Driving the breathtaking road to Roki Pass
Pereval Rokskiy is an international high mountain pass at an elevation of 2.981m (9,780ft) above the sea level, located on the border of North Ossetia–Alania Republic of Russia and Georgia.
Set high in the Caucasus Mountains, a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region, the road to the summit is totally unpaved. A 4x4 vehicle is required. In 1984 the pass was bypassed by the international Roki Tunnel (Roksky Tunnel). Completed by the Soviet authorities in 1984, the tunnel is 3,730 metres (12,240 ft) long.
The pass is 9.6 km (5.96 miles) long running from Kesatikau (North Ossetia–Alania Republic of Russia) to Shua Roka (in the region of Shida Kartli of Georgia). The road is brutally steep, hitting a 28% of maximum gradient through some of the ramps. This road is usually impassable from late October through late June or early July (depending on snow).