Chiatura and Katskhi Pillar One Day Urbex Tour
Description
Discover Georgia’s hidden industrial heritage on this offbeat day trip to Chiatura and Katskhi Pillar. Travel through dramatic mountain landscapes to one of the country’s most extraordinary landmarks — a 40-meter natural limestone monolith crowned with a small hermitage, symbolizing human perseverance and isolation. Continue to Chiatura, a surreal Soviet-era mining town once known as the “city of cable cars.” Ride the original Stalin-era gondolas, explore abandoned factories and murals, and feel the nostalgic atmosphere of Georgia’s industrial past. This private full-day tour combines history, architecture, and photography in one unforgettable journey beyond the usual tourist trails.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Hotel pick-up available for the private tours
Mgvimevi Monastery built in the 8th century. Its facades are decorated with crosses and ornamental borders. Inside the church on the walls, there are mural paintings from the 8th century and the southern wall is covered with painting from the 16th century. An old fresco, which was discovered under a new layer, portraits a nobleman Rati from Racha Region together with his wife and his brother Niania Kakhaberisdze. A long tunnel under the church was strengthened by arches. Two important objects from the Mgvimevi Monastery, an engraved icon and a very rare curved wooden door made in the 11th century, are now kept in the Georgian National Museum. In the monastic complex, there is also a small church partly carved into the side of a cliff and two-storey bell tower built in the 12th–14th century.
The Katskhi pillar is a natural limestone monolith located at the village of Katskhi in western Georgian region of Imereti, near the town of Chiatura.
The major attraction here is the Stalin-era cable car system which is still in use and serves as the main mode of transport around the city. The cable cars traverse the Qvirilia River gorge connecting the town to the mines above via 10 cars for passengers and 2 cars for manganese transport. Some of the stations are adorned with murals of Soviet heroes. This aerial tram system spans over 6 km of cable and is highly regarded as an exemplary feat of Soviet engineering.
Chiatura is more than just cable cars! The walk around the centre was really pleasant and if you like the Soviet architecture you will appreciate the place even more.
In the evening, we will return to Tbilisi
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will contact you to clarify the time and place from where you will need to pick up.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Subject to favorable weather conditions.
- The maximum capacity of the cable car is 4 people.
- Some cable lines are closed or under repair. Visiting them may not be possible.
- To ensure a safe and comfortable journey, please include every traveler—including children of all ages—in your official booking. This allows us to provide the correct vehicle size and any necessary child seats for your family.
- This experience is not suitable for travelers with mobility issues or a fear of heights. The tour includes riding old cable cars and visiting elevated viewpoints, which may be challenging for guests uncomfortable with heights or enclosed spaces.
- The tour involves a long drive (around 2.5 hours each way) — not recommended for travelers prone to motion sickness or back problems.
Reviews(14)
This your was amazing. Aleksy picked us up and made the day all about us. He showed us what we wanted to see and was very polite. He provided us with a lot of cultural and historical information. It was just him and us three so we moved at our place and we're not delayed waiting for others. Thank you again.
Dear Szymon, Thank you so much for this fantastic review! 🙌 I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed exploring the industrial history and the unique atmosphere of the Chiatura and Katskhi Pillar tour. Aleksi really enjoyed showing you around the Soviet-era heritage and the famous old cable cars. It is great that the flexible pace allowed you to really soak in the experience without rushing. Hopefully, next time you are in Georgia, we will visit Tskaltubo together too! It is another incredible location for urban exploration that I think you would love. 🏚️🌿 Thanks again for choosing us!
Unique experience for those who are passionate about urban and industrial archaeology and Soviet architecture not to be missed. The expert and precise Alex guide. Really perfect experience
Grazie di cuore, Francesco! Siamo felicissimi che il nostro "Chiatura & Katskhi Pillar One-Day Urbex Tour" ti sia sembrato un’esperienza unica, esattamente ciò che vogliamo per chi ama l’archeologia industriale, l’urban exploration e l’architettura sovietica in Georgia. Alex sarà orgoglioso di sapere che la sua competenza e precisione hanno reso la giornata perfetta. Chiatura, con le sue funivie abbandonate, e l’iconico Katskhi Pillar continuano a lasciare senza fiato ogni viaggiatore in cerca di luoghi insoliti nei dintorni di Tbilisi. Ti aspettiamo per altre avventure 4x4 – magari nei deserti di David Gareji o tra i canyon di Kazbegi e Truso Valley – per mostrarti altri tesori nascosti della Georgia!
We had an excellent day out. George, our guide, was fun, knowledgeable and kind and we would definitely recommend.
Dear Adam, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience and leave a 5-star review of your Chiatura and Katskhi Pillar One Day Private Tour. We truly appreciate your kind words and recommendation. We are thrilled to hear that you had a great day out and that George, your guide, made the experience enjoyable for you. George is indeed a fantastic guide who is passionate about providing a memorable and informative tour for our guests. We are glad that his knowledge, kindness, and fun personality added to the overall experience. Thank you for choosing our tour and for trusting us to show you the unique attractions of Chiatura and Katskhi Pillar. We are delighted that you had an excellent day and that you would recommend us to others. Should you plan to visit Georgia again in the future, we would be more than happy to welcome you back and provide you with another unforgettable experience. Once again, thank you for your kind words and for sharing your positive review. We greatly appreciate it.
We enjoyed the tour of Chiatura and its region. This is a much more local part of Georgia and quite different from the other more popular tours. We got the chance to see a monastery where the locals really go and no tourists. The old Soviet cable cars were really interesting to see. I would recommend this tour to people who want to see more off the beaten paths places.
The whole day was wonderful! We really enjoyed George showing us around the sights. The whole town of Chiatura should be a museum to the bygone days of mining.
Just came back from the tour, both me and my girlfriend enjoyed it a lot. Our guide Aleksi was a great, explaining all the time, always answering our questions competent and very friendly. He was very flexible with photostops and adapted the itinerary for us - he spontaneously changed the route and we also stopped in Gori at the Stalin museum, where he even checked us a guided tour, which made it way more interesting as there a not a lot of written explanations in English. As we are into photography we enjoyed Chiatura a lot, offering different kind of interesting motives. The atmosphere of the city was very special, even more as it was a rather dark and cloudy day. Definitely worth a visit! Thank you Aleksi!
Hello, Rafael! Thank you so much for your time and wonderful review. Chiatura is an amazing town and we are happy that you are satisfied with our tour. We will always be glad to see you and your wife in Georgia Safe travel!
We had a great day out with our tour guide Alexi. He showed us all the soviet areas we wanted to see and then a surprise trip to some extra places. He was a great host! Very knowlegable. Thank you for a great day!
I took a private tour with Aleksi to the town of Chiatura, probably something not on many tourists’ itineraries. I am interested in former Soviet architecture and some of these well preserved towns. Aleksi was full of passion and kept the entire day fun, as we talked both to and from Chiatura (about 3 hours each way from Tbilisi). He was so informative about each stop and I learned an incredible amount about the town and several monasteries we stopped at nearby. We also had some extra time and he drove out of his way to take me to the Stalin Museum in Gori, as well as drop me off into the middle of Old Tbilisi rather than my original pickup point. I would highly recommend this tour and cannot stress enough how great or a guide and person Aleksi is!
I have 3 days Randomly Selected package that Includes Airport Pick up and Drop off. It was great to know your driver via picture and car info through WhatsApp for pick up from the airport in Advance. Alaksis and katuna were both awesome entertainer through out whole trip. They truly made every trip memorable with lots of history and information. They really went extra mile with services. I will recommend this company to everyone I know. Thank You Alex, Alksis and katuna for making this trip memorable. Hope to see you Again.
Hello Masuma and Islam! Thank you so much thank you for choosing our company for your journey to Georgia. We are glad that you enjoyed traveling with us and we hope you got many pleasant memories.
I love history and my guide Alexi made sure i got the maximum out of this one day tour to Georgian Chernobyl. The cable cars and the trains were lovely to see and Alexi made sure we get maximum out by taking me to places which are not known yet worth visiting. If you are lover of history then take this trip and get the best out of it. Also, ask Alexi to take you to his fav restaurant and try the eggplant with walnut.
Thank you for taking the time for the review. We love to hear about our great staff and services. We really appreciate it and hope to see you soon, take care!
