When it comes to caves, nothing can come close to what Prometheus has to offer, at least within Georgia. It is huge, the biggest I have been to so far, though that sadly does not mean much on its own. As was the case with Sataplia, you have to go in with a group of visitors, and these groups can be quite huge. This has some negatives, but despite that, it was a memorable experience for me. Read the rest to figure out just how this whole day trip turned out!
You can reach the Prometheus cave by taking the minibus numbered 30 to Tskaltubo, and then using a Bolt taxi to reach the cave itself. That minimizes costs but know that you cannot call a taxi back to Tskaltubo, so you may have to hitchhike back, or just walk back to Tskaltubo like we did. In any case, after entering the premises and waiting for the group to fill up, we were led to the entrance of the cave for a short lecture, both in English and in Russian.
It was immediately clear to me that the Prometheus Cave offered a more touristic and tailor-made experience to the traveller, in comparison to the much humbler Sataplia. You can see some such sculptures scattered around the cave, and there are way more manmade (likely modern) carvings and certainly modern light shows inside as well.
It is also the more glamorous of the two caves, as much as its natural formations go. Stalagmites and stalactites are not some meter long solitary formations here, they are as long as they come, and often are found in huge groups. Though this photo does not do it justice, this single formation was as big as our apartment back in Kutaisi. Distances, especially in the dark, are hard to make out properly.
There were a few halls to discover in the Prometheus Cave, though many more are off limits to everyday visitors like us. You need to have some equipment and training to explore the rest of this cave, which is much bigger than even the “small” part of it that we discovered during this hour-long excursion. This right here is from the Hall of Love, where our guide asserted that we could see two rock formations kissing each other. I failed to see that myself, despite the red light show that supposedly directed our eyes towards it.
Once again, my phone makes a terrible job at taking photos in the dark. This whole section is bigger than a football field and you really do feel quite perplexed knowing very well that all of this is beneath the ground.
A shot of the same hall from the other side. We just kept walking and walking, perhaps for ten minutes, perhaps more. It kept going on. There were some nice classical tunes that made our journey even more magical.
The true show, however, was just ahead of us. At the end of this road was this massive hall. We then proceeded to enjoy an almost three-minute-long musical journey which was complemented by a lively light show. Different parts of the cavern would light up in tune with the rhythm of the music, and though I would love to explain the whole deal to you my dear reader, I simply cannot. It is one of those “better to see than to read about it” sort of deals, and unfortunately, all I can do is to implore you to go give this cave a chance if you are in the region.
And here is the final part of this journey. Well, technically. You see, when the water levels are right, you can buy an “extension” to this excursion. You can actually ride a boat on an underground river, and feel like Charon is taking you on a journey in the Hades… I so wished to experience that, but luck was not on my side. The right path leads to said boats, whereas the left one goes to the exit.
This specific exit of the cave complex was built for recreational purposes, it is not “natural” per se. The “real” entry points are scattered all along the trek inside actually, but most are not practical for tourists, let alone those with a disability or two. So, you are led out of this wonderful natural wonder through this grim looking tunnel, not that I have any issues with it, I love tunnels too.
The outside of this exit is also quite charming. It is some sort of a “bus stop” where you wait for a small minibus to come and ferry you to the beginning of this whole excursion, where you once bought your tickets. There is a lovely lake here, a girl that sells some pomegranate juice, and even a restaurant/hotel that cater to those who seek to spend more time in the Georgian wilderness. All in all, this was a delightful experience, one I did not regret in the slightest. My two cents on the issue about the guide is this, follow them closely. Most people will get tired quickly so if you keep up with the guide, you can often have the room to take best shots in the cave, and it is quite noisy in the back rows as well, so you can kill two birds with one stone.