Things to Do in Tskaltubo: Sanatoriums, the Park and the Thermal Waters

Tskaltubo is 12 minutes from us and one of the most unusual towns in Georgia: an enormous Soviet-era spa resort that once treated hundreds of thousands of patients a year, today half abandoned, half revived, and very much alive.

The thermal waters

Tskaltubo's water is radon-carbonate at 33–35 °C, naturally warm, which is why locals called it "the water of immortality". The therapeutic baths still operate: Bathhouse No. 6 (known as Stalin's bathhouse) stands in the central park with individual tubs and a pool, and a few modern spa hotels take day visitors too. A session is usually 15–20 minutes, and the Soviet interiors are a sight in themselves.

The sanatoriums

Around the park stand the sanatoriums of the 1950s: Medea, Metallurgist, Iveria, Tbilisi and others, with colonnades, mosaics and spiral staircases. From the 1990s many housed families displaced from Abkhazia; some are empty today, others have been bought by investors and are being rebuilt.

A few rules: enter only where it is clearly allowed, do not disturb residents, and ask before photographing people. Stairs and floors are damaged in some buildings.

The central park and the town

The central park covers 70 hectares: plane trees, fountains and alleys leading to the bathhouses. It is best early in the morning or at sunset. Around the park are a few cafés and a market with local cheese, honey and fruit.

How to plan it

1. Morning: the park and Bathhouse No. 6 (2 hours).
2. Lunch: with us or in one of Tskaltubo's cafés.
3. Afternoon: Prometheus Cave (8 km from Tskaltubo) or the pool in our garden.

A taxi from Sweet Village to Tskaltubo costs 10–15 GEL; from Kutaisi it is a 30-minute minibus ride.

The former resort is a magnet for photographers, but it is a living town, not a museum. Thank you for keeping that in mind.

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