Why go
Turtle Lake (Kus Tba) sits 700 meters above sea level in a protected forest reserve overlooking Vake district, its name derived from an old legend of turtles gathering on its shores. The Soviets developed it as a recreational zone, building the cable car that first opened in 1965 and still carries visitors up from Vake Park through dense deciduous woodland. Today it remains beloved by Tbiliseli for evening promenades, summer swimming, and the sudden revelation of city lights spreading below—an intimate escape where Tbilisi's scale becomes comprehensible and the Caucasus foothills feel within reach.