Tskaltubo

Tskaltubo grew around springs of mineral water that emerge at around thirty-three to thirty-five degrees, warm enough to bathe in without heating, and from the 1930s onward it was developed into a major spa resort with a ring of enormous sanatoriums set in parkland around a central bathhouse complex, built in a heavy classical manner with colonnades, domes and grand stairs. Some bathhouses still operate and treatments continue. Many of the sanatoriums have stood empty for decades, their halls open to the weather; others are lived in as homes and are private, not sites to walk into. The park at the centre and the working baths are what visitors can properly see.

What you actually see

• Warm mineral springs - water emerging at bathing temperature.
• The central bathhouse complex - colonnades and domes in the park.
• Monumental sanatorium architecture - the ring of buildings around the town.
• The park at the centre - the planted grounds between the buildings.

When to go

April to October. Half a day from Kutaisi. Bathhouses keep set hours and treatments are booked. Ask before entering any building.

Honest expectations

Many of the derelict buildings are unsafe, and a number are people's homes; walking into them is trespassing and intrusive regardless of what photographs online suggest. Structures are decaying with real hazards. The working baths are dated and utilitarian.

Nearby

Prometheus cave is north; Kutaisi lies south-east.