Chiatura & Katskhi Pillar Day Trip from Kutaisi

Katskhi Pillar

The Katskhi Pillar is a natural limestone column about 40 metres high that rises from a green valley in the Imereti region. On its flat summit stand the remains of a small medieval church and hermit's cell, used by Christian ascetics who sought solitude close to the sky. For centuries the top was out of reach, until climbers and restorers studied and repaired the church in the twenty-first century.

Visitors cannot climb the pillar; a long metal ladder is reserved for the monks who still pray there. At its foot a small monastery and chapel welcome visitors. You spend about an hour here, enough to walk around the base and photograph the column from every angle. The Katskhi Pillar is the highlight of any day trip from Kutaisi.

Mghvimevi Cave Monastery

Mghvimevi, whose name means cave, is a monastery complex set into a limestone cliff just outside Chiatura. Monks first settled in its caves in early medieval times, and in the thirteenth century a church dedicated to the Virgin was built against the rock, decorated with fine carved stonework around its doors and windows.

A stone staircase climbs through trees to the church and the caves, and the view over the valley from the terrace is lovely. You spend about 40 minutes here. As at all Georgian churches, modest dress is expected: shoulders and knees covered, and a headscarf for women, which is often available at the entrance. Speak softly inside the church, as it is still an active place of worship.

Chiatura cable cars and viewpoint

Chiatura grew in the late nineteenth century around rich manganese mines, and at one time it supplied a large share of the world's manganese. Because the town is squeezed into a narrow canyon, a network of cable cars was built in the Soviet era to carry miners up the steep slopes, earning it the nickname of the cable car city. Modern cable cars replaced most of the old lines in recent years.

A ride on the Chiatura cable car is optional, with the ticket paid locally, but few visitors miss it. Afterwards you stop at the Chiatura viewpoint for a panorama of the river, the cliffs and the industrial town below, about an hour in total.

Chiatura railway station and the theatre

The tour also explores the town's Soviet-era heritage. Chiatura railway station, a short stop of about ten minutes, served the mines for decades and still shows the monumental style of its time. It gives a sense of how this remote valley was connected to the rest of Georgia, carrying ore from the mines to the ports of the Black Sea.

Next comes the theatre of Chiatura, a cultural landmark that has been part of town life for more than a hundred years. You spend about 30 minutes here, learning how culture thrived even in a mining town. Together, the station and the theatre reveal a side of Georgia that most visitors never see.

Kutaisi and the road through Imereti

The day begins in Kutaisi, Georgia's second historical capital, at the Central Square with its fountain. After about an hour and a half on the road through the hills and villages of Imereti, you reach Chiatura and meet your local guide, who grew up in the valley and knows its stories well.

Halfway through the visit there is time for an optional lunch of regional dishes, such as Imeretian khachapuri, the cheese bread named after this region. In the afternoon you leave Chiatura and return to Kutaisi Central Square by about six in the evening. How to get to Chiatura from Kutaisi on your own is complicated, which makes this guided day trip the easiest option.