these moments before you find yourself on the surface. A comfortable bus delivers back to the entrance to the cave.
Further on, our path lay to the Okatse canyon, it is not far from the cave, the road leads through the private sector, where we noticed something very interesting.
In Georgia, cows and pigs graze on their own. Yes, yes, and pigs! Animals leave the house in the morning, graze in the neighborhood, and in the evening they return to the gate and ask to go home. Returning from the excursion, we saw how the pig "knocked" on the gate. Smart pigs, however. By the way, their pigs are mostly small and not fat, except that sows, cows are slender, many travel to the mountains for food, so their figure remains very slender.
In the photo above, the pigs are looking for food, and we are going to the canyon.
I'll tell you what this road is like, because they can scare you with the fact that it's a long way, the road is difficult, you will get very tired, etc.
First, buying tickets to enter the canyon does not mean that the entrance is here and now. Second - you either drive along a broken road in a broken car to him, or walk along a path through the forest.
Choose! The walk is longer than the drive (about 3 km), but the road is gorgeous! At first, a beautiful forest, after - a view of the mountains, fresh air. Either faster, but shaking in a car off-road for your own money, but the amount is not small, given the lack of a road as such. They asked us for 20 lari ($6.75) for the return trip, but we went on foot. In general, the walk took us 2 hours.
So, the entrance costs 17 GEL ($5.73) for an adult ticket, 7 GEL ($2.36) for school-age children. And, ATTENTION, children under 10 years old and shorter than 120 centimeters are not allowed on the trail. Children under the age of 14 are also not allowed in unless accompanied by an adult. In principle, this is understandable, because the height of the suspension bridge above the ground is 140 meters! When we entered the trail, a woman entered and immediately returned, so the trail is not even for every adult. The length of the trail is 780 meters, at the end there is an observation deck, the views from which are literally dizzy, given the height.
Are you scared? Certainly! But how beautiful! The bird's eye view is the most amazing! Just think, when there was no this path, it was impossible to see all the beauty with your own eyes, well, unless you are a bird.
Life hack for those families who are going to travel with small children (under 10 years old), but really want to visit this amazing place. Adults buy tickets at the box office, get on foot or by car to the entrance to the trail with their children and visit it in turn, leaving the children under supervision. The exit from the trail is in a different place, but it is easy to get to the starting point from it and replace the other parent.
So, the site of the Okatse canyon is left behind, we are going to the Kinchkha waterfall. The waterfall is located seven kilometers from the canyon, the nearest settlement is Zeda-Kinchkha. It is not the only one in these places, there is a whole cascade of waterfalls, but Kinchkha is the first step of the cascade 100 meters high, located about 1000 meters above sea level.
The waterfall is powerful and very beautiful, and the nature around is just a feast for the eyes! In addition, not far from the waterfall there are baths of the former princes with stunning white stones. Swimming here in the cold water on a hot day is a pleasure.
The water is the purest, the nature is the most picturesque!
And finally: on this day, in the vicinity of Kutaisi, we visited the Martvili Canyon, which is located among high cliffs and picturesque mountains. The water in the canyon is of emerald color, I have never seen such a stunningly beautiful place before!
The canyon is divided into upper and lower. And interestingly, boating, which you will definitely be advised, is along the upper canyon.
The entrance fee to the Martvili Canyon for an adult is 17.25 lari ($5.2), for schoolchildren - 5.5 lari ($1.9), boating - 15 lari ($5).
We were left with a slightly mixed impression of the boat ride, as I thought it would be longer. But after reading other blogs, I was convinced that we rode for a long time. The ride takes 20 to 30 minutes and depends on the boater. We had a grandfather who was also tired after work, apparently for the whole day. He tried to row very slowly. Another oar was given to my husband, my son, and a middle-aged Jewish man who did not try to row at all. After some efforts of my husband, I advised him to leave this venture and enjoy the beauty for which we came here.
The nature here is fabulous, visiting these places, it is not difficult to imagine bizarre gnomes, elves and other fantastic forest creatures that you often see in the movies. Perhaps because the views are conducive to this.
In any case, I recommend not to be afraid to travel, to get high from what you see, to cherish every moment spent among the stunning beauties and the people you love most!
