Sataplia Natural Reserve

Hello everyone. Today I would like to share with you a wonderful place in Georgia called Sataplia. It is a place of scenic beauty and of course that is why I would like to share all the information from A to z all I know about that place. If you ever visit Georgia this is one of the places that you shouldn't miss. The nearest city to this Sataplian Natural Reserve is Kutaisi and from there is about seven kilometres.

The Sataplian natural reserve a place of beauty with sub tropical climate is located at a level of five hundred metres above the sea level. In this region there are 5 karst caves and in one of them there is a domed hall where there are erected stalagmites and from the above sharp stalacites amazes the people. However the sataplia cave is situated at a height of 360 metres above sea level. Around this natural reserve there are also other places of tourist interest that are listed as follows.

1] The fortress towers of Khomuli, Kivilishori,  Chuneshi, Gvishtibi, matkhoji, Gorda, Gvedi

2] Temples and Relegious monuments

There are also some of the UNESCO world heritage sites like Gelati Monastery that was built in the early 12th century with wall paintings of those times, Motsameta Church that was built in the 10th century and also Bargati Temple that was built in the 11th century. Some of the towers are built directly on top of some caves inside which there are many secret tunnels.

Sataplia Natural Reserve is filled with a wide of variety of flora and fauna, at the same time there are a wide variety of some rare plants. This reserve is located in the sub tropical region. There are like sixty seven species of wood plants found in this area. There are dominate beech groves with box tree underbush and hornbeam groves with oriental hornbeam underbush. Apart from this there are also a wide variety of coniferous plants available at this place.

In this natural reserve apart from all these plant varities can also be found a lot of  animals like jackals, badger, pine marten, caucasian squirrel, hare, red fox, grey wolf and also roe deer. There are also a wide variety of birds found in this region and some of them are woodcock, swallows, chiffchaffs, quail etc. Inside the cave the temperature is maintained somewhere around 14 degree celcius however during winter periods the cave may not be accessible.Inside the cave there are a wide variety of nocturnal organisms like bats, freshwater molluscs and cray fishes. The total length of the cave is somewhere around 900 metres and the track length is 300 metres. Once you enter the curve you will be moving through a lovely trail with mineral sediments hanging from the above and also protruding from the below. The cave is decorated with different coloured lights on the inside which makes it look like a fantasy world inside. After a long walk inside the cave having a glance at all those beautiful structures you may get out through the exit. There are also different kind of tours organized by the tourism board in the sataplia natural reserve like photo tours, speleotours, paleontological tour, Ecological & Educational tour. There is also a glass platform a perfect viewpoint on a top of the hill to have a mind blowing look at the green forest area below.

Sataplia according to my view is a good tourist spot to visit in Georgia having some naturally beautiful places that are worth watching. If you had planned to visit the place and if you need some further assistance you may enquire to the tourism board at Sataplia on the following address

The Administration Of Imereti Caves Protected Areas,

Tskaltubo, Banoja Village