A 210km drive through ‘the most beautiful place on Earth’
Following a traditional path used by traders and invaders, the Georgian Military Road has been a passageway for people and ideas since antiquity.
As my car snakes its way through the Georgian Military Road, a 210km route that twists and turns through Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains, I am greeted by lush valleys crisscrossed by gurgling rivers, mountains overgrown with wildflowers and picturesque villages perched on the edge of cliffs. Occasional Georgian Orthodox churches, complete with beautiful barrel domes, appear on the horizon and rows of coloured Soviet mosaics adorn deserted bus stop walls. At one stop, a smiling vendor breaks into song as he hands me a plate of Georgian dumplings by the shimmering blue Aragvi River.
“It is funny, not many tourists visit this part of Georgia. But it is the most beautiful place on Earth and my favourite,” says Mirian Takvarelia, a driver at GoTrip Georgia, a local ride-hailing company that hires taxis for multiday trips within the country. “You need to come here only once to fall in love with the Caucasus.”
When I ask Takvarelia how long he has been driving tourists on the Georgian Military Road, he smiles. “Too long, ” he replies “Maybe 15-16 years now.”
Sixteen years may not signify much in other countries, but in the South Caucasian country of Georgia, it marks the end of the five-day Russo-Georgian War of 2008 that left a trail of devastation on the Georgian Military Road. Georgia was part of the Soviet Union from 1921-1991 and the road, which connects Tbilisi with the Russian town of Vladikavkaz, is the only direct overland route connecting Georgia with the Russian Federation.
However, the nation has a much longer history of conflict. Historically, Georgia was an object of rivalry between the Romans, Persians, Ottomans and Russians owing to its strategic location between Europe and Asia. Georgia was also home to an ancient road in the Caucasus Mountains that connected the two continents. The road was called Porta Caucasia and played a crucial role in ferrying troops between empires and launching attacks.
