Mountain passes of Georgia: Jvari, Goderdzi, Abano, Zekari, Ushguli — seasons, closures and 4×4 rules

Georgia has five mountain passes that regularly appear in travel plans and almost as regularly in closure notices: Jvari (Cross) Pass on the Georgian Military Highway, Goderdzi between Adjara and Samtskhe, Abano on the road into Tusheti, Zekari between Imereti and Adjara, and the unnamed-but-essential high routes around Ushguli in Svaneti. None of them behave the same way. Jvari is a paved, numbered international road kept open through winter by law, with chain requirements enforced at checkpoints. The other four are, to varying degrees, seasonal gravel or broken-asphalt tracks that the Roads Department closes outright once snow arrives, typically from late October or November until May or June, and that insurers and rental companies often exclude from standard cover.

The short, conservative answer: plan paved-road travel (Jvari, the Mestia-to-Ushguli road) with a sedan or minivan outside midwinter storm days, and plan everything else — Abano, the Zagar route from Ushguli to Lentekhi, Zekari, and the upper, unpaved stretch of Goderdzi — only between roughly June and October, in a genuine 4×4, ideally with a local driver, and only after checking that day’s status with the Roads Department of Georgia and, for Tusheti, the Agency of Protected Areas. Because conditions and official hours change year to year, this guide gives typical figures and tells you exactly where to confirm them before you set off; see our own road-status page for a running summary.

The five passes at a glance

Jvari Pass and the Gudauri–Kobi tunnel project

Jvari Pass carries the Georgian Military Highway, Georgia’s main land link to Russia via the Darial Gorge, between Gudauri and Kobi. It is paved, lit in parts, and the only one of the five that stays open through winter as a matter of policy — but “open” can still mean single-lane convoys, snow-clearing pauses, or full closure for a few hours during blizzards and avalanche control work. From roughly November to April, winter tyres are compulsory on this stretch and drivers are commonly required to carry chains, which are checked and sometimes fitted at a control point before the climb. The Roads Department of Georgia publishes same-day closures and the chain requirement on its site, and this is the only source worth trusting on the morning you travel, since conditions change by the hour in bad weather.

A long-discussed fix for the pass’s winter bottleneck is the Kvesheti–Kobi road, a lower-altitude bypass with a tunnel of several kilometres that would let traffic avoid the avalanche-prone Jvari summit entirely. The project has been financed in part through World Bank lending to Georgia’s road connectivity programme and has been under construction in stages for several years; completion dates have slipped more than once, so treat any “opening in 20XX” claim with caution and check current status through the Roads Department rather than older press reports. Until it opens, Jvari Pass remains the only way over this section of the highway.

Goderdzi Pass — Adjara’s summer shortcut

Goderdzi links the Khulo highlands above Batumi to Zarzma and Akhaltsikhe in Samtskhe-Javakheti, saving a long loop around the mountains. Road upgrading has progressed in sections over recent years, turning parts of the old gravel track into asphalt, but a stretch near the 2,025-metre summit is, as of 2026, still unsealed and closes with the first heavy autumn snow, usually reopening only once ploughing resumes in late spring. In summer it is drivable in a sturdy saloon in dry weather, but rain turns the clay surface slick, and a 4×4 is the safer choice, particularly with the Beshumi forest and the Green Lake side trip added on. Our Adjara Highlands — Khulo, the Goderdzi Pass and the Green Lake day trip and the longer Adjara Highlands by 4×4 — Beshumi, Goderdzi and the Alpine Villages, 2 Days both run on this seasonal window and are rescheduled, not refunded, if the Roads Department closes the summit on the day.

Abano Pass and the Tusheti road — June to October only

The road from Akhmeta over Abano Pass into Tusheti is widely described, including by Georgia’s own tourism bodies, as one of the country’s most demanding drivable routes: around 2,826 metres at its highest point, unsealed for most of its length, with sheer drops and no barriers on long sections. The Agency of Protected Areas, which manages the Tusheti Protected Landscape, and local administrations close the road for the winter, and it typically reopens only in June once snow has cleared and the surface has been graded; it closes again with the first serious autumn snowfall, often by mid-October. Outside that window the only way in or out is on foot or by helicopter in emergencies. Hire cars from mainstream rental companies are routinely excluded from Tusheti by contract, and most travel insurers treat this specific road as a named exclusion or require an additional “off-road” or “gravel pass” rider — read your policy wording before you go, not after. We run this route exclusively with vetted 4×4 drivers who know the pass; see Tusheti — Georgia’s Last Wild Frontier (4 Days), Tusheti by 4×4 — Omalo, Dartlo and Diklo in 3 Days, and the combined Khevsureti and Tusheti by 4×4 — 5 Days.

