Soviet past - Private day tour to Chiatura, Katskhi pillar and Chronicles
Description
Discover the non-touristic Georgia on this full day trip to the macabre town of Chiatura - once a modern mining town with highest number of cable cars, it resembles a ghost town today with its abandoned mines, empty apartments and decaying Soviet architecture. The time seems to stand still here and so you can take a ride in one of the last rusty cable cars, overlooking the factories, enjoy the panorama view from the half-abandoned concrete settlements on the hills and see a morbide dedication to Stalin here and there. On our tour we also visit the country side of Imereti region, that builds a contrast to industrial Chiatura - the ancient holy pillar of Katskhi with a tiny church on top or the rock hew Mgvimevi convent with frescoes from XIV century.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Though the old cable cars have been suspended, the rusty cabins and the brutalist stations still make a great sight and photo setting. Visit some of the most interesting and unique cable car stations before they get forever destroyed.
One of a kind - the monastery that was built on a huge rock pillar. Until today, many legends surround this place and it still attracts pilgrims from all Georgia.
An unusual kind of monastery, where nature and architecture become one. Built in a cave in the late middle ages, the picturesque monastery looks like an alien among the concrete socialist surroundings.
The must see for any lover of Soviet architecture - the giant monument overlooking the concrete suburbs is a perfect place to finish the tour.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will pick you up from your hotel or vacation rental in Tbilisi. Please share your accommodation location after the booking.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Please note, that as of the moment, all old cable cars have been suspended for safety reasons, but you can still see them
Reviews(30)
Beautiful monasteries and landscapes Interesting and passionate guide Only one small flaw, it is liverpool supporter, no one is Perfect 😜
Real Georgia arranged a last minute trip for my wife and I and put us with a great guide, Irakli. I messaged them late evening on Tuesday and they promptly responded and organised a trip for us on the Thursday that day week. Contacted them through WhatsApp and they answered all questions via message and then linked us up with the guide. They also explained other available trips. We went on a Private tour to Chiatura with our guide Irakli. Irakli is a great driver and looked after us very well. My wife was 30 weeks pregant at the time of the trip and Irakli made sure we had good decent, drink and toilet breaks throughout at nice places. He was basically explaining something new and interesting to us throughout. We had a really good conversation and learnt a lot about Georgia’s past and present. We also enjoyed talking about his family and interests. He was patient with us at each stop and helped take a few photos. Highlights of the trip itself were our early stop at Chronicles of Georgia (avoiding crowds), Mghvimevi monastery (unexpected), Lunch at Lia, Katskhi Pillar and the cable car at Chiatura. From our experience, we wouldn’t hesitate to book a trip through Real Georgia and have Irakli as our guide. We would have liked to do more trips with them but due to time constraints we were limited. This may be a less popular trip but it was very interesting to learn about a piece of Georgia’s Soviet past… so if you have time I would recommend trying to fit it in.
Overall positive experience. Our guide was knowledgeable and informative. One thing to mention is that it is a long day due to the distance needed to travel from Tbilisi.
Thank you for your review! We’re glad to hear you had a positive experience and that you found the guide knowledgeable. We agree, it’s a long day with the travel time, but we hope the unique sights of Chiatura, Katskhi Pillar, and the Chronicles made it worthwhile. We truly appreciate your recommendation and hope to see you on another tour soon!
Irakli was our tour guide and we had a good time with him . He took us to the mining areas and we saw the chronicles of Georgia, church on top of the tower and did cable car tour etc. We really like the tour with him and did not regret this one bit!
To understand Soviet past in Georgia this is a must do trip. We had a good guide - Irakli a passionate and knowledgeable on the tour . He is also a skilled driver and we are fortunate to have him. Overall we are happy 😃 with the trip.
What an amazing day trip! Unbelievable Katskhi Pillar with a little bonus - there was a wedding party there. We ablosultely loved the Mgvimevi Monastery, purched on a steep rock with amazing interiors. Prepare to climb a few stairs and respect the dress code inside. Guess what? Another wedding party! and I received a belling from the priest. Blast from the (Soviet) past in Chiatura, that is still living and breathing, short but very worthwhile cable car trip. Our tour guide, Zurab, was outstanding, very knowledgeable, caring, with a great sense of humour and excellent driving skills. Great little restaurant for lunch. If you want to see different parts of Georgia, less touristy yet so interesting and beautiful, do this tour!
We had a great day with Levan during our private day tour to Chiatura, the Katakhi Pillar, and Gori. (We substituted Gori for the Chronicles, which we had visited earlier in our trip.) Levan was a great guide — prompt, easygoing when we wanted to take lots of photos, knowledgeable but didn’t feel the need to fill every second of silence, and with a clean and safe vehicle. He picked a great lunch restaurant, kept 3 of us (with a 30 year age span) awake, laughing, and learning throughout the day, and took great photos of our group. We had used Real Georgia tours on a previous trip to Georgia, and found them easy to work with, prompt, and reasonably priced. Our experience with Levan left us glad we chose them again.
This was a great trip. The guide was very kind and knowledgeable. Thank you so much for everything!!
Amazing tour..guide Revan is super star and an ultimate guide ..he so friendly and explain each and everything ..5 stars😍
The most comfortable and friendly tour as the first time visiting tbilisi. The tour guide so informative and competent. Had great time exploring tbilisi history and receiving recommendation from the tour guide. It wasn't boring tour i highly recommended full of laughter and enjoyment. Tour guide: George Tip: wear comfortable shoes, there's small hike and bring water.
