On the “dirt road” to Batumi

Filling up with gas, so that we can have it cosy and warm

We tried the border to Turkey south of Akhaltsikhe, asking nicely if we might cross it, but no – closed except trucks. The only open border to Turkey was therefore the one near Batumi. To get there, we had two options: a longer route with good roads, or a shorter one over the Goderdzi pass with very bad roads. What did we choose? The shorter one of course!

Closed border
Only 156 km – no problem

For the first kilometres the road was perfect, we even thought, maybe they have built a good road already over that pass and we would miss out on all the fun, but no. Just after Adigeni the tarmac ends and from there until Khulo we were driving for 60km over this kind of road, with a lot of roadworks going on, making it even worse.

At the Goderdzi pass at 2000 metres, many houses, reminding us of disheveled mountain huts, dotted the mountain. At the pass the first snow had already arrived and on the other side a ski resort was under construction.

We had reached the highest point
Little shop at the pass
We tried to find something we could buy
Mud everywhere
New ski resort

When we finally reached something which looked like a normal road, it was many times interrupted with parts of road work, but nevertheless a big improvement.

Old bridge of Dandalo
Zvari Church
Kaki trees full of fruits

The next day, our Votronic inverter stopped to do its job, which meant we wouldn’t be able to charge anything that requires 220 volt like our laptops. Luckily we quickly found a new inverter in Batumi, after asking around a little.

Going to find a solution ….
Luckily we had all needed tools and parts on board!
Spare inverter (black) with only 300 watt

For a day or two, we will now enjoy all the pleasures Batumi has to offer, before we will continue our journey to Turkey. More on our next post!

2 thoughts on “On the “dirt road” to Batumi”

  1. Hello,

    Thanks for your information. Next September we will be traveling from Akhaltsikhe to Batumi. How long is the travel time through the Dirt Road? Is it possible to do it in a normal car or is a four wheel drive necessary?
    Thanks again for your information.

    1. the road was under construction and we used our 4×4. I do not know how long this drive took us ….
      May be, the road is now finished and a easy drive?

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *