Sataplia or Prometheus – this question is often asked by visitors to the region. According to the latest statistics, Sataplia lags behind Prometheus Cave in visitor numbers, primarily due to Prometheus Cave’s much more impressive underground cave.
Nevertheless, Sataplia has its own advantages: it has more capacity to accommodate a larger number of visitors, meaning that tourists usually do not have to wait in long queues as is the case at Prometheus Cave in the summer period. Sataplia also offers its beautiful Colchic Forest, a viewpoint over Kutaisi, a smaller underground karst cave (than Prometheus Cave) and its highlight - the fossilized footprints of dinosaurs.
For Online Georgia these two sites – Prometheus Cave and Sataplia - are more complementary than the alternatives. While the underground cave is much smaller, Sataplia is especially appealing to visitors with children – they have an excellent opportunity to pose next to dinosaurs, explore the picturesque forest and enjoy the playground. Adults will certainly enjoy the cave and the history of the dinosaur footprints in the museum, as well as the viewpoint over Kutaisi.
The site’s name in Georgian means “honey place”. The toponym relates to numerous hollows along the caves used by bees in ancient times for nesting. Some of the nests can be easily observed when passing along the cliff trail once inside the territory.
Sataplia was discovered in the 1920s by an amateur naturalist Petre Chabukiani who then followed the river that flowed out of the cliffs. The water ultimately brought him to the big underground cave covered with stalactites and stalagmites, formed over the course of centuries. By the end of the 1950s Sataplia became a protected territory and, coupled with the discovered dinosaur footprints, transformed into one of the major tourist sites in Georgia that was visited by hordes of tourists from all parts of the Soviet Union.
In 2011, the site, formerly neglected for twenty years, underwent massive refurbishment thanks to funds allocated by BP as compensation for its oil pipeline in Southern Georgia. Kudos to the former Environment Minister (notwithstanding the fact that he has been accused of neglecting environmental causes elsewhere and even supported the idea of hunting in protected areas) for managing to obtain the much needed funding from BP and launching the most modern western-standard tourist site at the time.
Getting There: Marshrutka 45 departs from Kutaisi’s Central Market for Sataplia
(0.5 Euro; 50 mins)
Entry Fee: Tickets under 6 years – free; Ticket 6 - 18 years – EUR 2; Ticket for Georgian citizens and residents – EUR 3; Tickets for foreigners – EUR 6
