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The ground above Sakajia Cave Natural Monument (Sentinel-2)

Georgia Georgia Cave

Sakajia Cave Natural Monument

20 m below the entrance.

Underground river

See the descentHow to visit

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30

The descent

20 metres down, to scale.

The real relief above Sakajia Cave Natural Monument, measured on the Copernicus model every 30 m, and the cave going down at the same vertical scale.

−20 mEntrance604 m1.0 kmvertical × 7.0−20 mEntrance604 m1.0 kmvertical × 15.2

a two-storey house (9 m) would fit upside down 2.2 times.

The depth is the one published by those who explored it; the shape of the galleries is a sketch, not a survey.

20m

Depth

published (Wikidata)

150m

Entrance altitude

published (Wikidata)

15°C

Inside, all year

the yearly average outside, at the entrance

187m

Rock above

the highest point within 1.5 km

Inside and outside

15 °C inside, all year.

Deep inside, a cave keeps the average temperature of the year outside: about 15 °C here, in January and in August. In August the afternoon reaches 33 °C at the entrance, 18 °C warmer than inside: take a jacket. The best months to escape the heat are from June to September.

outside, at the entrance (150 m)inside
  1. 7°0°Jan
  2. 9°1°Feb
  3. 13°4°Mar
  4. 18°8°Apr
  5. 24°13°May
  6. 29°18°Jun
  7. 32°20°Jul
  8. 33°21°Aug
  9. 28°17°Sep
  10. 22°12°Oct
  11. 15°6°Nov
  12. 9°2°Dec
Inside: 15 °C all yearEscape the heat: Jun–Sep

Outside: afternoon and night averages for 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the entrance. Inside: the yearly average, which deep parts of a cave keep. Near the entrance it follows the weather a little.

Cave in Georgia

Sakajia Cave Natural Monument is a cave in Georgia. It goes down 20 m below the entrance. The entrance is at 150 m. It has an underground river.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there.

  • Wild cave: only with caving equipmentNo paths or lights inside. Go only with a caving club or a qualified guide.
  • Kutaisinearest town · 5.3 km in a straight line
  • Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 0.3 km from the entrance
  • 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

Plan the visit

Guided tours, 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 water

The Kadzhighele runs highest from November to April.

The Kadzhighele carries about 6.2 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to April.

  1. 14 m³/sJan
  2. 13 m³/sFeb
  3. 18 m³/sMar
  4. 15 m³/sApr
  5. 11 m³/sMay
  6. 7.0 m³/sJun
  7. 4.0 m³/sJul
  8. 2.6 m³/sAug
  9. 7.3 m³/sSep
  10. 12 m³/sOct
  11. 14 m³/sNov
  12. 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 above.

The ground above the cave, with the relief shaded, the line of the section and what people have mapped around the entrance.

The ground above Sakajia Cave Natural Monument (Sentinel-2) N 1.5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6.0 × 6.0 km, north up. The line is the section above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the entrance.

  • 7other cave entrances within 3 kmIlia's Sinkhole, იაზონის მღვიმე, Untitled grotto near Motsameta and 4 more
  • 1springs within 2 km
  • 20viewpoints within 3 kmპანორამული ხედი and 19 more
  • 3marked hiking routes within 3 kmPath to King David's tower, Along the river Rioni, Kutaisi-Motsameta Monastery - Kutaisi
  • 1named waterfalls within 4 kmSmall waterfall
  • 4car parks within 2 km
  • 1bus stops within 2 km
  • 3campsites within 8 kmჯომარდობა ქუთაისში
  • 205hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmბაგრატი, იმპერიალი, სასტუმრო გელათი and 202 more
  • 3restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • sinkholes within 3 km
  • caving clubs and spots within 15 km
  • climbing crags within 3 km
  • information boards and visitor centres within 3 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the entrance. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Kutaisi5.3 km in a straight line
  • Tsqaltubo14 km in a straight line
  • Tqibuli21 km in a straight line
  • Terjola21 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 Sakajia Cave Natural Monument.

The river at the entrance, the waterfalls, the lakes, the mountains and volcanoes above, the canyons, beaches and islands nearby — from our other atlases.

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather outside, at the entrance.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon791318242932332822159
Afternoon791318242932332822159
Night014813182021171262
Rain (mm)96801057369776864103112111102
Rainy days131213111112111011111113
Sun hours/day2.73.53.95.66.98.27.98.37.15.34.03.0
Snow on the ground (cm)2122168200013917
AfternoonAfternoonNightRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan770962.7
Feb991803.5
Mar131341053.9
Apr18188735.6
May242413696.9
Jun292918778.2
Jul323220687.9
Aug333321648.3
Sep2828171037.1
Oct2222121125.3
Nov151561114.0
Dec9921023.0

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the altitude of the entrance (150 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020109%131%88%92%152%48%151%126%30%26%77%48%
2021108%139%115%121%101%64%112%84%140%63%51%84%
202286%48%89%105%94%159%45%28%83%154%47%37%
202328%134%101%125%154%164%179%28%151%103%201%111%
2024163%151%106%32%182%124%139%73%58%187%118%127%
202578%114%110%568%103%105%84%68%335%393%5%80%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Caves nearby.

Sakajia Cave Natural Monument

Georgia

  • 20 mDepth
  • —Galleries
  • 150 mEntrance altitude
  • 15 °CInside, all year

Prometheus Cave

Georgia · 17 km

  • 40 mDepth
  • 2.9 kmGalleries
  • 147 mEntrance altitude
  • 15 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Nagarevi Cave Natural Monument

Georgia · 6 km

  • 6 mDepth
  • 0.1 kmGalleries
  • 190 mEntrance altitude
  • 15 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Solkota Cave Natural Monument

Georgia · 17 km

  • 32 mDepth
  • 0.2 kmGalleries
  • 373 mEntrance altitude
  • 14 °CInside, all year

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and length, visitorsWikidata (Q12868637) · CC0
The relief above, the entrance altitude, the section and the 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Entrances, springs, sinkholes, opening hours and what is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, lakes, mountains, canyons, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, 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, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit
cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.You are here
dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Coming soonVisit
viewpointsViewyasEvery viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit
birdwatchingBirdyasEvery bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Coming soonVisit
forestsForestyaEvery forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit