Once upon a time, at the mention of Tskhaltubo, associations immediately arose: an all-Union health resort, a resort town, mineral water – no worse than in the famous Borjomi. However, in the two decades after the collapse of the USSR, the city fell into decay, the sanatorium life in it barely flickered, threatening to die out altogether. Meanwhile, the government in Georgia changed, and the new government took a very serious course of turning the country into a tourist Mecca. In recent years, the abandoned Tskaltubo has magically changed, so it is quite possible to go here for rest and treatment.
A bit of history
According to wholevehicles, Tskaltubo has been known as a resort since the 12th-13th centuries, Georgian chronicles tell that kings and nobles used to go to the waters here. But the history of the country turned out to be so dramatic that for several centuries it was simply a matter of preserving the Georgian people, pressed by neighboring Muslim Iran and Turkey. So there was no time for the waters, and the source fell into decay. However, after the annexation of Georgia to Russia, interest in healing water increased again, and at the end of the 19th century it was recognized as unique due to the rare combination of salts. In the Soviet years, the city was visited by Stalin, who suffered from leg disease. Since the waters helped him, the development of the Tskaltubo resort area was taken under special control.
One of the buildings in Tskhaltub is still decorated with a bas-relief “The meeting of the leader with his people”, made in the style of socialist realism.
19 health resorts were built in the city, and getting a ticket here was considered a great success. Today Tskhaltubo is experiencing a rebirth, a stream of vacationers has again reached here.
How to get to Tskaltubo
Tskhaltubo is located 10 km from Kutaisi, from where bus number 105 runs to the city center (fare 1 GEL), or by taxi for 15 GEL. You can also get from Tbilisi – departure from Didube bus station, travel time about 4 hours, bus fare – 20-25 GEL, taxi – from 200 GEL.
Treatment
The main thing in Tskhaltubo is treatment, it was around the mineral spring that its entire resort infrastructure arose. Currently, there are more than 10 sanatoriums here, the medical base of some of them, for example, “Megabroby” (“Friendship”), “Imereti”, “Tbilisi”, “Metallurg”, has several decades. The cost of accommodation in a double room of the sanatorium is from 110 GEL, staying in guest houses will cost less: in high season – from 70 GEL, in low season – from 50 GEL.
The peculiarity of the local water is its temperature, +33… +34 ° С, which, with a low salt content, makes it easily digestible and even tasty.
The basis of Tskhaltubo water is radon, nitrogen, argon and magnesium. Radon treatment helps with joint diseases, rheumatism, cerebral palsy. There are cases when people, almost immobilized for years, got to their feet. Gynecological diseases, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and the nervous system are also successfully treated here.
It should be remembered that radon is a radioactive element, therefore, such treatment is not recommended for people suffering from oncological diseases of any degree of complexity and for those who are exposed to radiation due to the nature of their work.
Another “trick” of the resort is karst caves with a special microclimate and air containing mineral salts. Here, chronic and acute lung diseases are treated, blood pressure stabilizes, depressive states disappear, and the nervous system is restored.
For vacationers, a resort park is laid out, which occupies almost a third of the city’s area – more than 100 species of subtropical plants grow here.
Cuisine and restaurants of Tskaltubo
The city has many restaurants, cafes and pastry shops. You should definitely try lamb kebab, lobio – a dish of stewed beans with spices, homemade soft suluguni cheese, satsivi, and, of course, excellent local wine.
The cost of lunch in a cafe with a meat dish and wine is about 30 GEL, in a more expensive restaurant – from 45 GEL. Khachapuri and pasties – 3-4 GEL each, a bottle of wine costs about 20-25 GEL, a liter of draft – 10-15 GEL.
Weather
Tskhaltubo is located in the valley of the river of the same name and is surrounded by high hills – spurs of the Sargul ridge of the Caucasus, protecting it from strong winds and softening the climate. The humidity is quite high. But if the winds blow from the east, from the Caucasus Mountains, the climate becomes drier and hotter. The advantage of the city in relation to other places in continental Georgia is a small difference in winter and summer temperatures, the absence of climatic differences. There is practically no snow in winter, the average temperature is +5 °С, in summer – +25 °С.
