Visiting the Soviet ghost town Tskaltubo

Georgia 2022 part 2: Kutaisi and Tskaltubo

With a subtropical coastline, mountains of more than 5000 metres high, history and good food, Georgia is a popular tourist destination in the Caucasus Mountains. During the time of the Soviet Union the elite used to come here for the spa towns. The most popular one was Tskaltubo, which was visited by Stalin as well. After the fall of the Soviet Union a large part of Tskaltubo was abandoned. Nowadays you can wander around the empty large sanatoriums and hotels, going back to Soviet times. I walked around Tskaltubo on my own in May 2022. Here’s what it was like.

Kutaisi

Tskaltubo is near Kutaisi, Georgia’s third biggest city. Coming from Tbilisi (read part 1), I first took a train to Kutaisi where I would stay for three days. The city centre is along the fast flowing Rioni river. Across the river is the 11th century Bagrati Cathedral. I took a taxi to the 12th century Gelati monastery eight kilometres from the city centre. I wasn’t the only visitor there: a big group of American tourists just entered, and I could hear a drone buzzing around. Tskaltubo would be something different.

Entering Tskaltubo: Sanatorium Iveria

People still live in Tskaltubo, and regular buses go there. After I got off the bus at the main street ‘’Rustaveli’’ I walked to the abandoned part of town. The often-mentioned Hotel Meshakhtiori was surrounded by fences. Sanatorium Iveria wasn’t. Its decorated ceiling and stairs were still intact, but covered in graffiti. On the second and third floor there was nothing to see but empty halls and rooms. It was completely quiet. As I saw street dogs outside, I made some noise when wandering around. Days earlier I met a Frenchman who was bitten by a street dog elsewhere in Georgia, so I didn’t want to surprise any hostile animal.

Bathhouse five and eight

I continued to a small abandoned sanatorium called Bathhouse five. A friendly stray dog joined me on the street, and enthusiastically walked ahead of me into the rooms of Bathhouse five. The areas with bathtubs had no windows, but I didn’t need my flashlight as daylight came in through cracks in the walls. Weed grew through the cracks. I walked onwards to the larger Bathhouse eight and the stray dog wandered off. Bathhouse eight has a huge round hall. There was a circular hole in the roof, probably where glass had been. The bathtubs and murals were still intact. After seeing a warning sign I decided to stop looking around this building.

Sanatorium Medeya

I think the most impressive building is Sanatorium Medeya. It is a tall abandoned hotel with decorated arches. There was a guard post in front of the entrance when I went there. In my basic Russian I asked the guard whether I was allowed to go in. He replied it was fine. I read some people live in the abandoned sanatoriums, but all the areas I had seen were empty. Walking the stairs in Sanatorium Medeya I ran into two men with a large grocery-bag, which didn’t make them look like tourists. Plants had grown in the rooms and corridors. I made it to the top floor for a view of the complex.

The impressive, nowadays abandoned and partly overgrown buildings gave a vibe of a disaster-movie. Still the habited part of town was close by, and I saw a modern sanatorium that was open too. I didn’t need the water and snacks I brought with me, because there was a nice café near the bus-stop. It was time for ‘’Khinkali’’ dumplings and a bus back to Kutaisi.

My next stop would be another spa town, though this one still has many visitors. In part 3 I write about my last destination in Georgia: Borjomi and the cave city of Vardzia.

Georgia 2022 part 3

Practical info on travelling here

Getting to Kutaisi and Tskaltubo

I booked an online train ticket from Tbilisi to Kutaisi via at tickets.railway.ge. The train-ride took me six hours. On a previous visit I travelled between Kutaisi and Tbilisi by bus, which is faster but a bit less comfortable. The bus journey between Kutaisi and Tskaltubo is about 20 minutes. Coming from the centre of Kutaisi you’ll find the bus-stop across the Red Bridge straight on the left.

Getting around Tskaltubo

Expect to walk about five kilometres to see the sights mentioned above. I used the navigation app maps.me to find the abandoned sanatoriums. While writing this Bathhouse five is mentioned twice on maps.me, but the Northern location is Bathhouse five and the Southern one is actually Bathhouse eight.

Entering Georgia in May 2022

In part 1 I describe how I travelled from Armenia to Georgia.

Travelling around Georgia

Read my blogpost a guide to visiting Georgia for more advice on travelling around Georgia.