Is any area in Georgia called "Saltona" in Georgia - not sure about the name, where it is famous for its hot springs? It was used during Soviet Union to treat the Political Leaders from the Soviet Union and others. I am interested to know if it's possible and how to go there for treatment of my feet and hand fingers... The Appendages...
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I have already, a Schengen Visa valid for 2 years– Abdul WahedCommented Oct 20, 2013 at 13:50
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Georgia is not part of Schengen and I wouldn't expect them to be able to join any time soon. Whether you'll need a visa or get one on arrival, and how long it will be good for, will depend on your nationality.– hippietrailCommented Oct 20, 2013 at 17:22
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2The two possible ways to spell "Saltona" in Georgian are "სალთონა" and "სალტონა". Neither gets any Google hits. I haven't heard of this place but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist - another possibility is it could be in Abkhazia, which is now de-facto independent of Georgia.– hippietrailCommented Oct 20, 2013 at 17:25
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3 Answers
I'm a big fan of Georgia, having visited twice and lived there for seven months the last time, yet I had not heard of this place.
It's not "Saltona" but "Tskaltubo", "Tsqaltubo", or "Tskhaltubo" (Georgian: წყალტუბო, Russian: Цхалтубо). It's the name of a town and a spa resort in Imereti province in the south-west of the country. It's less than 20km to the northwest of Kutaisi, the second-largest city of Georgia.
I found this via Google using various combinations of keywords, which led me to a recent article on eurasianet.org called Georgia: Seeking to Bring Back the Soviet-Era Spa Experience.
Once I had the correct name, I found there is also a Wikipedia article. I do not know how up-to-date it is, but here's a few things the article has to say:
It is famous 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.
Currently the spa receives only some 700 visitors a year, and since 1993 many of the sanatorium complexes have been devoted to housing some 9000 refugees, primarily women and children, displaced from their homes by ethnic conflict in Abkhazia.
Tskaltubo also has an official website which contains a page about the resort.
The Tskaltubo resort itself also has a website.
In fact, not only is the resort on Facebok but you can even make a booking on Booking.com.
There's even a prospectus for people wishing to invest in its restoration: TskalTubo spa & Wellness Resorts Development & Restoration 2011
And here's a bonus cheesy video from 2009 on Youtube!
(I looked but couldn't find any copyright-free photos to include.)
answered Oct 20, 2013 at 17:46
It's called Tskaltubo and they've built/restored couple of new spas there recently (one of their websites). Pretty cheap even by Georgian standards.
Here also a big fan of Georgia ánd of hot springs. I never heard of 'Tskaltubo' before but I'll take it into consideration to visit when I'll be there again.
However, I do know about a hot spring close to Vardzia. It's run by an older woman and her family. I don't think it's often visited by tourists but for me it was one of the highlights of my journey through Georgia.
It is located in the village Tmogvi. A small village on the road to Vardzia (a famous cave town).
The family literally built there house on top of the hot spring and are using the hot water to provide three large baths of hot water. You can also stay over night in their house. (Bathing is included in the price)
Don't expect luxury and lot of hygiene but this place will be forever in your memories.
See my post about this guesthouse with hot spring baths and Vardzia here: http://thdk.be/travel/georgia-armenia/vardzia/
Buildings next to the guesthouse with baths inside. Note also the bathtub on the hill on the top right.
Bath nr 1, where we enjoyed a bath in the evening.
Bath nr 2, where we enjoyed a bath in the morning, slightly colder as bath nr 1
Bath nr 3, she just showed us this bath so I could take a picture, but for some reason she didn't told us to take a bath in this nicer looking bath.
