Imereti

A central-western region around Kutaisi; the Gelati and Bagrati monasteries, imeruli cheese and khachapuri.

Imereti is the historical heart of western Georgia, stretching along the middle Rioni valley, from humid subtropics near Guria to alpine meadows almost 2,850 m high on the Racha border. Its capital, Kutaisi, is one of the country's oldest cities and its second-largest urban area.

Karst landscapes meet the golden age of medieval Georgia here: Prometheus and Sataplia caves, Okatse Canyon and, in and around Kutaisi, Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery, both on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Imeretian cuisine and winemaking form their own school: imeruli khachapuri, sulguni cheese, light qvevri wines from Tsolikouri and Tsitska grapes, and the Sviri appellation.

Unlike Adjara or Svaneti, sources do not single out a separately documented costume tradition for Imereti: men wore the general Georgian chokha and women a long dress with an apron, the base ensemble typical of the lowland provinces of historical Georgia.

Wealthy families sourced silk and brocade through Black Sea trade; cut and embroidery were close to those of the neighbouring lowland provinces of western Georgia.

What to see

• Motsameta MonasteryThe «place of the martyrs» on a cliff above the Tskhaltsitela river, where, tradition says, brothers David and Constantine were put to death in the 8th century for refusing to convert to Islam.
• Gelati MonasteryA spiritual and scholarly academy founded by David the Builder in 1106, a «new Athens» of medieval Georgia; a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Tskhradzvari and the abandoned cable carA summit of the Racha range, one thousand five hundred and sixty-five metres, by the Nakerala pass. The name means nine crosses. From the top you see the mining town of Tkibuli with its reservoir, the whole Imeretian plain and the Khvamli massif across the valley. In 1984 the upper station of a cable car was built here to link the summit with the town below: the line did run for a while, but with the collapse of the Union the work was abandoned and part of the structures were taken away for building material. The concrete station still stands in the forest, half an hour along the path from the summit. Photograph by Levan Davlianidze.
• Bagrati CathedralAn 1003 cathedral on Ukimerioni hill in Kutaisi, restored in 2012 after centuries of ruin; a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Prometheus Cave (Kumistavi)An 11 km karst cave system with an underground lake; a 1.4 km route past stalactites and stalagmites has been open to visitors since 2011.
• Okatse CanyonA gorge up to 100 m deep with a cliffside suspended walkway leading to a viewing platform above a 70 m waterfall.