The Caucasus Mountains are one of the youngest on the planet. They stretch from the shores of the Black Sea to the shores of the Caspian Sea, covering many republics of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Among them: South Ossetia, Georgia, North Ossetia.
The start of the journey
There is a great opportunity to get to Georgia not by air or by sea, but by ordinary land transport - by car. This does not require a visa for Russians today. Although in the recent past, visiting the Georgian representation was a necessity. Upper Lars is the settlement where the checkpoint is located. It is through it that travelers traveling to Georgia pass. This path is chosen by everyone who needs to get to the republics of the Caucasus, Turkey or Iran.
And the beginning of the road takes in Vladikavkaz, the Republic of Ossetia-Alania. From the city you can get by bus, fixed-route taxi to the village in the mountains. The length of the path is only 40 km - not a very long road. Upper Lars - this is the checkpoint on the border with Georgia. The border crossing operates around the clock, but it should not be crossed on foot, but on any transport. Next - the Darial checkpoint, the former name of which is Kazbegi. After driving the first 10 km through the territory of Georgia,the traveler meets the first village - Stepantsminda.
Sights of the gorge
The road through the village of Upper Lars passes through the Darial Gorge. These are very beautiful places. When the weather is good, you can take wonderful photos of mountain landscapes. Many tourists make a stop in the village of Stepantsminda, where there are hotels, shops and khinkali. You can visit the Church of the Holy Trinity. It offers a panoramic view of Mount Kazbek. Photo lovers take a lot of pictures overlooking the famous snowy peak. But mountain roads are very difficult and dangerous. Often they are hit by natural disasters, in the form of avalanches, mudflows, eruptions.
The elements on the territory of Georgia
One of the destructive mudflows descended on May 17, 2014 in the Darial Gorge. This event made it impossible to pass through the checkpoints - they are closed. The road through Upper Lars was temporarily closed. To get to the territory of Georgia, you need to change the route and get there in a different way. The element also caused damage to the inhabitants of the villages located in the gorge. Rescuers are on duty and will be able to evacuate the population if there is a threat to them.
The passage of cars through the checkpoint is suspended: the Georgian military road is blocked. The settlements of Nizhny and Upper Lars, Chmi were in tension for a long time. Those tourists who got to Georgia before the mudflow disappeared, had to return home through Armenia and Azerbaijan. On both sides, a huge number ofheavy vehicles that did not have time to cross the border before the elements.
Restoration of movement
Customs workers were temporarily evacuated due to the constant threat of flooding. Fire department vehicles were on duty in the villages. A public address system was in place to alert the population of the threat. In order to fully restore all the damage caused by the elements, it will take almost a year of work. Therefore, a temporary road was laid over the stream, along which it was possible to pass vehicles. The Verkhniy Lars checkpoint was operational a month later, on June 16. More than two thousand cars were sent in both directions. Weather conditions, heavy rains, did not allow to start work in full force. In addition, not everyone knew that the checkpoint was open. But gradually the process returned to its former course. It is not yet clear when the main route will be restored and the transition to it from the temporary road will be made. But restoration work is underway.
Daryal Gorge is a risk zone
After the events of May 17, when the Terek was blocked due to the elements and there was a threat of flooding of villages and checkpoints, special radars were installed in the gorge. They must capture all vibrations of rocks and fix them. Thanks to radars and warning systems, already in August, the services received a signal - a danger alert. The population and employees of the checkpoint were evacuated in time. On August 20, a landslide came down in the Darial Gorge. The road was blocked again. Georgia, Upper Lars and checkpointpoint is closed again. Work is underway to clean up and restore the damage caused by the elements. The management promises that in 10 days everything will be done and the transition will work. Yelguja Khokrishvili is the Georgian Minister for Regional Development who deals with infrastructure issues. The Ministry of Georgia plans to implement a project that will help build protection for the road in the Darial Gorge so that in the future neither mudflows nor landslides could harm the environment. Moreover, such incidents claim the lives of both motorists and residents of neighboring villages. Thanks to rescuers who saved the lives of truck drivers and hydroelectric power plant builders, there were few casu alties.
