Tskaltubo: history, sights and housing

History and character

The healing properties of the water are dated by various sources to the 7th–9th centuries; Europe learned of them in 1782. The springs became state property in 1920, resort construction began in 1926 and Tskaltubo became a town in 1953. The centre lies about 120 m above sea level, in a mild, rainy climate.

A 1950–51 plan split the town into treatment, sanatorium and residential zones around a park. In the 1990s displaced families moved into the sanatorium buildings, some for decades.

What to see

Best seen together with the caves around it.

• Bathhouse No. 6, built in 1950 for Stalin per Wikipedia; privatised in 2014 and restored by 2018.
• The 70-hectare central park and Soviet-era sanatoriums, many in poor condition.
• Prometheus Cave: about 11 km long, 1,800 m open to visitors; found in the early 1980s and reopened after restoration on 26 May 2011.
• Satsurblia Cave, occupied about 25,500 years ago; a natural monument since 2011.
• Sataplia reserve, with karst caves and dinosaur footprints.

Life and economy

The area lives mostly on visitors: JAMnews counts about 285,000 in 2017 and 320,000 in 2018, mostly for Prometheus Cave. The New Life of Tskaltubo programme offered investors 14 properties worth about 50 million GEL (CBW); results are judged differently, and by 2019 restoration was slow (JAMnews). It is about 25 minutes to Kutaisi, 2 h 45 min to Batumi and 3 h 15 min to Tbilisi (Georgia Travel).

Housing market: what is known and what is not

We found no public data on housing prices in Tskaltubo, so we give no figures: rely on current listings and a local agent. There are two markets: ordinary homes, and former sanatoriums whose future depends on a state programme. Buying rules: How buying works, Property taxes. What to check:

• the status of the property: former sanatorium or ordinary house, state or private, and any sale or redevelopment plans nearby;
• the condition of the building and utilities: many Soviet blocks are in poor shape;
• whether the plot is near caves protected as natural monuments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: Wikipedia (en): Tskaltubo · Wikipedia (ru) · Georgian National Tourism Administration: Tskaltubo · JAMnews: Tskaltubo, Georgia's abandoned paradise (2019) · Caucasian Business Week: Medea and Tbilisi sanatoriums sold at auction · Wikipedia (en): Prometheus Cave · Wikipedia (en): Satsurblia Cave · CityPopulation.de (Geostat data): cities of Georgia

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Before you buy

Rules that apply across Georgia, whichever city you pick: