Route 19
19. Alpine car rout, Pszaweli - Omalo Tuszetii (duration 2 days)
At the very end we recommend a car rout in the area of Pankisi Tuszetii.
The rout leads to Omalo village situated at the feet of Tushetski mountain ridge, the border of Georgia and Chechnya runs through it. Route to Omalo is very picturesque, it leads through mountain gorge, and then goes uphill over a border of the a forest on to three thousands high pass.
Road from Pszaweli to Omalo is 72 kilometers long and on a car map it is marked as one of more important roads in Georgia (yellow color). However we have to have in mind that this is a difficult road and good driving skills are a must (curvy, mountain rout) , it will take about four hours. We also need to choose a suitable car – best off-road car with high suspension, 4X4, and trip fully filled up tank (or we need to take cans with petrol). It is also important to remember tat this rout is in use from May till September only. Booking a hotel room in Omalo seems to be reasonable solution.
We leave from Pshaweli in northern direction. Passing Leczhuri village after several kilometers. We leave the mountains on the left side (Torgva Pankeli). Road becomes worse and worse. Asphalt slowly changes in to a stone road, we have to drive slower, until we in the end we have to drive very closely to the rocks from one side but from the other we can admire the Stori river valley.
Numerous and steep turns and waterfalls (we even have to drive through one) will diversify this already exciting ride.
On one part of the road it is best not to overtake other cars (we won’t meet many of them anyway).
Serpentine road will climb higher and higher. We cross through a humble bridge over Stori and we rise slowly over the border of the forest. Bald peaks of the mountains appear in front of our eyes.
Feather road is well visible. After several kilometers We can find a comfortable place near a spring, where we can stop for a while. Local drivers usually stop in this place, they exchange with comments, smoke cigarettes, and if they decide to stay in the car most certainly they will greet us by beeping. After dozen minutes we come to the main pass. It is about half a road to Omalo. View from this place is breathtaking. Beautiful panorama stretches over Tushetski mountain ridge, with the highest peaks (Komito 4261 m, Diklo 4285 m), where the Chechnyn border runs. Air cools noticeably, but it’s nothing odd as glaciers are in range of our sight. A cross stands on the right side from the pass, numerous stones and candles near it - offerings and intentions of the believers. The road goes steep down leading us straight to Omalo, in which the major attractions beside the beautiful location, are the old stone towers – considered to be one of the most important symbols of Caucasian tradition.
