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Tskhaltubo
ℹ️Practical info — Tskhaltubo
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🌤 Weather — 5 days
📍 Nearby
Sights nearby
💡 Tips
- Explore the grand, decaying Soviet-era sanatoriums, but watch your step as many are in ruins and potentially unsafe.
- Some bathhouses are still active (like Bath No. 6); book a radon water treatment for the full retro spa experience.
- The town is very close to Kutaisi; easily grab a marshrutka from the main bus station for a short ride.
- Be respectful of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) who still reside in portions of the old sanatoriums.
🍽 Food
Fried eggplant rolls stuffed with walnut paste. A must-order appetizer in the cafes around the central park.
The soft, mild cheese native to the region is a staple at every traditional dining table in Tskhaltubo.
Try the bright green tarragon or pear-flavored fizzy lemonades at the restaurants bordering the park.
🛍 Shopping · 🧘 Quiet spots
A small daily market where you can pick up fresh vegetables, seasonal fruit, and Imeretian spice blends.
With some luck, you might find old pins or postcards from the resort's heyday at small flea market stalls.
This massive, forest-like area in the middle of town connects the sanatoriums and has quiet walking paths.
Though popular, the vast underground cave network a short drive away provides fascinating natural silence.
Water temperature…
Tskhaltubo (Georgian Tsqaltubo) is a once world-famous spa town of around 11,000 inhabitants in the Imereti region of western Georgia, about twelve kilometres north-west of Kutaisi at an elevation of 200 metres. Its reputation rests on mildly radioactive thermal springs with a constant temperature of 33 °C, credited with benefits for rheumatic, cardiac and dermatological complaints. In the 20th century Stalin developed the town into one of the flagship resorts of the Soviet Union; a vast circular park was laid out around 22 monumental sanatoria in Socialist Neoclassical style. Stalin himself used Bath No. 6, equipped with a dedicated cabinet and private pool. After the collapse of the USSR many sanatoria fell into ruin and temporarily housed refugees from Abkhazia; today some have been carefully restored, while others attract photographers fascinated by „lost places“. Around Tskhaltubo lie the karst cave systems of Prometheus and Sataplia, famed for their stalactite halls and fossilised dinosaur footprints.
- Location: Georgia
- Top sights: Otia Ioseliani House-Museum · Tetra Cave · Sanatorium "Miner"
- Nearby: Kutaisi (13 km)
- Population: ~7.104 (2025)
Best time to visit & climate
The most pleasant time to visit is Jun–Aug.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °C | 0 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 19 | 14 | 7 | 2 |
| Rain mm | 96 | 80 | 105 | 73 | 69 | 77 | 68 | 64 | 103 | 112 | 111 | 102 |
Geography
Facts
- Thermal springs maintain a constant temperature of 33 °C.
- Located 12 kilometers northwest of the city of Kutaisi.
- Home to 22 monumental Soviet-era sanatoria.
- Stalin had a private pool and cabinet in Bath No. 6.
- The springs are credited with helping rheumatic complaints.
- Nearby Prometheus Cave is one of Georgia's largest.
Explore nearby
Notable places around
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Sights in the town Tskhaltubo (5)
Frequently asked questions
What is Tskaltubo famous for?
What are the "abandoned sanatoriums"?
Can you still get spa treatments today?
Is Tskaltubo near Kutaisi?
What is the legend of the "water of immortality"?
Tskhaltubo: where is it located?
Tskhaltubo: what is there to see?
Tskhaltubo: when is the best time to visit?
Tskhaltubo: why is it worth visiting?
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