Sataplia Dinosaur Footprints Nature Reserve
Discover the remarkable Sataplia Nature Reserve near Kutaisi where dinosaur footprints preserved in limestone, a karst cave system, and a forest of Colchic relict plants create an extraordinary natural heritage site in the Caucasus.
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Reserve Entrance
Enter Sataplia Nature Reserve through the forest that covers the limestone plateau, the subtropical vegetation including species whose ancestors survived the last ice age in this mild Colchic refuge while the rest of Europe was glaciated.
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Dinosaur Footprint Site
Find the remarkable dinosaur trackway preserved in Jurassic limestone where the footprints of large herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs are clearly visible, the site offering tangible evidence of the creatures that roamed this landscape 135 million years ago.
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Footprint Protective Canopy
Examine the preserved footprints under their protective canopy where scientists have studied the stride patterns of multiple dinosaur species, with the trackway representing one of the finest dinosaur track sites in the Caucasus region.
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Sataplia Cave
Enter the Sataplia Cave where stalactites, stalagmites, and underground streams create a smaller but nonetheless beautiful karst system with illuminated geological formations and a constant cool temperature year-round.
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Colchic Forest
Walk through the ancient Colchic forest where species including the Colchic ivy, Caucasian wingnut, and various ferns represent the survivors of the ancient Tethys Sea coastal forest that covered much of southern Europe and western Asia before the ice ages.
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Glass Platform Walkway
Cross the glass-floor suspension walkway that allows visitors to look directly down through the forest canopy to the valley floor far below, the transparent platform providing a vertiginous perspective on the karst landscape of the reserve.