Martvili Canyon Natural Monument
Interesting facts
- Among the fossils found in the canyon's limestone are fragments of a mosasaur, a giant marine reptile of the Late Cretaceous seas.
- Ammonites, nautiloids, brachiopods and sea urchins in the rock show that this green gorge was once the floor of a warm sea.
- Cave excavations in 2011 turned up prehistoric human bones alongside the remains of cave bears and bison.
- The Dadiani staircase down to the water has 30 limestone steps, and legend links it with the monk George the Hagiorite and King David IV the Builder.
- Remains of an old Megrelian water mill from the eighteenth or nineteenth century still stand inside the canyon.
- Natural limestone bridges spanning the gorge are thought to be the remnants of karst caves whose roofs partly collapsed.
- A small hydroelectric power station was built on the river here as early as 1928.
- The cliffs are clothed in Colchic forest, with yew, Nordmann fir, oriental beech and sweet chestnut growing above the water.
Why it is worth it
The Abasha river runs an improbable shade of deep green through Martvili Canyon, sliding between walls of pale limestone hung with ferns and moss and dropping over a series of waterfalls. Formally the Gachedili Canyon Natural Monument, this gorge in western Georgia is a narrow, intimate place: about 2.4 km long, only five to seven metres wide and some fifty to seventy metres deep, with falls of twelve to fifteen metres where the river steps down through the rock.
The limestone through which the river has cut was laid down in the Mesozoic and Paleocene, and the canyon is thought to have opened up along a line weakened by a strong earthquake, which the Abasha then deepened by erosion. The rock has proved rich in traces of the distant past. Expeditions from Ilia State University have recorded around twenty dinosaur footprints from the Late Cretaceous, along with fossilised marine creatures, and caves in the area have yielded evidence of prehistoric people. The water stays cold throughout the year.
The gorge also has a human story of its own. It was once the private bathing place of the Dadiani, the princely family who ruled the region of Samegrelo (Mingrelia), and an old staircase down to the water is still associated with them; local tradition holds that notable churchmen and statesmen of the past descended the same steps. The canyon was declared a protected natural monument in 2013.
It lies at about 240 metres above sea level near the village of Gachedili, at the northern edge of the small town of Martvili, in the green, humid lowlands of Samegrelo.
Getting there
The canyon is near Gachedili, on the northern edge of Martvili in the Samegrelo region; the town of Samtredia is about 34 km away in a straight line. The nearest airport is David the Builder Kutaisi International (KUT), about 32 km away in a straight line.
Plan your visit
We have no confirmed visit data yet. Once it is confirmed, this block also carries the date it was checked.
Nearby places
- Prometheus Cave 20.5 km · cave
On these lists
From the encyclopaedia
Gachedili Canyon Natural Monument also known as Abasha Canyon Natural Monument and Martvili Canyon is an Abasha river erosion canyon located in Samegrelo region of Western Georgia in Martvili Municipality near Gachedili village, 240 meters above sea level. The water in the Abasha river has deep green color in the canyon. The Gachedili Canyon Natural Monument is located 6 km from the popular Balda Canyon Natural Monument. A canyon visitor center is located in the village Great Inchkhuri on the northern outskirts of the Martvili.
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