Tskaltubo - Abandoned Soviet Spa Town in Georgia - October 2024

This once was one of the largest spa towns in the Soviet Union, but when the USSR collapsed in 1991, its sanatoriums were abandoned.

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.

We stayed in the nearby city of Kutaisi for one night to be close to Tskaltubo. This was what the idea of our trip to Georgia was originally built from, so I was very excited to be here. We took our time in the abandoned railway station and the first couple of hotels and sanatoriums that it ended up being too dark to continue, especially since I didn't have my flash with me to photograph in the dark. Refugees from Abkhazia occupy some rooms in the abandoned sanatoriums, so the final one we entered had a man who turned on the lights for us and left us free to explore.

Each building seemed to have its own stray dog playing tour guide with a lot of love to share.

There's a few bathhouses and a house of Stalin's that we didn't get time to see, so hopefully a trip back will be on the radar.

View the full Georgia collection here: https://www.leoexplr.com/portfolio-collections/my-portfolio/georgia-oct-2024