Georgia Canyon
Tskaltsitela Gorge Natural Monument
133 m of rock, cut by the Tskaltsitela River.
Giorgi Ebanoidze · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cut
133 metres, to scale.
A slice through Tskaltsitela Gorge Natural Monument where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Big Ben · 96 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
133m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
5.7km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
12°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
7.5km
Length
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In August the afternoon reaches 34 °C. The best months to hike are from April to May and in October.
- 7°6°Jan
- 9°8°Feb
- 13°12°Mar
- 19°18°Apr
- 24°24°May
- 29°28°Jun
- 33°32°Jul
- 34°33°Aug
- 28°28°Sep
- 22°21°Oct
- 15°14°Nov
- 9°8°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
River gorge in western Georgia
Tskaltsitela Gorge Natural Monument is a canyon in Georgia, cut by the Tskaltsitela River. The relief model measures 133 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 157 m to the higher one. It runs for 7.5 km. Rim to rim it is 5.7 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Kutaisinearest town · 5.2 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,940 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 1.3 km from the floor
- David the Builder Kutaisi International Airport (KUT)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 25 km in a straight lineCar hire at KUT airport (Kopitnari)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From April to May and in Octoberbest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The river
The Tskaltsitela River runs highest from November to April.
The Tskaltsitela River carries about 6.2 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to April.
- 14 m³/sJan
- 13 m³/sFeb
- 18 m³/sMar
- 15 m³/sApr
- 11 m³/sMay
- 6.9 m³/sJun
- 4.0 m³/sJul
- 2.6 m³/sAug
- 7.3 m³/sSep
- 12 m³/sOct
- 14 m³/sNov
- 13 m³/sDec
From about 2.6 m³/s in the lowest month to 18 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 202 km².
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
3 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 12 × 12 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 27viewpoints within 5 kmპანორამული ხედი and 26 more
- 3marked hiking routes within 4 kmPath to King David's tower, Along the river Rioni, Kutaisi-Motsameta Monastery - Kutaisi
- 5footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 1swimming spots within 3 km
- 1named waterfalls within 4 kmSmall waterfall
- 7caves within 3 km
- 6car parks within 3 km
- 2bus stops within 2 km
- 3campsites within 8 kmჯომარდობა ქუთაისში
- 205hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmბაგრატი, იმპერიალი, სასტუმრო გელათი and 202 more
- 17restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
- information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Kutaisi5.2 km in a straight line
- Tsqaltubo14 km in a straight line
- Terjola21 km in a straight line
- Tqibuli21 km in a straight line
- Saq’ulia23 km in a straight line
- Baghdati24 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Tskaltsitela Gorge Natural Monument.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 7 | 9 | 13 | 19 | 24 | 29 | 33 | 34 | 28 | 22 | 15 | 9 |
| Afternoon · rim | 6 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 33 | 28 | 21 | 14 | 8 |
| Night · rim | -1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 1 |
| Rain (mm) | 96 | 80 | 105 | 73 | 69 | 77 | 68 | 64 | 103 | 112 | 111 | 102 |
| Rainy days | 13 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 5.6 | 6.9 | 8.2 | 7.9 | 8.3 | 7.1 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 21 | 22 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 17 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | 6 | -1 | 96 | 2.7 |
| Feb | 9 | 8 | 0 | 80 | 3.5 |
| Mar | 13 | 12 | 3 | 105 | 3.9 |
| Apr | 19 | 18 | 7 | 73 | 5.6 |
| May | 24 | 24 | 12 | 69 | 6.9 |
| Jun | 29 | 28 | 17 | 77 | 8.2 |
| Jul | 33 | 32 | 20 | 68 | 7.9 |
| Aug | 34 | 33 | 20 | 64 | 8.3 |
| Sep | 28 | 28 | 16 | 103 | 7.1 |
| Oct | 22 | 21 | 11 | 112 | 5.3 |
| Nov | 15 | 14 | 6 | 111 | 4.0 |
| Dec | 9 | 8 | 1 | 102 | 3.0 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (115 m) and the rim (271 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 109% | 131% | 88% | 92% | 152% | 48% | 151% | 126% | 30% | 26% | 77% | 48% |
| 2021 | 108% | 139% | 115% | 121% | 101% | 64% | 112% | 84% | 140% | 63% | 51% | 84% |
| 2022 | 86% | 48% | 89% | 105% | 94% | 159% | 45% | 28% | 83% | 154% | 47% | 37% |
| 2023 | 28% | 134% | 101% | 125% | 154% | 164% | 179% | 28% | 151% | 103% | 201% | 111% |
| 2024 | 163% | 151% | 106% | 32% | 182% | 124% | 139% | 73% | 58% | 187% | 118% | 127% |
| 2025 | 78% | 114% | 110% | 568% | 103% | 105% | 84% | 68% | 335% | 393% | 5% | 80% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Tskaltsitela Gorge Natural Monument
Georgia
- 133 mDepth
- 5.7 kmRim to rim
- 7.5 kmLength
- 12°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q61994262) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here