Why this ride
A named mountain-road corridor with sustained elevation change and pass scenery. It links naturally to Mtskheta monuments and Greater Caucasus.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Georgian Military Highway starting at Tbilisi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 156 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 39
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Editorial context
Coordinates are curated start-via-end route seeds. They are not a surveyed centreline or navigation geometry. Run road snapping, topology checks, access checks and a live-status review before publication.
Access context
Do not auto-publish. Snap to a routable road network, verify current closures, legal motorcycle access, surface, permits, border controls and local safety information.
Seasonal context
May-Oct
Scenic road chapters
Georgian Military Highway
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 3 km this is Georgian Military Highway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Rider note
Check the pass is open before you commit to it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 3 km
- Named road
- Georgian Military Highway
- Pass
- Jvari Cross Pass
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Tbilisi
Tbilisi spreads along the Mtkvari river in a bowl of dry hills, and its first impression is of balconies. Old houses lean over narrow streets with carved wooden verandas, sulphur bathhouses sit under domes of brick in the Abanotubani district, and on the ridge above, the ruined Narikala fortress watches the city. The name Tbilisi comes from a Georgian word for warm, and the story says that a hunting king found hot springs here and decided to found a city.
Read the complete Near Tbilisi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tbilisi sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Ananuri.
2. Ananuri
Ananuri is the first place on the Georgian Military Highway where history interrupts the scenery. The fortress stands on a bluff above the Aragvi river, which here is dammed into the bright turquoise Zhinvali reservoir, and its pale stone towers and walls make a striking picture against the water and the mountains behind. It was the seat of the Dukes of Aragvi, built in the seventeenth century, and its walls enclose two churches, one of which has carved crosses and vines around its doors that are worth a close look.
Read the complete Ananuri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ananuri comes up 29 km in. Next is Gudauri.
3. Gudauri
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.
Read the complete Gudauri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 91 km in you reach Gudauri. Next is Jvari Pass.
4. Jvari Pass
The Jvari Pass is the high point of the Georgian Military Highway, the road that has linked Tbilisi and the north Caucasus for centuries and that the Russian empire paved and straightened in the nineteenth century. At 2,379 metres, it divides two worlds: south of the summit the Aragvi river runs down towards Mtskheta and the Georgian heartland, while on the north side the waters head toward the Terek and Russia. The name simply means cross, and the monument at Gudauri, a short way down, was built in the Soviet era to celebrate friendship between the two nations. Politics have moved on; the view has not.
Read the complete Jvari Pass write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jvari Pass, late in the day. Next is Stepantsminda.
5. Stepantsminda
Stepantsminda sits in a green bowl below Mount Kazbek, which at 5,047 metres is one of the great peaks of the Caucasus, and when the clouds part the mountain seems to hang over the roofs. The town was long known by the Russian name Kazbegi, and many signs and maps still use it. The Terek river, called the Tergi in Georgian, runs through the valley on its way north to the Caspian, and a few kilometres further on the gorge narrows toward the Russian border, so this really is the end of the road for most travellers.
Read the complete Stepantsminda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stepantsminda sits at 156 km, late in the day.