Waterfall · Kinchkha, Khoni Municipality, Imereti

Kinchkha Waterfall

Name: Kinchkha Waterfall
Address: Kinchkha, Imereti, Georgia

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A three-stage waterfall dropping through the hills of Khoni municipality, high above the Okatse valley and reached on the same road as the canyon walkway.

Why go

Kinchkha falls in three stages down a wooded limestone slope at around 840 metres, which is what makes it look bigger than the water in it: the drop is broken, so you see the whole sequence at once rather than a single column. It is the second half of a day that usually starts at Okatse Canyon — the two sit within a few kilometres of each other on the same approach from Kutaisi, and most people who make the drive do both. It is worth knowing that it is a mountain waterfall in a limestone landscape, which means its volume is seasonal rather than constant. After snowmelt and heavy rain it is genuinely impressive; in a dry late summer it is a quieter thing, and travellers who arrive expecting the photographs are sometimes disappointed by the difference.

Getting there

Reached from Kutaisi on the road towards Gordi and the Okatse canyon, roughly fifty kilometres by road even though it is less than thirty in a straight line — the difference is the valleys. The final approach is a mountain road and the fall is signposted from the canyon route, so most visitors combine the two in one trip rather than driving out twice.

Best time to visit

Late spring carries the most water, after the snowmelt and before the dry weeks. Autumn is quieter and still runs well.

Through the year

Flow is seasonal rather than steady: a limestone catchment drains fast, so the fall after heavy rain and the fall in a dry August are noticeably different sights. Winter access depends on conditions on the mountain road.

Safety

Wet limestone and spray-soaked rock are slippery, and the ground around a fall of this height stays damp long after rain.

Where it is