Lit halls
Stalactites and stalagmites.
Paata vardanashvili — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jaba1977 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Paata vardanashvili — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zysko serhii — CC BY-SA 4.0 · G.N. — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Paata vardanashvili — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alexey Komarov — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Alexey Komarov — CC BY-SA 4.0
A huge karst cave near the village of Kumistavi in Tskaltubo municipality, about twenty kilometres from Kutaisi, and one of the most spectacular show caves in the Caucasus. It runs for about eleven kilometres in all, of which 1.8 kilometres are open to visitors, through six of its twenty-two halls. Georgian speleologists discovered it in the early 1980s. It is part of a vast cave system linked by an underground river; work to open it to tourists began in 1985, and it welcomed visitors after years of development. It is named after Prometheus, who in Greek myth was chained in the Caucasus mountains. Visitors follow prepared walkways among stalactites, stalagmites, limestone curtains and underground lakes, under coloured lighting that brings out their strange shapes, at depths of up to about eighty metres below ground. At the end of the tour a boat ride on the underground river is available for an extra fee. Tickets are 40 GEL for foreign adults, 16 GEL for citizens and residents and 5.50 GEL for ages 6 to 18, with the boat 30 GEL extra for foreigners; it opens daily from 10 am to 5 pm, per the Agency of Protected Areas. It is cool and damp inside all year, so bring a light jacket and non-slip shoes.
Stalactites and stalagmites.
A boat ride.
Clear water below.
Near Kumistavi village, Tskaltubo municipality, about twenty kilometres north-west of Kutaisi
No, it costs an extra 30 GEL for foreigners per the Agency of Protected Areas, and it may stop when the river runs high.