Red Bridge (Tsiteli Khidi / Sinig Körpü) Border Crossing: Georgia–Azerbaijan

The Red Bridge crossing — Tsiteli Khidi in Georgian, with the Azerbaijani side at Sinig Körpü — is the principal land crossing between Georgia and Azerbaijan, in the Kvemo Kartli region of southeastern Georgia (Georgia being the country in the South Caucasus) on the main highway connecting Tbilisi with Baku, across the Khrami River. It's the busiest and most commercially important of the Georgia–Azerbaijan crossings, an active major checkpoint confirmed by the Georgian Revenue Service, and it carries a continuous flow of passenger vehicles, buses, and freight along one of the most significant overland routes in the South Caucasus. When the border is fully open in both directions, it's the natural default for any Georgia–Azerbaijan overland itinerary.

Is the Red Bridge border crossing open?

Settle this before planning a crossing here, because the answer has been complicated since 2020. Recent reporting indicates that Azerbaijan's land borders have remained closed to entry by foreign nationals — a COVID-era measure the government has repeatedly extended by decree each time an announced reopening date approaches — while exit from Azerbaijan into Georgia at Red Bridge has generally been permitted for foreigners. In practice that has meant the crossing works for travelers in the Azerbaijan-to-Georgia direction, but entering Azerbaijan by land from Georgia here has generally not been possible. Freight and local traffic move in both directions, which can make the crossing look fully open from the outside, so the foreign-tourist entry rule specifically is the thing to confirm. Do not build a Tbilisi-to-Baku overland plan around entering Azerbaijan at this crossing without verifying the current rules first through official channels — the Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities, and your embassy.

The route and location

The crossing takes its Georgian name — Tsiteli Khidi, "Red Bridge" — from the historic red-brick bridge over the Khrami River, and "Red Bridge" is the form most common in English-language travel materials. The original arch bridge in the no-man's-land between the border posts is largely 17th-century (with a crossing on the site going back much further), and a newer, larger bridge built in 1998 as part of the TRACECA Europe–Caucasus–Asia transport project now carries the modern traffic. The setting is the open, semi-arid landscape of southeastern Kvemo Kartli, dry and flat in the way characteristic of the eastern Georgian lowlands approaching the border. Tbilisi to the crossing is roughly 80 to 90 kilometers, about an hour to an hour and a half depending on traffic on the main eastern highway.

On the Azerbaijani side, Sinig Körpü connects to the road network of the Qazax (Gazakh) district of northwestern Azerbaijan, continuing east toward Ganja — the country's second largest city, about 100 kilometers from the border — and onward to Baku along the main east–west highway. When through-travel is possible, the full Tbilisi–Baku road journey takes roughly seven to nine hours depending on traffic and border processing, a full-day trip most travelers do in one stretch or with an overnight in Ganja.

Traffic and practical information

Red Bridge handles mixed traffic — private vehicles, buses and minibuses, and the substantial freight that moves goods between the two countries along this corridor. Processing follows the standard pattern of a major international crossing, with passport control and customs on both sides, and speed depends heavily on volume at the time you cross; freight queues in particular can be long, and midday is often busiest. Recent reports put passenger-car waits at roughly 30 minutes to a couple of hours outside peak times, though this varies.

On visas, two separate things need checking. Entry into Georgia (the direction that has generally been open here) is straightforward for most nationalities, given Georgia's very generous visa regime — see our Georgia visa and entry guide. For any travel into Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan operates an electronic visa through the ASAN Visa system, which most nationalities arrange in advance; note, though, that holding an ASAN e-visa does not by itself override a land-border entry closure, so the visa and the land-entry question are separate matters to confirm.