Motena Cave: Halls and a Medieval Fortress in Georgia

The name of the mountain and the village of Baldi goes back to the Mingrelian word "bala", which means "hill". There are different versions of the origin of this toponym. According to one of them, according to legend, in ancient times, during another enemy raid, local residents hid church shrines — books, icons, crosses — in thorny thickets of bushes ("bardi" in Georgian, thickets of bushes), where they secretly prayed. After that, the village got its name.

It is obvious that the village has been repeatedly invaded by foreigners. This is evidenced by the fact that the oldest unique karst cave located on the territory of Baldi served as a defensive structure — in the Middle Ages, the entrance to the Motenskaya cave was closed, after which it was used as a fortress. It is the presence of a defensive function that makes this karst formation unique.

This natural monument is located on the Askh massif, on the northwestern slope of the Tabakela range, on the left side of the valley of the Abasha River. The cave consists of two large halls connected by a narrow passage. The length of the first hall is 30 m, the height is 24-25 m. The total length of the cave is 75 m. Stalactites, stalagmites, tarentine cascades and curtains are found here from chemical deposits; a limestone wall with loopholes has also been built here.

Location:
Martvil municipality, near the village of Pirveli Baldi; at an altitude of 473 m above sea level.
Coordinates:
No. 42⸰28'59"; E 42⸰23'47".
How to get:
The distance from Pirveli Baldi village to the cave is 0.7 km; the distance from Tbilisi is 290 km, from Zugdidi — 100 km, from Senaki — 60 km, from Martvili — 10 km.