The town is situated on the right bank of the Potskhovi River (a tributary to the Mtkvari), on the slopes of the Lesser Caucasus at 1,000-1,200 m above sea level.
Vale is first recorded as a village in the 10th century. It emerged as a center of lignite industry in the Soviet era and acquired town status in 1962.
Vale houses a medieval Georgian Church of the Theotokos originally built in the 10th century, but reconstructed as a three nave basilica in the 16th century. The town is a home to a sizable Armeno-Georgian Catholic community.