Georgia was one of the most fascinating and unique countries I’ve had the chance to visit on my travels. The adventures were diverse, from multi-day treks through the Caucasus to wandering around cities built into caves. One of the more unique experiences I had in Georgia was exploring the abandoned resorts and hotels of Tskaltubo. This small town located close to Kutaisi was historically known for its mineral-rich waters, becoming a popular spa destination during the Soviet era. At one point in history, over a hundred thousand people would make the visit to Tskaltubo.
These days, tourism has all but vanished, and the remains of those extravagant spa resorts and mansions have been left a crumbling ruin. Nowadays, the off-the-beaten-path traveler makes their way to Tskaltubo to explore these abandoned buildings. I visited Tskaltubo as a day trip from Kutaisi, hopping on a local marshrutka which dropped us off in the center of town. You won’t find much information about Tskaltubo online, so half the day was spent wandering aimlessly until we ran into something noteworthy. When we did, though, it was a spectacular and surreal find. Tskaltubo is absolutely worth the visit if you’re looking for a uniquely spooky experience.
Here’s everything you need to know before visiting Tskaltubo.
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Table of Contents
- Things To Know Before Going to Tskaltubo
- Highlights of Tskaltubo
- Other Things To Do in Tskaltubo
- More on Georgia
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Things To Know Before Going to Tskaltubo
Safety Tips for Tskaltubo
When visiting abandoned buildings, there is always a big risk. Many of the buildings have been left untouched for decades, so naturally, the foundations of the buildings are not as strong as they once were. There will be trash, broken glass, splintered wood, crumbling concrete, and other things that can quickly turn your adventure into a misadventure. Take extreme care when walking through the buildings, steering clear of anything that looks like it might break or collapse.
Oh, and before you go, make sure to have good travel insurance handy while you’re off adventuring across the world. I use SafetyWing to keep me covered throughout my travels for as low as $40 a month, and their coverage includes Georgia among the 190+ countries that they cover. It’s handy to have travel insurance in Georgia, especially if you plan on hiking in remote areas, high altitudes, and taking to those crazy winding roads with even crazier drivers.
Where To Stay When Visiting Tskaltubo
While Tskaltubo has a few accommodation options, I’d recommend staying in Kutaisi and just visiting it as a day trip. Tskaltubo doesn’t have much else going on, and I found Kutaisi to be much livelier and enjoyable.
If you’re staying in Kutaisi, I’d recommend Dingo Backpackers Hostel, or Hostel Bao. Dingo Backpackers is great for a more social atmosphere, with family dinners and other social events allowing you to meet your fellow travelers. I ended up staying at Hostel Bao, as I was already traveling with a group of friends and it seemed nicer overall in terms of amenities and cleanliness.
How To Get To Tskaltubo
Tskaltubo is a short marshrutka ride away from the city of Kutaisi, Georgia’s second-largest.
This is the bus stop where you can catch a ride to Tskaltubo. It’s just across the Red Bridge from the city center of Kutaisi. Once there, you might have to wait a while for the marshrutka fills up. The one-way fare will run you 2 GEL. The bus makes multiple stops in Tskaltubo, but I’d recommend getting off on the north end of Tskaltubo Central Park on Rustaveli Street. That’ll put you within walking distance of most of Tskaltubo’s most impressive structures.
To get back to Kutaisi, either wait at the same stop that you were dropped off at, or flag one down anywhere on the road back to Kutaisi. You typically won’t have to wait more than half an hour to find one heading towards Kutaisi. Alternatively, Bolt works in Tskaltubo. After a full day of walking, we chose the easy way out and just ordered a taxi off Bolt, which cost about 15 GEL.
How To Get Around Tskaltubo
There are the occasional taxis and marshrutkas that make their rounds throughout Tskaltubo, but I’d recommend walking as the best way to get around. Although the abandoned resorts and hotels are pretty spread out, there are quite a few clusters where you can visit a few of them within a short walk of each other. There are over two dozen abandoned buildings in Tskaltubo, and you likely won’t be able to visit them all in one day.
