The mountain system of the Caucasus Mountains is notable for its beauty and majesty, spreading over a vast territory. Due to the difficult terrain, roads in the Caucasus are few and often not of good quality, depending greatly on the country through which they pass. The Caucasus is divided by the Main Ridge into two parts - the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia.
Roads of the North Caucasus
Part of Russia, the North Caucasus is known as a popular resort area. Here, mainly by the sea, there is a large number of cities loved by tourists, including the main resort of Russia - Sochi. Therefore, the part of the North Caucasus on the Black Sea coast is dotted with roads.
The main route crossing the North Caucasus from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea along the Main Ridge is the Caucasus Autobahn. Starting in the Krasnodar Territory, it reaches Derbent and then goes to Azerbaijan. Across it, crossing the mountains of the Greater Caucasus, passes the famous Georgian Military Highway, the only way to get from Russia to Georgia by car. Another major route, the Transcaucasian Highway, runs high in the mountains through South and North Ossetia.
Since part of the roads of the North Caucasus pass in the foothills or on steep rocky slopes, you can often find mountain serpentines here, where traffic slows down a lot.
The quality of roads is traditional for Russia - that is, there are good roads, mostly large ones, but there are also a large number of driveways with openly broken surfaces. Many roads are not paved, which also makes travel uncomfortable. First of all, this applies to narrow roads passing through mountain gorges. However, the poor quality of the coverage is fully compensated by the gorgeous views that open up during the trip.
Roads of Transcaucasia
The territory located south of the Main Ridge is divided among several countries. Georgia is located here; Armenia; Azerbaijan; disputed territories not recognized by all states - Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Due to the difficult mountainous terrain, there are not so many roads in this area - there are several large highways passing through large cities, and a number of small roads connecting villages and larger settlements.
Two significant routes cross the Transcaucasia up and down. The E60 motorway connects the two coasts, starting at Poti in Georgia and ending at Baku in Azerbaijan. Another route, coinciding at the pass through the Greater Caucasus with the Georgian Military Highway, passes through Tbilisi and then crosses the territory of Armenia up to the border with Iran. Also, active transport links pass along the road along the Caspian Sea, from Russia to Azerbaijan. But the passage along the Black Sea coast is blocked near the border with Abkhazia due to an unresolved conflict.
The quality of roads in Transcaucasia depends very much on the country through which they pass. The best surface is in Azerbaijan, although there are also many gravel roads. In Armenia and Georgia, the roads are of good quality in places, but sometimes there are sections with completely broken surfaces.
It is especially worth noting the driving style throughout the Caucasus, which is determined by the peculiarity of the mentality of the local peoples. Recklessness and driving without rules are in the blood of hot southerners, and therefore you need to be very careful and careful on local roads.
Traveling around the Caucasus by car can cause some difficulties due to the difficult terrain and not always high-quality roads, but travelers will be able to enjoy the fantastic beauty of the views of the mountains and the extraordinary nature of these places.
