GeorgiaOfficial tourism
Tbilisi Sea

Tbilisi's mountain mirror, born of Soviet ambition

Tbilisi Sea

Why go

The Tbilisi Sea is no sea at all, but a 2.85 square kilometer artificial reservoir created in 1953 when Soviet engineers dammed the Iori River to solve the capital's water crisis. Today it serves as Tbilisi's unlikely beach—a curved concrete shoreline where families escape summer heat, fishermen cast lines for carp and catfish, and the Caucasus foothills rise behind like a painted backdrop. Its value lies in this tension: a utilitarian Soviet project transformed into spontaneous leisure ground, where Tbilisi's residents reclaim concrete brutalism for sunset picnics and improvised swimming. The surrounding Tbilisi National Park trails offer rare proximity to both wild hills and urban relief.

On the ground See

  • The concrete embankment beaches where locals swim and rent paddle boats in summer months
  • The Tbilisi National Park forest trails ascending from the reservoir's eastern shore toward Martkopi monastery
  • The abandoned Soviet-era resort structures and sanatoriums decaying along the northern coastline

Practical Know before you go

Best visited May through September; reachable by marshrutka from Samgori station or taxi (30-40 minutes from central Tbilisi), with limited public transport on weekdays.

Last reviewed 25 August 2026 · reviewed quarterly