Promotheus Cave | Kutaisi
Prometheus cave is located some 20km from Kutaisi in village Kumistavi
(Tskaltubo Municipality), and if you are in Kutaisi - I'd highly recommend you to include Prometheus cave in your itinerary.
The cave was discovered in 1984 and was almost immediately developed as a show cave. Kumistavi is the biggest cave in Georgia. Although only one tenth is open for tourists, it takes about an hour to explore it. Inside there are underground lakes and rivers; rather high humidity and a lot of bats, which, however, do not bother tourists, as they fly very high.
There is a constant 14 degree Celsius temperature inside the cave all year round.
The cave was discovered in 1984 and was almost immediately developed as a show cave. Kumistavi is the biggest cave in Georgia. Although only one tenth is open for tourists, it takes about an hour to explore it. Inside there are underground lakes and rivers; rather high humidity and a lot of bats, which, however, do not bother tourists, as they fly very high.
There is a constant 14 degree Celsius temperature inside the cave all year round.
It is a succession of six large chambers followed
by a 400m-long underground lake. Sections are truly impressive, and the guided
visits along a well-made concrete path are enhanced by discreet colored
lighting and a little background classical music.
The total length of tourist trail inside
the cave is about 1060 meters which you can choose to be accompanied by English
or Russian/Georgian speaking guide.
Marshrutka 30 runs from the west end of Kutaisi’s Tsiteli Khidi
(Red Bridge) to Tskaltubo (1 GEL, 30 minutes), where marshrutka 42 continues 8km to Prometheus Cave (1.50 GEL, 20
minutes) every hour or two.
Prometheus the Titan, who,
along with Epimetheus, was given the task of creating man, managed to annoy the
god Zeus by stealing fire from the gods for man and for refusing to tell Zeus
which of his children would dethrone him. As a result of this, Zeus ordered his
servants to seize Prometheus, take him to the Caucasus Mountains and chain him
to a rock with unbreakable bonds, where he would be subjected to a giant bird
pecking at his liver.
Legend
has it that the rock Prometheus was chained to lies in this cave outside
Kutaisi (although it is certainly not the only cave which claims the legend for
its own). Discovered in 1984, the cave boasts a wonderful array of stalactites,
stalagmites, petrified waterfalls, cave pearls, underground rivers, and lakes.
There is also the option of a boat tour on one of the underground rivers.
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Read about Kutaisi HERE
