Okatse canyon

OK Martvili canyon was a rip off, but Okatse canyon was a whole different experience.

I arrived at the Okatse visitor center not expecting much after Martvili. There is a model of the canyon in the visitor center. The model show what I thought was the visitor center and an aerial walk to a suspended view point. The walk looks much better than Martvili for the same price. So I decided to go.

I buy my ticket and begin walking the trail. There is a sign saying that the view point is 30 min await. OK, it is 35° outside, no clouds and a bit of wind, looks good. After 5m, some guy ask me if I want to go by taxy. I said no, a short walk will be nice.

After walking 10min , no aerial trail, no canyon, just a nice walk in what could be a park. It is getting hot. 5min later I saw very far away what I now understand is the beginning of the aerial path. OK I understand the 30min sign andthe taxi now... It is getting very hot now, no more wind and I start thinking of the ascend back as the trail is going down deep.

I take a 5min break under the trail entrance shade and begin the aerial trail.

OK that's something worth the money (it costs the same price than Martvili)! The aerial trail is between 100 and 150m above the canyon. The trail floor is a metal grid, so you can appreciate even more the gap to the canyon. It ends with a nice "balcony"

But the best part was probably the way back to the visitor center. It was very very hot, so I told myself, if there is a taxi at the end of the trail, hell I take it! And...there was. \o/

The guy told me it was "sieti lari" (i.e. GEL Georgian lari) to go back to the visitor center. OK. Don't care. Too hot.

On my way to the car, I was wondering "sieti", is it 7, 17 ou 70?
7 seems nothing, 17 seems about right, 70 is very expensive.

We arrived at the car... It was an old white 4x4 Lada! The ride back was SO AWESOME! He droves like a local on what was merely a dirt road, and the landscape was great too. That would be worth 70!

OK has it happens, the driver was speaking English, "sieti lari", was in fact "thirty lari".

Anyway, that was fun!Read more