The Caucasus Mountains are one of the youngest on the planet. They stretch from the shores of the Black to the shores of the Caspian Sea, covering many republics of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Among them: South Ossetia, Georgia, North Ossetia.
The beginning of the way
There is a great opportunity to get to Georgia not by air or sea, but by ordinary land transport - by car. For this, a visa for Russians is not required today. Although in the recent past, a visit to the Georgian mission was a necessity. Upper Lars is the locality where the checkpoint is located. It is through him that travelers traveling to Georgia pass. This path is chosen by everyone who needs to get into the republics of Transcaucasia, Turkey or Iran.
And the road starts in Vladikavkaz, the Republic of Ossetia-Alania. From the city you can get by bus, minibus to the village in the mountains. The route is only 40 km long - not a very long road. Upper Lars - this is the checkpoint on the border with Georgia. The border crossing works around the clock, but it should not be crossed on foot, but on any transport. Next - the checkpoint Darial, whose former name is Kazbegi. Having traveled 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 Verkhny Lars passes through the Darial Gorge. These are very beautiful places. In good weather, you can take wonderful pictures of mountain landscapes. Many tourists make a stop in the village of Stepantsminda, where there are hotels, shops and khinkalny. You can visit the church of the Holy Trinity. It offers panoramic views of Mount Kazbek. Photography enthusiasts take many pictures overlooking the famous snowy peak. But mountain roads are very difficult and dangerous. Often natural disasters fall on them, in the form of avalanches, mudflows, eruptions.
Disaster in Georgia
One of the destructive mudflows descended on May 17, 2014 in the Darial Gorge. This event made it impossible to pass through checkpoints - they are closed. The road through Upper Lars temporarily closed. To get to the territory of Georgia, you need to change the route and get in another way. The element caused damage to the villagers who are located in the gorge. Rescuers are on duty and will be able to evacuate the population if there is a threat to them.
Passing of cars through the checkpoint was suspended : the Georgian military road was blocked. The villages of Nizhny and Upper Lars, Chmi were in tension for a long time. Those tourists who came to Georgia before the mudflow left had to return home through Armenia and Azerbaijan. A huge number of heavy vehicles have accumulated on both sides, which did not have time to cross the border before the elements.
Motion recovery
Customs workers were temporarily evacuated due to the constant threat of flooding. Firefighting vehicles were on duty in the villages. The speakerphone system worked to notify the population of the threat. In order to completely restore all damage caused by the elements, it will take almost a year of work. Therefore, a temporary road was laid over the stream, on which it was possible to pass vehicles. Checkpoint Verhniy Lars earned a month later - June 16. On both sides more than two thousand cars were sent. 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 went back on track. When the main route will be restored and the transition to it from the temporary road is completed, it is not clear yet. But restoration work is underway.
Darial Gorge - 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 pick up all rock vibrations and record them. Thanks to radars and warning systems , in August, services received a signal - a warning of danger. The population and workers of the checkpoint were evacuated on time. On August 20, a landslide descended in the Darial Gorge. The road was again blocked. Georgia, Upper Lars and the checkpoint is again closed. Work is underway to clean and repair 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, which 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 can harm the environment. Moreover, such incidents claim the lives of both motorists and residents of neighboring villages. Thanks to the rescuers who saved the lives of truck drivers and the builders of the hydroelectric power station, there were few injuries.