Tbilisi Lake has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance
When it fills in
Afternoon and evening are the reliable window; the hour the thermal actually fills in is unconfirmed.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Afternoon and evening are the reliable window; the hour the thermal actually fills in is unconfirmed.
Typical strength
About 10-19 kt (5-10 m/s) of thermal on a rideable day at the club area near Bollywood Beach. The long-term average is much lower, but it counts every calm day.
Thermal or synoptic
mixed thermal/synoptic
Also on record
5.8
The quiver, in words
6 m or smaller · 7 m · 8 m · 9 m · 10 m · 11 m · 12 m
Direction to shore
Side-shore both ways at the Bollywood Beach launch. The shore there runs NW-SE with the open reservoir lying to the southwest, so a WNW or NW blows along the beach with a slight onshore lean and an SE runs along it from the other end. SW and W are the onshore directions.Anything from N round through E comes off the land behind the beach and is offshore. Derived from the mapped shoreline orientation at the launch point, not from a rider report, and the shore bends within a few hundred metres.
Dominant direction
SE, WNW, NW
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan27
- Feb37
- Mar35
- Apr30
- May, riders' month26
- Jun, riders' month25
- Jul, riders' month23
- Aug, riders' month13
- Sep, riders' month12
- Oct, riders' month39
- Nov42
- Dec29
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- 27%Jan
- 37%Feb
- 35%Mar
- 30%Apr
- 26%May
- 25%Jun
- 23%Jul
- 13%Aug
- 12%Sep
- 39%Oct
- 42%Nov
- 29%Dec
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · season highlighted
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27% | 34% | 32% | 9.9 kt | NW | 15:00 | 1.9°C | 62 |
| Feb | 37% | 42% | 40% | 11.6 kt | NW | 16:00 | 3.6°C | 57 |
| Mar | 35% | 44% | 42% | 12.5 kt | NW | 15:00 | 6.4°C | 62 |
| Apr | 30% | 40% | 38% | 11.9 kt | NW | 15:00 | 13.9°C | 60 |
| May | 26% | 34% | 31% | 11.3 kt | NW | 15:00 | 15.5°C | 62 |
| Jun | 25% | 32% | 28% | 10.5 kt | NW | 15:00 | 21.7°C | 60 |
| Jul | 23% | 34% | 32% | 11.1 kt | NW | 15:00 | 24°C | 62 |
| Aug | 13% | 31% | 23% | 10.6 kt | SE | 17:00 | 25.8°C | 62 |
| Sep | 12% | 28% | 23% | 9.5 kt | SE | 15:00 | 20°C | 60 |
| Oct | 39% | 47% | 40% | 11.5 kt | NW | 15:00 | 13.8°C | 62 |
| Nov | 42% | 48% | 47% | 12.5 kt | NW | 14:00 | 8.8°C | 60 |
| Dec | 29% | 35% | 35% | 10.5 kt | NW | 14:00 | 3.6°C | 62 |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024
The water
Type
freshwater reservoir
Standing depth
Deep. More than 2 m off Bollywood Beach, with shallow water only along parts of the shoreline.
Tides
none; the spot is listed as tide independent
Temperature
21.6°C summer · 3.7°C winter
Wetsuit
Boardshorts or a shorty in summer, shorty or full suit in spring, full suit in autumn, thick suit in winter.
Currents
No tide and no current at the beach. The danger is the canal inflows elsewhere on the reservoir, in particular the cold Aragvi inflow with its waterfall and whirlpool; they are away from the beaches, so do not drift toward them.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
1 school names this spot
On your own
Room to launch is not rated
Somewhere else
No neighbour on record
No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.
Rescue
Launch
Grass shoreline with parking at Bollywood Beach, the main kite launch in the Tbilisi area.
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Rig at Bollywood Beach, the grass shoreline with parking; it is the main launch on the reservoir.
- Plan for the afternoon and evening; that is when the thermal shows up, and the exact hour it fills in is unconfirmed.
- Bring a 6 m and a 12 m; rideable days are 10-19 kt and the gap between gust and lull is wide.
- In July and August ride well outside the swimming area; lifeguards cover only the official beaches and there is no kite rescue.
- Stay away from the canal inflows and their whirlpool; that is the part of the reservoir the safety warnings are about.
- Call or message the Big Brothers Team club on +995599580813 before you come; its website was down in 2026 and its season runs 1 May to 30 September.
Getting there
Airport
Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport (TBS)
Route
It is 8 km from central Tbilisi; drive out and park at the grass shoreline at Bollywood Beach. Bus and metro reach Tbilisi Sea, but which stop puts you at the kite launch is unconfirmed.
Cost level
low
Staying
Sleep in Tbilisi. There are beach clubs on the reservoir, Tbilisi Sea Club among them, but no kite lodging at the launch is listed.
No-wind days
Tbilisi city sightseeing · Tbilisi Sea Club · Gino Paradise water park · Chronicle of Georgia monument · Tbilisi dendrological park · picnic areas around the reservoir
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to go?
May through October is the most consistently cited best-month window, with afternoon or evening usually the most reliable time of day.
What is the wind like?
Wind follows a mixed thermal and frontal pattern from southeast, west-northwest and north-northwest, described as variable and sometimes gusty rather than highly reliable.
Is it suitable for beginners?
Beginner suitability is disputed: several sources call the spot intermediate to advanced or expert, while one other source calls it beginner-friendly, so it is not treated as a verified beginner spot.
Are there rules, permits or restricted zones?
A 2020 report said Georgia's emergency agency considered swimming on Tbilisi Sea prohibited outside the Temka beach area, though the same report noted no legal document for that rule had been identified; no kite-specific rule was verified.
Last updated: August 2026