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Katskhi Pillar Georgia
Georgia is a spectacular place with many Otherworldly structures. Katskhi pillar is a magnificently beautiful limestone pillar jutting out of a forested landscape in the small country of Georgia. It has been the subject of wonder for quite some time, and perhaps today, one of the most recognizable features of Georgia. Until 1944, no one knew how Churches and monasteries were constructed at this height of pillars.
The Katskhi Pillar in Georgia is actually an isolated column of Limestone rock. It is one of the highest and, perhaps, the most isolated churches and monasteries in the world. The pillar is located 200 km west of Georgia’s capital city, Tbilisi, and getting there is no easy task. Only a car or a bus will take travellers. The natural limestone monolith is located at a height of 40 meters and overlooks the small river valley of Katskhura, a right affluent of the Q’virila.
The rock, with visible church ruins on the top surface of the Limestone pillar, can be seen from a distance. It remained unclimbed by researchers and unsurveyed until 1944 and was more systematically studied from 1999 to 2009. Katskhi Pillar Monastery– At the bottom of the pillar is a monastery, with a small chapel on the right-hand side. The monastery building was restored in 2009.
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At the time of excavations, eight large containers called kvevris were found. It serves the purpose of holding traditional Georgian wine. The presence of these containers, along with the construction of a wine cellar, proved to the researchers that the former residents of this place engaged in rigorous austerity.
Katskhi pillar in western Georgia- History
Katskhi pillar is first mentioned by the 18th-century Georgian scholar Prince Vakhushti said about this kingdom-There is a rock within the ravine standing like a pillar, considerably high. There is a small church on the top of the rock, but nobody can ascend, nor knows how to do that. A number of local legends surround the pillar. It is said that the top of the rock was connected by a long iron chain to the dome of the Katskhi church, located at a distance of around 1.5 kilometres from the pillar.
Based on archaeological digs conducted in 2006, the structures of the pillar are dated from the 9th–the 10th century. According to this, the complex was composed of a monastery church and cells for hermits. In 2007, a small limestone plate with the Asomtavruli Georgian inscriptions was found, dated to the 13th century and revealing the name of a certain “Giorgi”, responsible for the construction of three hermit cells.
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How to visit this Place
The Katskhi pillar does not allow the common traveller to climb the pillar. Entry is permitted only to monks from a religious order. As per the Spiritual leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church, only the monks have permission to enter the church at the highest of the pillars.
How to reach Katskhi Pillar
To reach the Katskhi pillar, travellers can board a bus from Tbilisi’s Didube bus station to Chiatura; the trip would take around three and a half hours. On reaching Chiatura, taxis and cabs are available to reach the Katskhi Pillar. The tourist can also reach Batumi. Buses run every hour from Batumi to Kutaisi. On reaching Kutaisi, passengers can take the second bus to Chiatura.
