The Spectacular Georgian Military Highway to Kazbegi (Stepantsminda) - A Dream Road Trip!!

The legendary Georgian Military Highway to Kazbegi is one of the greatest journeys in the Caucasus. My driver and guide was Misha - to contact him about Georgia tours find his Facebook and Instagram page "Your Friend in Georgia".

The Georgian Military Highway was built by a team of 800 Russian soldiers in the late 18th century, linking Tbilisi, or Tiflis as it was known then, to Russia with a route through the High Caucasus. Officially it starts just north of the Georgian capital and then runs for 168km to the city of Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia, Russia.

At km 28 the highway passes the Soviet era Zhinvali Dam, which holds back the Zhinvali Reservoir - one of the area’s most popular beauty spots. But the real highlight is on the northern shore - the churches of Ananuri. The largest church was built in 1689 and is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. Unfortunately most of the interior frescoes were lost to a fire in the 18th century.

Nest to the church is a much older 12th century watchtower - and beyond that the smaller Saviours church. The original Soviet plan for a larger reservoir would have submerged the two churches. It was only thanks to substantial protests in Georgia that the plan was shelved.

In the 19th century this was a well trodden route for Russian writers looking for inspiration - with Pushkin, Chekhov, Gorky and Tolstoy all making the long journey south to the Caucasus to see what the fuss was about.

None of those writers came to ski but today, if so inclined, they could take to the slopes at Gudauri, a resort that is sprawling all over the mountainside and frankly spoiling the landscape. At 2km up it’s the highest settlement on the highway.

Beyond the hotels and new apartments and above the Gudauri abyss one finds the Russian- Georgian Friendship Monument. Reminiscent of a similar friendship monument that I’ve visited in Mongolia, this was a 1983 Soviet creation to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Treaty of Gurgievsk. This treaty established eastern Georgia as a Russian protectorate, thereby keeping the Persian empire at bay.

After the monument the road crosses the highest mountain pass - the Jvari Pass (or Cross Path in English) which peaks at 2395 metres. This is particularly testing for the many heavy vehicles from Georgia, Turkey, Russia and Armenia, especially during heavy snowfalls. But in a few short years the pass will left to tourists. Back down the valley Georgia’s highest road bridge is almost complete, leading to a 9km tunnel that will eliminate the worst part of the route. This is a $550 million project. As with most infrastructure projects in this part of the world, the work is being carried out by Chinese construction companies.

The tunnel can’t come soon enough as the Jvari pass is in a pretty poor condition and when there is heavy snowfall I have no idea how two large trucks have room to pass in some of the rudimentary concrete tunnels.

From here it’s just a few km to our final destination Kazbegi. A small town that lies at the foot of Mount Kazbek, an extinct volcano that forms the border between Georgia and Russia and which , at 5,047 m in altitude, is one of the highest in the Caucasus and higher than any mountain in western Europe. The mountain’s greatest claim to fame is that, according to Ancient Greek myth, it was on this peak that Zeus chained the Titan Prometheus for stealing fire from the gods. If that wasn’t enough, a raven was sent every day to tear out his liver.

I’m staying in the Hotel Intourist - now that name in Soviet days was a guarantee of really poor quality, but not anymore. This Intourist has been recently renovated and would not look out of place in the Swiss Alps. A great place to stay if you’re off hiking or even mountain climbing.

Now all the road signs call this town Stepantsminda so let me clear this up. The town’s original name was Stepantsminda, or St Stephan in English, named after the saint who built a hermitage here, but then in 1925 it became known as Kazbegi after the 19th century poet Alexander Kazbegi (or possibly his great grandfather a Russian officer). It’s since been formally changed back but nobody seems to have noticed. The poet Kazbegi was born here and is also buried here, in the grounds of the museum. In the film I provide a snapshot of his fascinating story.

As well as the mountain, the other symbol of Kazbegi is the 14th century Gergeti Trinity church which sits high above the town. For a time there was a Soviet cable car up to the church, but it was seen as disrespectful and apparently the locals destroyed it out of anger. The lower cable car station is now a canvas for street art.

Filmed November 2024
Jonathan Wheeler
‪@TravelObscurer‬
Music licensed through Artlist.
Drone footage licensed through Envato Elements.

#kazbegi #georgia #caucasusmountains