There is an unbelievable amount of attractions in the mountainous country of Georgia - much more than needed to leave anyone spellbound. But one of the most extreme attractions has to be the Katskhi pillar. The Georgians have a penchant for placing crosses, churches, hermitages, and monasteries in impossible locations, but this one takes the cake.
There are many reasons why one should be planning a trip to Georgia and the Katshki pillar is just one in a very long line of reasons. Lemmings even ranked the small mountainous country as first in their 2020 list of "emerging destinations."
The Katskhi Pillar
The pillar is a natural limestone monolith located in the village of Katskhi in the middle of Georgia. It is around 40 meters or 130 feet high and has been venerated by locals as the Pillar of Life and a symbol the of True Cross. Today it has become shrouded in legends.
- Height: 40 Meters or 130 Feet
It was even unclimbed by researchers and was unsurveyed until as late as 1944 and was thoroughly studied from 1999 to 2009. It was concluded that the complex had a monastery church and cells for hermits.
It has been determined that there was an early medieval hermitage on the pillar from the 9th or 10th century. There is also a Georgian inscription that has been paleographically dated to the 13th century. This is taken to indicate that it was still in use at that time.
- First Built: In the 9th to 10th Centuries
- First Monks To Live There: Between the 10th and 11th Centuries
- Dedicated: to Maximus the Confessor (a 7th Century Monk)
In the church on top of the Katskhi pillar, one will find a burial chamber, a wine cellar, a curtain wall, and three hermit cells.
The first record of this pillar and church is by the 18th-century Georgian scholar Prince Vakhushti. He stated in his Geographic Description of the Kingdom of Georgia:
"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 is able to ascend it; nor know they how to do that."
Revival Of The Katskhi Pillar
The Katskhi pillar was revived in the 1990s following the collapse of the atheist Soviet Union. It was restored by 2009.
Today it is perhaps the world's most isolated and even one of the most sacred churches.
Every day the monks at the bottom journey up the thin metal ladder bolted to the side of the vertical rock. There they say prayers to bring them closer to God.
- Maxime Qavtaradze: Monk Who Lived there And Would Come Down Only Twice A Week For 20 Years
According to CNN, for twenty years (from 1995 to 2015) Father Maxime Qavtaradze spent most of his time on the top and is the last monk to live up there. It was he who built the new church in 1995.
- Church of Simeon Stylites: The New Church And Monastery At The Base of The Pillar
Visiting The Katskhi Pillar Today
It is notoriously difficult to reach and one must get there by car or mini-bus. The final approach is on foot and demands a 20-minute hike. At the base of the pillar are a monastery and a small chapel.
- Hike: There is A 20 Minute Hike To The Base Of The Pillar
But this is as far as one is permitted to go. It is off-limits to visitors and only monks are permitted to continue with the 20-minute ascent up to the church impossibly perched on top of the pillar.
- Restricted: Only Local Monks Are Permitted To Climb Up The Pillar
While only the local monks are permitted to climb up to the top of the pillar today, women have never been permitted to climb up the Katskhi pillar. People have been banned since 2018 by the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church before male visitors were permitted to visit the site.
- Women: Women Have Never Been Permitted to Climb The Pillar
Today one can only climb up to the pillar's first level and that level has a prayer area.
The cross at this level is the oldest part of the complex. Dating from the 6th century it shows when the site was first recognized as a holy Christian site. It was only later on that a church was added.
One can reach the monastery on a rather long day trip from the capital, Tbilisi, or the coastal resort city of Batumi. But it would be better to spend the night in the central Georgian city of Kutaisi so that one isn't rushed in the day.