Surami Pass

The Surami Pass (ru: Сурамский перевал) is a mountain pass in the Likhi Range of Georgia with an altitude of 949 metres (3,114 ft).

The pass connects the western and eastern part of Georgia. A railroad (in the tunnel) runs through the pass, as well as the Zestaponi-Khashuri highway.

Rail service through Suramsky pass was opened in 1872. The rail line was electrified in 1933.

Coordinates: 42°01′37″N 43°30′01″E / 42.02694°N 43.50028°E / 42.02694; 43.50028

Surami

Surami (Georgian: სურამი) is a small town (daba) in Georgia’s Shida Kartli region with the population of 9,800. It is a popular mountain climatic resort and a home to a medieval fortress.

Location

Surami is located on the southern slopes of the Likhi Range (alternatively known as the Surami Range) which divides Georgia into its eastern and western parts, four km from the town Khashuri, to which Surami is connected through a railway spur.

History

The first human settlement on Surami's territory dates back to the early Bronze Age. It is probably the Surium of Classical authors, specifically Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79), who place it in the eastern part of Colchis, towards Iberia.

Strategically located at the entrance into the Borjomi Gorge and guarding the road from eastern to western Georgia, Surami became a heavily fortified town in the 12th century. From the 1170s to the latter part of the 14th century, the fortress of Surami was a hereditary fief of the dynasty of the eristavs ("dukes") of Kartli (central Georgia), who assumed the surname of Surameli (სურამელი; literally, "[lord] of Surami").