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Cave · Kumistavi, Tsqaltubo Municipality, Imereti

Prometheus Cave

პრომეთეს მღვიმე · ყუმისთავის მღვიმე

Georgia's principal show cave: a lit walking route of about 1.4 kilometres through six halls of stalactites and flowstone, ending with an optional boat ride on an underground river.

Why go

Prometheus is the cave most visitors to western Georgia actually go into, and it is set up for that: a made path, handrails, coloured lighting and a guided route through six of the twenty-two halls the system contains. The Agency of Protected Areas puts the walkable distance at 1,420 metres and the tour at about an hour, which is a fair description of the experience — long enough to be a real underground walk, short enough that nobody is caught out by it. The part that surprises people is the end. The route does not double back: you leave through a different mouth in the hillside from the one you entered, and there is an underground river section where a boat carries you out over the last stretch. The Georgian National Tourism Administration describes the boat leg as roughly 380 metres. It runs seasonally rather than year-round, so it is worth treating as a bonus rather than the reason for the trip. It is a managed site with an entrance fee and set hours, and it is genuinely busy — the national tourism administration counts more than 200,000 visitors a year. Going early or late in the day is the difference between a cave and a queue.

Getting there

North-west of Kutaisi past Tsqaltubo, under fifteen kilometres in a straight line and a straightforward drive on made roads. There is a ticket office and car park at the site, and the walk from there to the cave mouth is short and surfaced. Because the route exits at a different mouth from the one it enters, you finish about 1.4 kilometres from where you started — the site runs transport back to the entrance, and it is worth asking about it at the ticket desk rather than discovering the walk at the end.

Best time to visit

The cave itself is the same in any season, which is its advantage: it is a good wet-weather and hot-afternoon option when the canyons and waterfalls are less pleasant. The boat section runs in spring, summer and autumn.

Through the year

Hours shorten in autumn and winter. The underground boat trip is seasonal and is not part of the visit year-round, so a winter trip is the walking route only.

Safety

It is cool and damp underground whatever the weather outside, and the path is wet in places — bring a layer and wear shoes with grip rather than sandals.

Public transport

No dedicated service is documented. Reaching it without a car means a taxi or a tour from Kutaisi, which is how most independent travellers do it.

Accessibility

The underground route is a made path with handrails, but it has stairs and long descending sections, and cave air is damp. The Agency of Protected Areas does not publish an accessibility statement for it, so anyone with limited mobility should contact the site before travelling rather than rely on this page.

Where it is

Prometheus Cave on the map

Explore on XTOUR Map

42.3774, 42.6010

Base yourself nearby

City

Kutaisi

Kutaisi is one of Georgia’s oldest cities and the cultural heart of Imereti, combining medieval monuments, lively markets, bridges over the Rioni, distinctive western Georgian food and easy access to caves, monasteries, canyons, spa towns and wine country.

Near Prometheus Cave