Chiatura, Georgia

Chiatura, a mining town in central Georgia, is set in narrow valley with hills rising steeply all around. Our main reason for visiting was to see the Soviet era cable cars that were installed in the 50s as a transit system for locals. There used to be as many as 17 operating lines, but now only a few are still working.

We rode two of the cable cars. In both cases a local resident went out of their way to point out a great viewpoint to visit at the top.

There is almost no overnight accommodation in this town of 30,000. We ended up staying at an Airbnb apartment located in a typical Soviet style apartment block.

Chiatura from the top of a nearby hill

View from the balcony of our apartment

Stairwell in the apartment block

In contrast, our modern apartment

One of the cable cars that we rode in

Car climbing to the top

The other cable car we rode

Top station

Another viewpoint

Monastery Mgvimevi, built into a cliff just outside of town

Central Chiatura

Residential street in Chiatura