The rusty Soviet ‘flying cabins’ of Georgia

The mines of a small Georgian town sit high above the valley below – and the fastest way up is by a rickety collection of ancient cable cars.

The rusty cable cars of Chiatura, in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, haven’t been updated or replaced since they were built in the early 1950s.

Some locals like to call them "iron coffins". That name, however, doesn’t deter the town’s miners from using them to get to work. Dangling over the deep gorges surrounding the town, the trip takes just five minutes – a much faster commute than catching the bus.

While the ride is an everyday experience for these workers, it’s such a unique spectacle that it’s becoming a tourist attraction.

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