Gudauri is a ski resort first and a village by accident, strung along the road a little below the Jvari Pass in the High Caucasus, at roughly two thousand metres. In winter it is full of Georgians, Russians and Gulf visitors with skis, and the lifts rise from just behind the hotels. In summer it empties out, the slopes turn into flower meadows, and paragliders drift above the grass. Either way the main road, the old Georgian Military Highway, runs straight through the middle, and everything on it, from lorries to cows, goes by at its own speed.
The highway is the story. For centuries this was the one real road through the central Caucasus, linking Tbilisi with Vladikavkaz and Russia, and the Russians strengthened it after they took over Georgia in 1801. The climb from the south is long and steady, up the valley of the Aragvi, with grassy slopes and then bare mountain, and above Gudauri the road tackles the pass, with hairpins, tunnels and snow galleries. The surface is much better than it used to be, though potholes, rockfall and roadworks are a fact of life. The weather is the real boss: fog, sleet and sudden snow can arrive in any month, and in winter the pass is sometimes closed to heavy traffic.
Just beyond the resort, a big curved concrete viewing platform, decorated with a Soviet-era mosaic, sits on the edge of a vast gorge. It was built in 1983 to mark two hundred years of friendship between Georgia and Russia, and today it is mainly a viewpoint, with a long drop into the green valley below and the road wriggling across the mountainside opposite. Stalls sell wool socks, honey and local sweets, and on a clear day the light on the ridge is fine.
Gudauri has a few stations and shops, but supplies thin out quickly, and prices are those of a resort. The nearest proper town to the south is Pasanauri, about twenty kilometres away, with more services, and it is wise to start the climb with a full tank. Bring warm clothes, even in summer, because the wind at this altitude cuts through a mesh jacket, and keep an eye on the cattle, which have no fear of motorcycles and a firm belief in their right of way.