Monday 13 May - Got an early start from Gori, heading east then turning north towards the Russian border, up the Georgian Military Highway. The GMH has history, and is still a major North/Russia - South link across the Caucasus. It follows the traditional route used by invaders and traders through the ages. Its maximum altitude is at the Jvari Pass, where it reaches 2,379 metres (7,815 feet). The 1914 edition of Baedeker's Russia describes the Georgian Military Road as 'one of the most beautiful mountain roads in the world', and although we can't claim to have driven many mountain roads we can agree, the 2nd, northern half, was a lovely drive indeed. Pliny the Elderly mentioned the route, and Russian troops first travelled it in 1769. And by 1783 a Russian general was able to go
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