Khvamli
2,002 m
Georgia
Also known as Chwamli, ხვამლი, +2Also known as
Chwamli · ხვამლი · Хвамли · Chvamli
- Elevation
- 2,002 m
- Prominence
- 1,179 m
- Difficulty
- 2/10
- Hike
- Best Season
- Sep–Oct
- Routes
- 1
Routes
1Since 2020 a paved road climbs from Okureshi on the Tsageri side to a car park at about 1,710 m, leaving a short signed walk: 2 km through beech forest and over the karst plateau past St George's Church, then through a slippery hollow to the summit cross above the 300 m south cliff. About 1 hour up, 4 km and 490 m of ascent return.
Elevation Profile
- Distance
- 2.4 km
- one way
- Ascent
- +248 m
- −77 m lost on the way up
- High Point
- 2,002 m
- Time Up
- 1h 17m
- DIN 33466
- Time Down
- 1h 03m
- DIN 33466 · same way back
Turn off the Kutaisi–Tsageri–Lentekhi road at Okureshi and drive the steep (up to 20 %) paved road up the north side of the massif to the car park at the road end, which has a picnic and camping area. From there a path paved in places with limestone slabs climbs gently through forest for about 900 m to a yellow signpost. A short detour north-west leads to St George's Church (about 1,950 m) on the plateau, rebuilt on the site of a 12th–13th-century church; it is the goal of the Khvamloba pilgrimage. Back at the signpost, head south-west across open ground and into mixed woodland. The only awkward section is a steep-sided hollow (one of the many sinkholes on the plateau): the path drops in and climbs out on narrow, often slippery ground, with a small rocky step at the end. Beyond it a large white cross, known locally as 'mayak' (the lighthouse), stands on an exposed boulder at the summit, above the cliff that falls about 300 m to the south. Return the same way; allow 2–3 hours for the round trip with time at the church. In fog the plateau is genuinely dangerous: it is pitted with sinkholes and shafts, and the summit is at the edge of a cliff. Mudslides can close the road, especially in spring, and in winter you park lower down and walk up through deep snow. A longer alternative descends about 14 km to the wine village of Tvishi in the Rioni valley.
Start
Khvamli car park1,829 m
- Kutaisi–Tsageri marshrutka (11:00, 14:00, 16:00 in recent reports) to the Okureshi turn-off, then about 14 km on foot or by taxi up the road. From the Rioni side, the Kutaisi–Ambrolauri–Oni minibus to Tvishi, then 14 km on foot.
- Parking at the trailhead
Waypoints
- Parking: Khvamli car park1,829 m
Picnic area and camping pitch next to it
- Feature: St. Giorgi (Khvamli)1,904 m
Short detour from the signpost on the plateau
- Summit: Khvamli2,002 m
Key Passages
- Steep, slippery hollow before the summit
- Summit boulder above the south cliff
Equipment
0/7 packedDownloads
Route confidence 80%Overview
Kutaisi's home mountain: a 2,002 m limestone massif in Lechkhumi whose 300 m south cliff is the legendary prison of Amirani, the Georgian Prometheus. A paved road now leaves only a short walk across the karst plateau, past St George's Church, to the summit cross.
Khvamli (also Khomli) is the first high ground north of the Colchis lowland, on the watershed between the Rioni and Tskhenistskali valleys in Tsageri and Tsqaltubo municipalities. It is a double cuesta of Cretaceous limestone: gentle forested slopes and a plateau riddled with sinkholes and caves on the north, and a cliff about 300 m high on the south, clearly visible from Kutaisi. The summit carries a large white cross that locals call 'mayak', the lighthouse.
The mountain is steeped in legend. Amirani, the Georgian counterpart of Prometheus, is said to have been chained to its cliffs, and a medieval chronicle records that the Georgian royal treasury was hidden in its caves in the 13th century; treasure hunters from the 1840s onwards have found nothing. The Tekenteri karst well, entered through the hollow of a beech tree, drops 18 m to an underground lake. The massif is a planned managed reserve.
Since a paved road from Okureshi reached the plateau in 2020, the ascent has become a 2–3 hour walk suitable for most reasonably fit people. Fog and rain are the main problems: the mountain is the first to catch moist air from the Black Sea, and the plateau is pitted with holes.
Climbing Notes
From the road-end car park the summit is a 2 km walk with about 290 m of height gain (490 m of total ascent return because of the hollows), so allow 2–3 hours including the church. Wear shoes with good grip for the slippery section through the hollow before the summit, carry water (there is none on the plateau) and long trousers against hogweed. Without a car, take the Kutaisi–Tsageri marshrutka to Okureshi and walk or taxi the 14 km road, or make a two-day traverse from Tvishi in the Rioni valley.
Do not go in fog or straight after heavy rain or snow: sinkholes and shafts are hidden in the vegetation and the summit is at the edge of the south cliff. In winter the road is not cleared to the top and you walk up through deep snow. Summer days can be hot and exposed on the south-facing summit, so start early; spring and autumn are the pleasantest seasons.
History
St George's Church on the plateau stands on the ruins of a church probably of the 12th–13th century; excavations in 1910 found an inscription naming its donor, Ioane, eristavi of the Svans. The 14th-century Chronicle of a Hundred Years states that the royal treasures were hidden in Khvamli's caves when David VI and David VII divided the kingdom in 1259. Prince Dadiani's excavations in the 1840s found nothing, and later Soviet and post-Soviet searches, reported in the Georgian media, were also unsuccessful. The Amirani/Prometheus legend attached to the mountain appears in 19th-century travel writing and in Jules Verne's Kéraban the Inflexible.
Season
Best Sep–Oct- January: Possible
- February: Possible
- March: Possible
- April: Possible
- May: Good
- June: Best
- July: Good
- August: Good
- September: Best (best window)
- October: Best (best window)
- November: Good
- December: Possible
- Jan
- Road not cleared to the top; long walk through deep snow
- Feb
- Deep snow on the plateau
- Mar
- Snow on the plateau; sinkholes hidden
- Apr
- Snowmelt; mudslides on the road common
- May
- Last snowfields; check the road
- Jun
- Khvamloba pilgrimage on the 8th Saturday after Orthodox Easter
- Jul
- Hot and exposed; start early; tall vegetation
- Aug
- Hot; start early
- Sep
- Good conditions; autumn colours from late month
- Oct
- Autumn colours; cooler
- Nov
- First snow possible
- Dec
- Winter conditions
Access & Permits
- Rules
- Khvamli is designated a planned managed reserve; follow local signage and leave no trace
- Do not enter the Tekenteri karst well or other shafts without caving equipment and a guide
- Getting There
Tsageri
Kutaisi (KUT)
- By car: about 55 km (75 minutes) from Kutaisi on the Kutaisi–Tskaltubo–Tsageri road to the turn-off at Okureshi, then 30–40 minutes up the steep paved road to the car park
- By marshrutka: Kutaisi–Tsageri at 11:00, 14:00 and 16:00 (about 10 GEL in 2026 reports) to the Okureshi turn-off; then taxi, hitchhike or walk the 14 km road
- Taxi from Kutaisi: about 70 GEL one way (2026 report)
- From the Rioni side: Kutaisi–Ambrolauri–Oni minibus to Tvishi, then 14 km on foot
Hazards
- Exposure
- Weather