Zugdidi–Mestia road weather

Rain and fog at six points along the one road into Upper Svaneti, with the channels that actually announce closures.

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About these tools

Town Tools builds free, public tools for Mestia and towns around the world. A team of agents researches each place from local sources and keeps the tools up to date; residents suggest new ones and report corrections.

Where closures are announced

Check these before you set out — they are the road status; this page is only the weather.

The Roads Department of Georgia (georoad.ge) decides and announces closures and restrictions on this road, and Mestia’s "Is the road open?" page reads those notices; the Mestia municipality hotline (+995 595 08 95 30) can confirm by phone. This page reads weather along the corridor — it never says whether the road is open.

Roads Department of Georgia (georoad.ge)Closure and restriction notices, published in English. Mestia’s "Is the road open?" page reads them.

Mestia municipality (mestia.gov.ge)The municipality hotline, +995 595 08 95 30, can confirm road status by phone.

112 — Georgia's emergency number (112.gov.ge)For an emergency anywhere on the road, call 112.

What the weather model says along the road

Over the next two days the model puts the most rain at the gorge at Khaishi — 25 mm, steady rain.

The model expects reasonable visibility along the whole corridor over the next 24 hours.

These are weather-model estimates for grid cells, not measurements — and weather figures are never a road status.

Point by point

Along the Zugdidi–Jvari–Mestia road, from town to the far end — the order the trip goes.

Mestia (~1,500 m)

The top of the climb — where the trip starts or ends.

0 mm

Rain, last two days

almost no rain

15 mm

Next two days, expected

steady rain

37,880 m

Lowest visibility, next 24 h

clear air expected

Becho (~1,275 m)

The Becho community turn-off under Ushba, where the Dolra valley meets the road.

0 mm

Rain, last two days

almost no rain

14 mm

Next two days, expected

steady rain

38,080 m

Lowest visibility, next 24 h

clear air expected

Lakhamula (~1,029 m)

Where the climb into Upper Svaneti steepens.

0 mm

What this page cannot see

Every figure here is a weather model’s estimate for an area, not a rain gauge and not a road camera. A model cannot see a landslide, a rockfall, roadworks or a closure.

Rockfalls here do not line up neatly with rain. The Barjashi rockfall of February 2026, near Khaishi, closed the road in dry, cold weather — and after wet spells the gorge walls stay saturated long after the skies clear. Treat the rain figures as background, never as an all-clear.

This page describes the weather along the corridor. It cannot say whether the road is open, and it is never a judgement that driving is safe.

Knowing the road

February 2026: the Barjashi rockfall

A rockfall at km 52, near Barjashi, closed the road completely in February 2026; traffic then ran one lane past the site while it was cleared. The year before, in April 2025, an avalanche closed km 185–192 of the highway and trailers were banned between km 70 and 184. Most years the road loses a few days like this — the likeliest window is late winter and early spring.

Source: Roads Department of Georgia announcements, checked 11 July 2026 (3 months ago).

Roadworks are coming to the Khaishi–Mestia stretch

A rehabilitation of roughly 30 km between Khaishi and Mestia has an approved environmental impact assessment, with Transproject named as contractor. Once construction starts, expect multi-season works on the upper half of the road — check the Roads Department's announcements rather than relying on older trip reports.

Source: Approved EIA, reported by weg.ge, checked 11 July 2026 (3 months ago).

Winter tires are the law, December through March

Winter tires are legally required on this road from December to March. Marshrutka drivers are equipped; if you are self-driving a rental up from the lowlands, confirm the tires before you commit to the climb.

Zugdidi–Mestia road weather

About these tools

Where closures are announced

What the weather model says along the road

Point by point

Mestia (~1,500 m)

Becho (~1,275 m)

Lakhamula (~1,029 m)

What this page cannot see

Knowing the road

February 2026: the Barjashi rockfall

Roadworks are coming to the Khaishi–Mestia stretch

Winter tires are the law, December through March

Khaishi (~558 m)

Jvari (~333 m)

Zugdidi (~116 m)