The Verkhny Lars checkpoint is located on the border between Russia and Georgia. For those who are planning to travel to Georgia from Russia by car, Verkhny Lars is the only legal crossing by land across the border. Before crossing the border, you should familiarize yourself with useful information regarding the features of the Verkhny Lars checkpoint presented in this article.
Weather
The Verkhny Lars checkpoint is located at a distance of 40 kilometers from Vladikavkaz and is located in the picturesque Darial Gorge. On the Georgian side, the nearby village - Stepantsminda, is located 10 kilometers from the border (about 15 minutes by car).
Do not forget that the border is in the mountains, it follows that the weather here is very changeable. In winter, the road is often covered with snow, avalanches collapse, and in the summer, mudflows descend due to heavy rains. In such cases, the road is closed until the weather improves.
Today, the way through Upper Lars is open for all types of transport in two directions, including passenger buses, cars, trucks and bicycles. It is not necessary to have snow chains on wheels, but for safety reasons it is better to take them with you, since the weather at the pass is variable.
Georgia Border Crossing Rules
For all foreign citizens entering Georgia, a visa-free regime applies. Anyone who plans to legally visit the country is considered a tourist, so do not worry because of political differences. In recent years, the development of tourism has become an important component of the Georgian economy. In this regard, Georgians with the same hospitality and cordiality receive guests, whether they are Russians, Ukrainians or Belarusians.
Crossing the border at the checkpoint is prohibited, but there is no such prohibition on cycling.
The visa regime in Georgia was canceled for citizens of 94 states, including the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus. Thanks to this, you can stay on the territory of the country for one year without leaving it.
Documents required for crossing the Verkhny Lars checkpoint
For the driver crossing the Verkhny Lars checkpoint on a vehicle, the following documents are required:
- Valid passport (it must be valid at the time of entry into the territory of Georgia, and another 3 months from the date of the planned return).
- Driving license (international or Russian model). Basic requirement: driver data must be duplicated in a license in Latin.
- Vehicle registration certificate.
- CTP insurance policy. Since March 2018, this document is among the mandatory. It can also be issued on the territory of Georgia, at a border checkpoint, or online at www.tpl.ge. The insurance period can be selected depending on the number of days in the country: from 15 days to one year. Lack of insurance may result in a fine of 100 to 200 GEL.
- Power of attorney for a car, giving the right to travel abroad. This document is needed if you do not own the car that you drove to another country. The power of attorney must be notarized.
Documents required for passengers:
For adults - a valid passport.
For children. If you are traveling with a child, then it must be entered in the passport of the parents or to draw up a separate document for him. It should be noted that your passport must have a photograph of the child with the seal of the passport and visa organization. The child’s birth certificate (original) is not a mandatory document, but it is better to take it if the child has a different surname or he is traveling on a separate document. Thus, you without delay confirm your kinship.
Documents required for animals:
Veterinary passport - a mandatory document for the animal when passing control. Together with the standard vaccination marks, the rabies vaccination must be present in the animal's veterinary passport. It must be done to your pet at least one year in advance and at least one month before the trip. Not later than 5 days before the trip, you must issue a veterinary certificate of form No. 1 at any of the veterinary clinics in your city.
Reasons why you may not be allowed into Georgia
Presence of stamps of Abkhazia or South Ossetia in your passport
It is necessary that your passport does not have marks that you previously crossed the border of Abkhazia or South Ossetia. For Georgia, these are occupied territories. In the presence of such stamps, tourists from Russia can be "turned around" or fined a significant amount (about 500 euros). If you were in Abkhazia on a passport, then you need to change your passport, or for now refuse to travel to Georgia. This does not mean that you should not visit Abkhazia or South Ossetia. Their borders are open to tourists. However, you should enter these regions from the Russian territory and according to your Russian passport. No stamps are put on the internal Russian passport, and such information is not available for Georgian border guards.
If you entered Georgia “legally” and left its territory through Abkhazia, then your passport will only have an entry stamp in Georgia, but no exit stamp. In this case, even replacing a foreign passport with a new one will be useless, since information about entering the country and the lack of a mark about leaving are stored in the database at the border guards. In such a situation, it is more correct to refuse to travel to Georgia until the political situation changes.
If your car has 82 and 92 regional numbers
These numbers belong to the Crimean region and the Georgian border guards have a resolution not to allow cars with such numbers into the country. There is an unpleasant fact that these numbers were also registered in other regions of Russia. But even in this case, you still will not be allowed into the country. The only option is to change the numbers for the 15th region in the traffic police of Vladikavkaz. According to eyewitnesses, this procedure does not take much time. If you live in Crimea, you should not spread on the Georgian border about the place of your residence. Due to political discrepancies regarding the status of Crimea, Crimean residents must travel beyond its borders according to the Ukrainian foreign passport.
How to plan the passage time of the Verkhny Lars checkpoint
When crossing the border, the season of the year in which you want to make a trip plays a big role. The queue for passing the checkpoint and its speed depends on the time of day, season and weather conditions. For example, in the "low" season (cold season, except for the New Year holidays), you can plan about 2-3 hours of waiting on both sides of the border. And in the "high" season (summer months, May, September, a large number of days off in Russia), the border crossing time can be 8-10 hours. The best option is to look at the situation at the checkpoint using webcams online 2-3 hours before crossing the border and follow the news in the media.
Taking into account all the above, when planning a trip, it would be wiser to stay for the night in one of the border settlements with "infrastructure". For example, on the way to Georgia - this is the village of Stepantsminda, and vice versa - the Russian city of Vladikavkaz. You can easily find accommodation there for every taste, from inexpensive hostels and guesthouses to five-star hotels and apartments.
