Sairme

Sairme is a small mountain resort in Baghdati municipality, about 50 km south of Kutaisi, set at around 950 m in the forested gorge of the Tsablaristskali river on the northern slopes of the Meskheti Range. It grew up around carbonated mineral springs, which you can drink for free at pavilions around the resort. Different springs are traditionally recommended for different digestive and metabolic complaints, and Sairme mineral water is bottled here and sold across Georgia.

A major renovation completed in 2018 gave Sairme modern hotels, a thermal spa and an outdoor pool filled with warm spring water, plus an 800 m zipline and bike rental. For most Georgian visitors the main draw is the cool, clean air in summer, when the lowlands are hot and humid. Forest walks start right from the resort, and the edge of Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park lies to the south-east.

Local legend says hunters found the springs while following a wounded deer, and the name comes from iremi, the Georgian word for deer. The waters were first documented in the 1890s, the resort received official status in the 1930s, and it became a fashionable Soviet holiday destination after the 1950s. Most of its hotels were built between 1963 and 1970 and were rebuilt from 2011 onwards.