Roads in mountainous Tusheti reopen after natural disaster
Tweet 
Share
The road leading to Georgia’s iconic Tusheti mountainous area has reopened after a powerful hailstorm and landslide caused major damage to the roads and nearby area.
The road to Tusheti, regarded as one of the country’s most iconic tourist attractions, closed on August 20 when a powerful hailstorm hit the eastern part of Georgia, causing about 900,000 GEL damage mainly in the eastern Kakheti region.
The hailstorm resulted in a landslide that blocked several roads in the Tusheti region.
Today Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said the mountainous road connecting Shatili and Mutso villages had been cleaned, fixed and reopened. Additionally, the damaged road from Tusheti to Mutso as well as the Shatili-Mutso-Girevi track had also been cleaned up.
At this stage only off-road vehicles are allowed in the Shatili-Mutso areas, said the Ministry.
After the storm hit on Friday, helicopters airlifted 620 tourists from Tusheti after they were stranded there when a landslide blocked roads in several directions.
Specifically, the Omalo-Lechkhumi and Alvani-Omalo roads were closed and people in the nearby mountain villages were unable to leave. An evacuation plan saw the stranded population taken by Georgia’s Border Police to Omalo village, where they were helicoptered out of the area by two Border Police helicopters.
Rescuers and border guards transported 620 tourists to Pshavela village, Akhmeta [in] east Georgia from Omalo by helicopter and were then transported to Telavi, to eastern Kakheti region by police and rescuers’ vehicles,” said the Ministry.
Ministry of Interior Affairs helicopters people from Tusheti. Photo by the Interior Ministry webpage.
Last week’s natural disaster was said to hinder the annual Tushetoba celebration that was scheduled to take place on August 22 but was subsequently postponed for a week.
The Tushetoba public celebration every August aimed to popularise Georgia’s mountainous regions and protected areas. Various entertaining activities, including cooking some of the region’s most famous food in open air, are performed during the festival that attracts both Georgians and foreign visitors.
From today to September 15, private vehicles will be restricted from travelling between the 134th and 135th kilometre section of the Mtskheta-Stepantsminda-Larsi Rd between 8.30pm and 5.30am. This will be extended to all vehicles from midnight to 5.30am.
The Government of Georgia is planning to invest just over 10 million GEL to build a new road connecting two villages in Khevsureti region to reduce migration from the village and promote tourism in the area.
Vehicle will serve in mountainous Tusheti
For the first time, people in Georgia’s mountainous Tusheti area call for emergency services and receive support thanks to a generous donation by the Czech Republic.
Heavy downpour yesterday seriously damaged several villages in Georgia’s western, coastal Adjara region, but no victims are reported.
The recent natural disasters in west and northeast Georgia and the effects on the local population were the focus of today’s Governmental meeting in capital Tbilisi.
The road leading to Georgia’s iconic Tusheti mountain area is currently among the world’s most dangerous roads, but soon this will change.
Over 200 people including tourists who were stuck in Georgia's mountainous region of Tusheti for several days have been evacuated. The rescue operation has been underway since yesterday to bring everyone to Telavi, a nearby town in the eastern Kakheti region, after the heavy rain damaged the road leading to Tusheti.