Prometheus Cave (Kutaisi, Georgia)

The Kumistavi (Prometheus) Cave is located less than an hour's drive from Kutaisi. Theoretically, you can get to it by public transport, but as a result, visiting the cave will take the whole day. Therefore, it makes sense to take a taxi. Then it will be possible in one day to see not only the Prometheus Cave, but also Sataplia and several other attractions (for example, a waterfall and one of the monasteries). Many hostels and hotels organize such trips for their guests. We do the same thing if after hiking around Svaneti we still have a free day in Kutaisi.

A guide leads the group through the cave, telling visitors all sorts of innocent nonsense like “this stalactite looks like a bunny” and preventing tourists from running away through the halls. However, I managed to lag behind the group to take a little long exposure photography. I had a tiny 20cm (tabletop) tripod with me and no one seemed to mind using it. The fact is that in some equipped caves, photography with a tripod is considered professional and requires the purchase of a separate “license”. Immediately I took pictures freely, except that the guide grumbled because of my lag. After all, even with a modest shutter speed of 2 seconds, I was inexorably behind schedule.

We walked through Prometheus Cave in the same group with English-speaking Indian girls (perhaps they were English or American). Listening about stalactite bunnies, the constant temperature and the growth rate of sinter formations (a standard set of information for cave excursions around the world) in English was a little more interesting than in Russian. But can this compare with the pleasure that a photographer receives from every successful shot? Therefore, I didn’t worry a bit about the guide’s missed remarks.

When purchasing tickets at the cave ticket office, you are offered two options - end the tour with a boat ride on the underground river (for an additional fee) or, together with a guide, return to the entrance along a boring stone corridor. I chose the boat and overall I don’t regret it.

The most interesting moment was waiting for the underground boat at the bus stop. The guide had already left us, and the boat had not arrived yet. And there were a couple of minutes of exciting anticipation. Everyone listened to see if the boat was coming, if there was the sound of a motor or the splash of oars. And then “Charon’s boat” emerges from the darkness in complete silence. It was probably driven by quiet electric motors and was able to sneak up on us undetected.

To protect passengers from low ceilings, the boat has helmets and high sides. Well, and life jackets, of course.

At some point, the underground river comes to the surface in a completely suburban area. The boat moors at the pier and a small minibus takes you back to the ticket office and central parking in a matter of minutes.