Enguri Dam

The Enguri Dam blocks the Enguri River gorge just north of the small town of Jvari, where the road from Zugdidi begins its climb into Svaneti. At 271.5 m it is one of the tallest concrete arch dams in the world. Its curved grey wall holds back a long reservoir of milky turquoise water that stretches up the valley towards the mountains. Most visitors see it on the way to or from Mestia, pulling over above the dam to look down on the wall and across the water, with forested ridges rising on either side.

The dam feeds the Enguri hydropower plant, one of Georgia's main sources of electricity. The power station itself lies downstream, beyond the administrative boundary line with occupied Abkhazia, so travellers see only the dam and reservoir. A stop here takes 15 to 30 minutes and is a good chance to stretch your legs before the long, winding mountain section of the road. Jvari, just to the south, is the last town of any size before Svaneti.

Construction of the dam began in 1961, the hydropower plant first produced electricity in 1978, and the dam was completed in 1987. It was one of the most ambitious engineering projects of Soviet Georgia, and it remains one of the highest arch dams ever built. The reservoir it created flooded part of the lower Enguri gorge on the approach to Svaneti.