Kldeisi Village

17 August 2017

Khorkhebi: Freezer and megalithic structure

At the place of present Patara Kldeisi village there was Khorkhebi village in the XVIII century which is mentioned in the work by Vakhushti Bagrationi and is marked on maps. The place is built by dolerite lava flows of Upper Pliocene. Famous Georgian scientist describes ice caves in this environment: “In Khorkhebi there is a cave in the cliff which is warm like bath by winter and springs flow from the cliff by summer. The spring gets frozen, lots of pure ice gets accumulated and some of the ice is taken to the king during summer.”

Khorkhebi ice cave still exists today. It’s situated on the southern ledge of Bedeni plateau, between two water suppliers of Kldeisi river. On the stone surface of the lava flow there’re open open holes where humans can climb down. Holes opened in lava because of the tectonic or gravitation processes. One of the holes is a 12 meters deep stepped mine and on its bottom you can see ice during summer which is as transparent as a crystal. Ice forms in other holes, too. According to locals, ice is especially abundant during hot summers. Unlike Vakhushti’s period there’s less ice here now.  There is a cave-like hollow nearby which is roughly built by large stones. It was probably a secret chapel during enemy’s invasions.

Route: Distance from TeTritskaro-Khramhesi road to Khorkhebi is 7 km. Cars can drive up to the beginning of Patara Kldeisi village. Near the same village there is a waterfall and near it there’s an ice cave which has liquid water by winter and ice by summer, as described by Vakhushti Bagrationi. According to legends, Tamar of Georgia used to hunt here. During hunting one the arrows pierced the cliff and that’s where the name of this village – “Kldeisi” - originates from.