This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2021) |
Tskaltubo
წყალტუბო | |
---|---|
Town | |
![]() Tskaltubo Railway Station | |
Coordinates: 42°19′35″N 42°36′02″E / 42.32639°N 42.60056°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Region | Imereti |
District | Tskaltubo |
Elevation | 120 m (390 ft) |
Population (January 1, 2024)[1] | |
• Total | 7,378 |
Time zone | UTC+4 (Georgian Time) |
Area code | +995 436 |
Website | tskaltubo |
Tskaltubo or Tsqaltubo (Georgian: წყალტუბო) is a spa resort in west-central Georgia.[2] It is the main town of the Tsqaltubo Municipality of the Imereti province. It is known for its radon-carbonate mineral springs, whose natural temperature of 33–35 °C (91–95 °F) enables the water to be used without preliminary heating.
The resort's focus is on balneotherapy for circulatory, nervous, musculo-skeletal, gynaecological and skin diseases, but since the 1970s its repertoire has included "speleotherapy", in which the cool dust-free environment of local caves is said to benefit pulmonary diseases.
Tskaltubo was especially popular in the Soviet era, attracting around 125,000 visitors a year. Bathhouse 9 features a frieze of Stalin, and visitors can see the private pool where he bathed on his visits.
Currently the spa receives only some 700 visitors a year, however, there are numerous restoration projects to promote the regeneration of this historic spa town.