- This article is a Travel route.
THEGeorgian Military Highway (Georgian: Georgian military road [Sakartvelos samkhedro GZA], Russian: Военно-Грузинская дорога [Voyenno-Gruzinskaya doroga]) is a mountain road that crosses thewider Caucasus and connectsTbilisi inAgriculture with theRussian cityBlantikavs inNorth Ossetia It passes through narrow gorges pressed between colossal mountains, which makes for some amazing views. This epic journey to all its traditional boundariesOf Europe and herAsia reaches almost 2,400 m.
Despite a rough ride, it is the easiest way to navigate the political minefield of the Caucasus region and travel between RussiaNorth Caucasus and its countriesSouth Caucasus .
Prepare
Although the distance is not far and the road is generally in good condition, the long wait at the border should be prepared for. Get plenty of water in the summer. If you travel without changing vehicles, we expect the trip to take about 9 hours. If the change of vehicles at the border is done, they represent about 5 hours, which includes about an hour for interrogation (this can happen!). There is a shop and cafe (at reasonable prices) before the checkpoints on both sides.
Route
Cities
- Blind
- Misketa
- Kaprutska
- Ανανούσι
- June
- Russian-Georgian border
- Verkny
- Lars
- Primograd
- Blantikavs
Borders
No special permits are required for third-country nationals to use the border. The Visa Information Service for each country is given atRussian andGeorgian country articles.
While much of the most remote areas of RussiaNorth Caucasus require special permission to visit, the highway itself and the border can be used without prior bureaucracy. Also, there are no restrictions on the Georgian side.
Relations between the two countries are not very friendly, and one country can close its borders politically. If you get to find the border closed, it may only be for a couple of hours: the moment it reopens things will start to move. Such unpredictability is an integral part of crossing these borders. Severe weather can also cause borders to close in winter. Things are moving very slowly on the Russian side, but opening the Georgian formalities is painless.
The border must be crossed by the vehicle, but checkpoints can be reached on foot. In fact, the best thing to do to avoid waiting for several hours to get a taxi to take you as close to the border as possible, then walk as close to it as you can before asking for a driver with a spare places to show you the borders (which will be even cheaper). It will probably also give you a lift to the next city, as this is where it should go too!
Stay safe
Elevation Phobia (associated with altitudes above 2,400 m) is not expected to cause a problem on the road itself, but it can affect travelers leaving the highway in the mountains.