Prometheus Cave

The Prometheus cave at Kumistavi was found in 1984 and opened to visitors in 2011 after a large development programme, and the public route runs about a kilometre and a half through a succession of high chambers hung with stalactites, curtains and columns, lit in colour and fitted with concrete walkways and steps. The scale is the point: several of the halls are large enough to hold a crowd without feeling full. At the far end an optional boat takes visitors along an underground river for the last stretch to a separate exit, which is the part most people remember. The temperature stays at around fourteen degrees, and the cave is one of the busiest attractions in western Georgia.

History

The cave was discovered and studied by Georgian speleologists led by Jumber Jishkariani in the early 1980s; it is part of a large system joined by one underground river, of which about 30 km has been explored, roughly half its length. Work to open it to tourists began in 1985, and by 1989 a path of about 1 kilometre, stairs and a 150-metre exit tunnel had been built and small groups had begun to visit, but the project was halted in 1990 for lack of funds, and for several years a local man guarded the cave from vandals, remembered by a statue of him and his dog at the entrance. The project was taken up again in 2007, the cave was renamed after the legend that Prometheus was chained in these mountains, and it reopened to visitors on May 26, 2011 (Wikipedia, Prometheus Cave Natural Monument).

The landscape

• High lit chambers - halls of stalactites, columns and curtains.
• The underground boat ride - the optional river exit at the far end.
• A kilometre and a half of walkway - the developed route through the system.
• Constant fourteen degrees - cool air whatever the season outside.

When to go

Year round; the cave is a welcome escape from summer heat. Two to three hours including travel. Tours leave in timed groups and queues build in summer. Bring a jacket.

Things to know

The coloured lighting is heavy-handed and photographs badly. Tours move in large groups on a fixed schedule with little time to linger. The boat runs only when water levels allow and sells out. Weekend queues in summer are long.

Nearby

Tskaltubo is south; Sataplia and Kutaisi lie east.

Key facts