GeorgiaOfficial tourism
Chiatura Gorges

Where cliffs, rivers, and Soviet ghosts collide

Chiatura Gorges

Why go

Chiatura sits suspended above the Qvirila River in a labyrinth of limestone gorges carved over millennia. This was manganese mining country, and the Soviets strung cable cars across the void in the 1950s to shuttle workers between cliff-face settlements—some still rattling overhead today, others frozen in rust. The gorges themselves are raw geology: 100-meter walls, hidden waterfalls, and the emerald river threading through. Beyond spectacle, this is a landscape of labor and abandonment, where nature slowly reclaims concrete. Come for the vertigo, stay for the strange poetry of a town that time forgot to dismantle.

On the ground See

  • Ride (or photograph) the remaining Soviet-era cable cars—some still operational, others hauntingly static above the river
  • Hike the gorge trails to the 40-meter-tall Katskhi Pillar from below, or explore the abandoned mining settlements clinging to cliffs
  • Discover the hidden waterfall and swimming holes along the Qvirila River, accessible by foot from the town center

Practical Know before you go

Best visited April–June or September–October; marshrutkas run regularly from Kutaisi (1 hour), and cable car access varies—check locally as routes open and close unpredictably.

Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · reviewed quarterly