Glass bar dangles over canyon in Georgia
Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN
You might need a stiff drink before you even get to this watering hole.
A 240-meter-long (787 feet) glass bridge with a “diamond-shaped” bar suspended in the center was unveiled at Dashbashi Canyon, located around two hours drive from capital city Tbilisi, in Southern Georgia earlier this week.
Constructed by investment group Kass Group, which operates in Israel and Georgia, the huge transparent structure, which rises to 280 meters (around 919 feet,) stretches across the natural monument, offering panoramic views of its stunning waterfalls and caves.
Made from steel and glass, it took around three years to construct, with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili attending its official opening on June 14.
Dizzying heights
The bridge’s stand out feature is undoubtedly its multi-level bar, located at its highest point, which is said to be the largest and tallest hanging structure in the world. The venue has reportedly been submitted to the Guinness World Records.
The project, which is estimated to have cost around $40 million, also includes a zip line, where visitors can bike across the canyon and a cliff “swing,” while an array of guest suites located near the site are due to open in the coming months.
Tomer Mor Yosef from Kass Group previously revealed that the shape of the bar was actually inspired by the canyon itself.
“The aim was to create an extreme, exciting, and unforgettable moment that would arouse all five senses of the guests and will manage to stay imprinted in their memory,” he told weekly newspaper the Georgian Journal last year.
Spectacular bridge
Officials hope the spectacular bridge will attract more tourists to the site, considered to be one of Georgia’s most impressive natural monuments.
It comes after the world’s longest glass-bottomed bridge, suspended 492 feet above ground and measuring 2,073 feet in length, opened in the rural highland region of Son La province in northwestern Vietnam in April.
Georgia’s glass bridge launch in the same week the country dropped all remaining Covid-19 entry requirements for international visitors, returning to its pre-pandemic border policy.
The news was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Georgia on June 15.
Top image credit: Irakli Gedenidze/Reuters
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