Zekari Pass — Imereti to Adjara

Zekari Pass crosses from the Baghdati side of Imereti, near the Nakerala ridge, over to Khulo in Adjara, at roughly 2,182 metres. It is shorter and lower than Abano but no less rutted, with washouts common after rain and long stretches with no mobile signal. Like Goderdzi and Abano, it is a June-to-October route in ordinary years; local drivers sometimes push the season a little either side of that in a dry autumn, but this is a judgement call best left to someone who drives it regularly rather than a fixed calendar date. As with the other gravel passes, check the Roads Department’s current notices before committing, since a single rockfall can close it for days.

Ushguli — two very different roads

Ushguli, the cluster of villages that forms part of the Upper Svaneti UNESCO World Heritage property, can be reached two ways, and they should not be confused. The Mestia–Ushguli road has been progressively paved over the past decade and, outside winter storms, is manageable in a standard car with a careful driver, though sections still wash out and the Roads Department occasionally restricts it after heavy rain. The second route, over the Zagar Pass to Lentekhi in Lower Svaneti or on towards Racha, is a different proposition entirely: a high gravel track, roughly 2,620 metres at its summit, open only from July to September in most years, closed by snow the rest of the time, and genuinely unsuitable for anything but an experienced 4×4 driver. We run it as Svaneti by 4×4 — Mestia, Ushguli and the Zagar Pass to Lentekhi, 4 Days, and the paved approach as part of Mestia & Ushguli — 3 Days in Svaneti; for the detail on heights, villages and the UNESCO listing itself, see the official record at UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre.

4×4 rules, gravel-road insurance and hiring a driver

Three practical questions come up on every one of these passes. First, is a 4×4 legally required? Georgia does not post a blanket law naming specific vehicles for specific passes, but the Roads Department can and does close a route to all traffic, or restrict it to high-clearance vehicles, when conditions demand it, and local police posts on routes like Abano commonly turn back cars they judge unsuitable regardless of what is painted on the sign. Second, does your insurance cover you? Many standard rental and travel policies in Georgia and abroad specifically exclude damage on unpaved mountain roads, Tusheti, and passes above a stated altitude; ask your insurer in writing whether “off-road,” “gravel pass” or named roads like Abano and the Zagar Pass are covered, and get it in an email, not a verbal assurance. Third, is self-driving worth the risk? For the paved network — Jvari, the lower Military Highway, the sealed stretch to Mestia — a sedan with winter tyres in season is usually fine. For the gravel passes, hiring a 4×4 with a local driver removes both the insurance question and the skill gap: our Car with Driver by the Day service puts you in a Land Cruiser-class vehicle with fuel, tolls and the driver’s costs included, and a Licensed Private Guide by the Day can be added for route interpretation and village introductions in Tusheti, Khevsureti or Svaneti.

Practical summary

• Jvari Pass: paved, open year-round, winter tyres and chains required in snow, checkpoints enforce it.
• Goderdzi, Zekari, Abano and the Zagar route to Lentekhi: seasonal, roughly June to October, closed outright by snow outside that window.
• Abano and the Tusheti road: 4×4 only, routinely excluded from standard rental and insurance contracts, confirm cover in writing.
• Always check same-day status with the Roads Department of Georgia before any pass crossing, especially after rain or the first autumn frost.
• For Tusheti, confirm the protected area is open for the season with the Agency of Protected Areas.
• The Kvesheti–Kobi tunnel will eventually bypass Jvari’s worst winter closures, but it is not yet complete; do not plan around it until the Roads Department confirms opening.
• Hire a 4×4 with a local driver for any gravel pass rather than self-driving a rental car with uncertain insurance cover.

Sources

• Upper Svaneti World Heritage listing (Ushguli)
• Roads Department of Georgia, road conditions
• Agency of Protected Areas, Tusheti
• National Environment Agency, weather bulletins
• World Bank, Georgia country overview
• Georgian National Tourism Administration