Khulo Cable Car and Upper Adjara
A Soviet-era cable car strung between Khulo and the village of Tago across a deep gorge, plus the road into Upper Adjara.
- Time needed
- 3 h
- From Tbilisi
- 455 km · 7:20
- Road
- Mostly paved
- Car needed
- Crossover / SUV
- Season
- May–October
- Entry
- ~2 ₾
Khulo is the centre of Upper Adjara, about 88 kilometres from Batumi in the upper Adjaristsqali valley. Its best-known feature is the cable car linking the town to the village of Tago: a line roughly 1,700 metres long that crosses directly above the gorge, with a ride of about ten minutes.
It is worth understanding that this is not a tourist attraction. The cable car was built in the 1980s and still functions as local transport for a village with no other short route to the district centre. The cabin is basic and the view is dramatic, with the gorge and river a couple of hundred metres below.
Beyond Khulo, Upper Adjara has several other draws:
- The Goderdzi Pass at roughly 2,025 metres, east of Khulo
- The Goderdzi petrified forest, a rare deposit of fossilised trees near the pass
- Khikhani fortress, medieval ruins on a rock outcrop
- Traditional wooden houses and arched bridges scattered through the villages
In winter the road toward Goderdzi frequently becomes difficult or closes altogether, while Khulo itself remains reachable year-round with appropriate tyres.
Practical advice
The cable car is simple and cheap, but its timetable follows local needs and can change, so ask on arrival rather than relying on published hours. Anyone uneasy with heights will find the crossing hard: the cabin is basic and the gorge is deep. Khulo has cafes, small guesthouses and a fuel station. If you plan to continue over the Goderdzi Pass, check the weather first and fill up in Khulo, because the next fuel is a long way further on.
How to get there from Tbilisi
Khulo is about 455 km and seven hours twenty from Tbilisi, with the route running via Batumi: E60 to the coast, then east into the Adjaristsqali valley — 88 km and up to two hours from Batumi. The road is mostly asphalt but narrow, full of switchbacks and damaged in places, with sections prone to landslides. A higher-clearance car is noticeably more comfortable here. If you continue over the Goderdzi Pass, a 4x4 becomes necessary outside the summer months, and the surface there is unsurfaced in stretches.
Click a marker for details. Coloured lines are ready-made road trips.
Nearby places
Spa resortBakhmaro
A mountain resort of wooden chalets at 1,950 m where sea and alpine air meet — open only in summer.
Spa resortNabeghlavi
A mineral water village in the Guria foothills — springs, a green valley and the start of the Bakhmaro road.
WaterfallMakhuntseti Waterfall and Arched Bridge
A thirty-metre waterfall and a medieval stone arch bridge in the Adjaristsqali valley, an hour from Batumi.