Nakerala Pass

Nakerala is where Imereti ends and Racha begins. The pass lies in Tkibuli municipality at about 1,230 metres, on the Tkibuli–Ambrolauri road — the main way into Racha from the west.

Nakerala is also the name of the limestone ridge. The white, near-vertical wall runs for some thirty kilometres above the Tkibuli valley and is visible from far off; it forms the natural boundary between the two historic provinces.

What you see from the top:

• south, the Tkibuli valley, the reservoir and beyond it the Colchic lowland

• north, the villages of Racha, the Shaori reservoir and the Khvamli massif

• east, the Tskhrajvari ridge, and in clear weather the main range of the Caucasus behind it

A walking trail leaves the pass towards Tskhrajvari: three to four hours over alpine meadow along the edge of the Nakerala wall. It is one of the best day walks within reach of Kutaisi and is not technically difficult, but there is no water on the route.

On the pass itself there is almost nothing built — a few pull-ins, a stall selling honey and churchkhela in season, and wind. It is worth stopping in the evening, when mist settles over the lowland and only the top of the wall is still lit.

The wall itself is worth understanding. It is a slab of Cretaceous limestone lifted and tilted along the edge of the Racha range, and its base is riddled with caves and springs — the same rock that produces the karst of Okriba further west. Behind the rim the ground flattens into meadow: cattle are brought up here in summer and hay is cut. In June the meadow is full of wild flowers, and by late August it has dried to yellow.