თეთრი მღვიმის

Tetri Mgvime - Tetri Cave - თეთრი მღვიმის ბუნების ძეგლი - White Cave Natural Monument

Useful Information

Location:	Khomuli, East of Tskaltubo. (42.329483, 42.617217)
Open:
Fee:	Adults GEL 15, Children (6-17) GEL 7, Children (0-5) free. Wine tour: Adults GEL 25. Speleotherapy: Adults GEL 20, Children (6-17) GEL 10. [2021]
Classification:	Karst cave Speleotherapy
Light:
Dimension:	T=13-14 °C.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Tetri Mgvime, Imereti Caves Protected Areas Administration, Khomuli, Tel: +995-577-101806, E-mail: Tel: +995-595-70-05-15. Jumber Leladze, Tel: +995-577-977272. Giorgi Tkabladze, Tel: +995-599-859270. Malkhaz Chrelashvili, Tel: +995-595-700515. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

~1950	discovered.
1970s	used for speleotherapy.

Description

Tetri Mgvime (Tetri Cave, White Cave), located in Tskaltubo region, is famous for its white stalactites. The cave has three chambers and an area of about 3,500 m².

Archaeological excavations revealed human remains upto 30,000 years old. 15,000 artefacts including household items, weapons, and human bones were found. The cave was frequented by man during the copper age, it was used for ritual and religious ceremonies. Numerous sculptures have been found during excavations of the 40 to 50 cm thick sediments. Pits and imitation hearths were the location of various sacrificed articles. So the dark cave was used of religious purposes while the people lived in front of the cave. An exceptional and quite unique discovery was a copper arrowhead. Copper was far too expensive to use it on arrowheads which were actually used for hunting.

The cave was used for speleotherapy from the 1970s to the 1990s, it seems it was then abandoned. After the cave was opened as a show cave this was revived. A session takes an hour and includes a seat and warm blankets. The cave was also used for the training of the cosmonauts of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Today this is replaced by the use for aging wine, the temperature and humidity is ideal. A wine company built a wine storage room inside the cave and ages different wines from Imereti. There are wine tastings organized inside the cave, and the guests can buy the wines they just tasted. The company trained a group of cave guides as someliers for this purpose.