# Okatse Canyon
- URL: https://explore-georgia.ge/en/places/okatse-canyon
- Type: place to visit
- Region: Imereti
- Coordinates: 42.4506, 42.5515

Okatse Canyon is a natural monument in Khoni Municipality near the village of Zeda Gordi, 520 metres above sea level, within the Imereti Caves Protected Areas. The canyon is a 2-kilometre segment of the 14-kilometre Okatse river, where the river has cut a cleft in the limestone 3–6 metres wide, in places 15–20, and 20 to 100 metres deep; several full waterfalls adorn it, Kinchkha among them, and small lakes, of which Oskapo is 60 metres long. In places the canyon walls almost merge and form natural stone bridges, one of them named Boga, from beneath which the canyon floor can be seen; below Boga the depth reaches 100 metres, for geologists have found here a tectonic fault that cuts across the valley and lifts its lower part several tens of metres above the middle section; the fracture blocked the valley and formed the Gordi lake, whose Pleistocene sediments, 27 metres or more thick, preserve paired annual layers and the pollen of swamp cypress, Engelhardia and Tsuga, now extinct here. Karst springs flow from the canyon walls, and on the limestone banks grow large box trees and rare species.

From the visitor centre in Gordi village a 6-kilometre walking route begins: a 2,300-metre stone-paved path passes through the historic Dadiani forest to the canyon checkpoint, from which a 780-metre metal trail hung from the cliff wall sets out and ends in a 20-metre platform suspended over the canyon with a panoramic view. A second stone-paved path of 645 metres descends by 989 metal steps to the canyon floor and the river, where the canyon is no more than 4 metres wide and 50 metres deep. The checkpoint can also be reached by car or bicycle; the visitor centre has a café, a souvenir shop, lockers and parking, and beside it lie the Dadiani forest park and the ruins of the Dadiani castle.

## History

For centuries the Okatse valley belonged to the villages of the Gordi community, and in the nineteenth century it was part of the summer estate of the Dadianis, princes of Mingrelia; the ruins of the Dadiani palace at Zeda Gordi and their historic forest park still form the approach to the canyon. The canyon itself remains unstudied; geologists have found and mapped a tectonic fault in it, and palynologists have read the history of the Pleistocene climate and flora from the sediments of the Gordi lake.

With the creation of the Imereti Caves Protected Areas it was declared a natural monument, and the Agency of Protected Areas built the trail hung on the cliff, the panoramic platform, the stairway to the floor and the Gordi visitor centre; today the canyon and Kinchkha waterfall are the main attractions of the Imereti Caves Protected Areas.

## Visit info

The visitor centre is in Khoni municipality, by the village of Gordi, about 53 kilometres from Kutaisi and just under an hour by car; from Khoni there are marshrutkas and taxis. Tickets are sold at the centre, and prices are published on the site of the Agency of Protected Areas. From the centre a 2,300-metre stone-paved path leads through the Dadiani historical forest park to the checkpoint, where the 780-metre hanging trail begins; it runs 40–140 metres above the canyon and ends in a 20-metre panoramic platform, while a 645-metre path descends by 989 steps to the floor. Opening hours are 10:00–18:00 in spring and summer and 10:00–17:00 in autumn and winter. Kinchkha waterfall is 5 kilometres from the canyon.

## Tips

In summer go in the morning, before the sun heats the cliff wall and while the 2.3 kilometres through the forest park are still cool. The 989 steps to the floor are hard on the way back up, so carry water and allow time. The canyon combines in one day with Kinchkha waterfall and Prometheus Cave.

## Safety

The hanging trail runs up to 140 metres above the canyon and has a transparent floor in places, which is hard for those afraid of heights; do not lean over the rail and hold children by the hand. On the floor the river rises fast after rain, so do not leave the fenced area. In bad weather check the Agency's information in advance.

## Sources

- [Okatse Canyon — Georgian Wikipedia](https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/ოკაცეს_კანიონი)
- [Okatse Canyon Natural Monument — English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okatse_Canyon_Natural_Monument)
- [Okatse Canyon — Agency of Protected Areas](https://www.nationalparks.ge/en/site/okatsecanyon)
- [Okatse Canyon — Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12867786)

## This page in other languages

- [ქართული](https://explore-georgia.ge/ka/adgilebi/okatses-kanioni)
- [Русский](https://explore-georgia.ge/ru/mesta/kanon-okace)