{"id":12993,"date":"2026-03-04T23:18:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ilupin.com\/en\/?page_id=12993"},"modified":"2026-04-04T00:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:39:15","slug":"2025-04-06-kumistavi-okatse","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ilupin.com\/en\/travels\/asia\/georgia\/2025-04-06-kumistavi-okatse\/","title":{"rendered":"Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Kumistavi &\u00a0Okatse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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  1. Rezo Gabriadze, founder of the Puppet Theatre, returned to his native Kutaisi thanks to the efforts of Indian muralist Afzan Pirzade<\/a>.\n<\/li>\n\n
  2. The 11th<\/sup>-century Bagrati Cathedral<\/a>. Blown up by the Turks in 1691, shelled by the Russians in 1770, finished off by Saakashvili despite UNESCO. \n<\/li>\n\n
  3. The cathedral stands on a high hill overlooking Kutaisi and the Caucasian Range.\n<\/li>\n\n
  4. The ruins of the 6th<\/sup>-century<\/span> Ukimerioni fortress on the same hill. The lower part of the flanking tower<\/a> is fairly well preserved.\n<\/li>\n\n
  5. A mural on Rustaveli Avenue commemorates 26-year-old<\/span> Tamaz Nikitin, killed in the 2008 war. His son Saba recently turned 17.\n<\/li>\n\n
  6. They\u2019ve been threatening to restore the abandoned Soviet sanatorium “Savane” in Tskaltubo<\/a> for several years now, but luckily, they haven\u2019t yet.\n<\/li>\n\n
  7. To my shame, I\u2019ve never even heard of it, although I adore such places; the incomparable Davit<\/a> himself suggested we stop by.\n<\/li>\n\n
  8. A room with a view.\n<\/li>\n\n
  9. Bright future.\n<\/li>\n\n
  10. Continuing my fascinating route. An unearthly dragonfly (with a butterfly\u2019s proboscis, for some reason) is on duty at the cave\u2019s ticket counter.\n<\/li>\n\n
  11. The Kumistavi Cave<\/a> was discovered only in 1983, and arranged for visitors thirty years later.\n<\/li>\n\n
  12. The name \u201cPrometheus Cave\u201d appeared thanks to the efforts of Saakashvili, a great expert in international marketing.\n<\/li>\n\n
  13. A more natural reference would have been to the cave story of the ancient Georgian epic hero Amirani<\/a>, but Greek characters sell better.\n<\/li>\n\n
  14. And god (any, to your taste) sees everything!\n<\/li>\n\n
  15. Kumistavi is the largest cave in Georgia. Visitors can only see a relatively short section (1 km out of 11), but it\u2019s still impressive.\n<\/li>\n\n
  16. I\u2019d also note the calm, soft lighting enhancing the natural beauty of the minerals. Yup, Sataplia, that was possible.\n<\/li>\n\n
  17. The next stop is Okatse Canyon<\/a>, with a narrow metal suspended road over a life-long<\/span> green abyss.\n<\/li>\n\n
  18. Natural bridge.\n<\/li>\n\n
  19. Okatse Canyon is about 50 meters deep, with Okatse River flowing along its bottom.\n<\/li>\n\n
  20. Blue expense.\n<\/li>\n\n
  21. An unnatural bridge for those who survived the suspended road.\n<\/li>\n\n
  22. Below, it looks like this.\n<\/li>\n\n
  23. Restroom by the exit.\n<\/li>\n\n
  24. View of Okatse from another bridge, lower down.\n<\/li>\n\n
  25. Caucasus hellebore is damn poisonous, but beautiful.\n<\/li>\n\n
  26. The late Soviet memorial has been rededicated to \u10d7\u10d0\u10db\u10d7\u10d0, possibly to the young Kutaisian Tamta Liparteliani<\/a> who died in the Ut\u00f8ya mass shooting.\n<\/li>\n\n
  27. Monplaisir in Kutaisi: a mascot heroine by French artist Vinie<\/a>, and Mother Language Day by Georgian ones Musya Qeburia and TamOonz.\n<\/li>\n\n
  28. Another work by Musya Qeburia<\/a> is for World Vision, an organisation that helps homeless children (with air-cons,<\/span> for example).\n<\/li>\n\n
  29. A charming cable car over the Rioni River. It was built in 1961 and seems to have not changed since.\n<\/li>\n\n
  30. Lampreduzo-meduzo! Temur Pkhakadze recreated the Picasso boy<\/a> from the film \u201cExtraordinary Exhibition\u201d based on Rezo Gabriadze\u2019s script.\n<\/li>\n\n<\/ol><\/div>\n\n\n\n