Getting a SIM Card in Georgia
Before going off traipsing through abandoned mansions, make sure you have a plan for staying connected.There aren’t many places you can pop in for Wi-Fin Tskaltubo, so I’d recommend getting a SIM card beforehand to help you navigate. SIM cards are available to travelers and relatively affordable in Georgia. Magti, Silknet, and Beeline are the main providers for cell service, and they have a number of stores in the big cities.
My phone’s SIM slot is locked so I opted to use Saily eSIM to keep me online during my travels. Navigating directions, coordinating travel plans with new hostel friends, booking a ride, and so on – having an eSIM makes life that much easier when you’re on the road. Data packages for Georgia start at just $4, and you can use my code “eli5” for an additional 5% off of your first Saily eSIM.
The Highlights of Tskaltubo
Sanatorium Iveria
We started our walking adventure of Tskaltubo at Sanatorium Iveria. It took a second to figure out how to get in, but once you find an opening, it is totally worth the visit. The building is totally abandoned with multiple levels to explore. It is beautiful on the outside, but as expected of an abandoned building, very decrepit on the inside. As with all the buildings, explore at your own risk.
Sanatorium Metallurgist
Sanatorium Metallurgist is gorgeous, although no longer fully abandoned. There were some people living here, and I helped an older lady carry her groceries up to her apartment where she and her family welcomed us in. I did have second thoughts about visiting this one when I realized that it wasn’t fully abandoned and some families had moved in here, but when some people saw us lingering by the large doorway, they beckoned us in. Out of the many abandoned sites we visited, Sanatorium Metallurgist was easily in my top three.
Sanatorium Medea
Despite being pretty small, I’d argue that Sanatorium Medea might be the most photogenic of Tskaltubo’s abandoned structures. It’s also one of the most popular, and we saw a handful of photo shoots, including a wedding reception in front of it.
Next to Sanatorium Medea, you’ll find what seems to be an abandoned apartment complex with an overgrown fountain out front. We didn’t go inside, but the exterior of it makes for beautiful photos.
Bathhouse No. 8
There’s not much to see at Bathhouse No. 8, but it is centrally-located close to Bathhouse No. 6, one of the only functioning and renovated bathhouses in the area. The highlight is this enclosed circular area with a big skylight above it. It’s located in the central park of Tskaltubo, but plants and weeds have overtaken most of this one, so you’ll have to walk through a fair bit of tall grass and brush to get to it.
Sanatorium Sakartvelo
While not fully abandoned, one can still visit Sanatorium Sakartvelo on the west side of the park. There are even a few shops at the ground level of this former hotel. The highlight of this place is a colorful mosaic that somehow remains bright and vivid in contrast to the crumbling concrete around it.
For a first-time visit to Tskaltubo, those five locations should be a good starting point. Like I said, it would be impossible to see everything that Tskaltubo has to offer in a day, and we stuck mostly to the northern and western parts of the park. Some of the abandoned sanatoriums are not worth visiting, either due to being too far out of the way or having decayed far from any recognizable form. If you have time to visit the east side of the park, Hotel Aia, Sanatorium Imereti, and Hotel Savane are among the highlights on that end.
Unfortunately, some of the buildings are also no longer free to enter, or forbidden to enter entirely. As I mentioned earlier, efforts to revitalize Tskaltubo as a tourist destination have been underway, with investors purchasing some of the abandoned buildings with plans of renovating them in the future. For example, the Military Sanatorium is now a renovated hotel called Legends Tskaltubo Spa Resort that reopened in 2011. You have to be a guest of the resort to roam the grounds. It is an absolutely beautiful property, but one that we had to skip this time around.
The sooner you can visit Tskaltubo, the better.
Other Things To Do In Tskaltubo
Aside from visiting the abandoned resorts, there are a few other things to keep you busy in Tskaltubo. Prometheus Caves is a popular trip from Kutaisi, and is not that much further north than Tskaltubo. Here are a few other ideas for your trip to Tskaltubo and Georgia.
Tskaltubo might be one of the most unique places you visit in your lifetime. It’s not a typical tourist attraction, but one that is well worth making the detour for.