GEO: Mtatsminda Park

Mount Mtatsminda, Tbilisi, Georgia

Mtatsminda Park is an amusement park in the capital city of Georgia that shares the same name with the mountain where it's standing at. Occupying an area of over 100 hectares, it's situated at the altitude of 770 m, which is the highest point in the city.

As if our legs weren't already 'falling apart' from walking since morning, my BFF and I climbed up the slope to reach the lower station of the funicular that has been around since 1905.

Though a bit tiring, it was a lovely walk.

In order to travel on the funicular, you need to purchase at least one Mtatsminda Park card that can be shared among a few people. Each card costs GEL 2.00 (~S$1.10). From 9.00am to 12 midnight, the cost to travel one-way is GEL 2.50 (~S$1.35) person. From 12 midnight to 4.00am, the cost is GEL 2.00 (~S$1.65) one-way per person.

Hence, the two of us paid a total of GEL 10.00 (~S$5.45) for a return journey on the funicular.

The lower station is at 460 m above sea level, while the upper station is at 727 m above sea level.

The angle of the funicular path varies along the way between 28 and 33 degrees.

The length of the funicular path is 501 m.

The park was quite empty during winter when we were there. Each of the attractions has its own pricing to be paid using the green-and-white-coloured card.

What's your most favourite amusement park ride?

The last time I played bumper cars was before I hit 18 years old.

Jurassic Park, anyone? We could hear the sound of roaring dinosaurs as we walked past it.

We were so tempted by the nice aroma coming out from that particular restaurant.

We'd planned to experience the Ferris wheel, which is the highest attraction ride. Sadly, it was under maintenance with all the capsules removed from the structure.

Did you know that the park was founded by the Soviet government in the 1930s and was once noted as the third most visited public park in the Soviet Union?

Distorted reality~

I doubt the water splash ride is operating during winter.

I've always liked mazes since young.

The sky started to get darker as we made our way to the roller coaster.

I recall the roller coaster ride costs GEL 5.00 (~S$2.70) per person.

Once the ride was over, we walked back to the upper station to have dinner. The Tbilisi TV Broadcasting Tower was finally lit up.

The 274.5 m tall tower was built in 1972.

Couldn't see much of the city from up there...

After having dinner at Chela Funicular, it was time to leave the amusement park via the funicular again.

You can probably guess that the striking structure in the middle is the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi.

Seeing that building somehow reminded me of Hong Kong~

That was a tiring, but truly fun day.

Souvenirs, anyone?

By the time we reached Hotel City Centre, I'd managed to clock approximately 32,000 steps.