Amazing Armenia

This is the first of 3 itineraries of our travels to the three countries of the Caucasus mountains. Please see my Georgia and Azerbaijan itinerary for the continuation of the trip.

Arrived in Yerevan from Larnaca, Cyprus. Picked up a rental car and proceeded to our hotel.

We stayed at the Hotel Orbeli. Nice rooms in a good location with free parking out front. Parking was an important factor in our picking this place as well as the fact that they had family rooms.

In the morning we headed into Yerevan to check out the city. Lots of doggies everywhere- but they are all mellow, well fed and taken care of.

Parked the car in the underground parking by the opera house. A good central place to park. Then set out on foot to explore the city.

First we went to the Cascade complex which is an indoor-outdoor modern art museum called Cafesijan Center for the Arts, and viewpoint onto the city. Entry is free. You can either walk up the stairs outdoors or use the escalators indoors to get to the top.

There are a few “hidden” exhibition rooms which we had to look for in order to discover. One of them has this lovely tryptic showcasing some of the history of Armenia.

From the top of the Cascade we got our first glimpse of Mount Ararat.

We then decided to take the metro one stop, more for the experience than out of need. The center of Yerevan is not overly large and with a few hours of walking around one can explore it. The metro is definitely worth the $.25 it costs to ride it though. Grand old Soviet architecture.

Next we went to Vernissage Market. This is a flea market/ tourist souvenir market in the heart of Yerevan. Fun looking at different stuff.

The largest church in Yerevan, Saint Gregory Cathedral is near Vernissage market. Definitely worth a visit.

We got hungry and popped into the food court of a shopping center for a quick bite and to rest our legs.

Next stop was the Blue Mosque which is definitely a lot smaller than it’s famous namesake in Istanbul. Still a very pretty building with a large courtyard. It started drizzling at this point and we decided to walk back to the car and head to our hotel.

After dinner near the Cascade (I forgot to take a photo) we headed out to the airport again to pick up our son, and also switch our rental car. His plane ended up being over four hours late, but he finally arrived safely. We also couldn’t switch the car so we ended up making a reservation with a different company for which we had to come back the next morning.

After getting our new rental car (Sixt, good experience) and returning the bad one to the other company (don’t ever rent from Rent Motors or through the broker Holiday Autos!) we went to a supermarket to stock up in food for the road and started our over 1000 km drive for the next few days.

Our first destination was Garni Temple. This pagan temple dates back to the 1st century AD, which makes it 2000 years old. It is set in a stunning landscape right next to a gorge. You will need to purchase tickets to visit the complex. One of the few places in Armenia where we had to pay for a ticket (monasteries were all free). It is not expensive though, 250AMD for adults and 100AMD for students.

We then drove on to Khor Virap, a monastery with amazing views of Mount Ararat.

Our place for the night was in the village of Areni, birthplace of winemaking. We stayed at a B&B and did a lovely wine tasting and dinner prepared by the hosts.

Sumptuous breakfast in the morning. We loved Armenian food.

Areni-1 Cave is one of those places that will become more famous and visited in the next few decades. It was known and used by locals for millennia, but was first discovered for its rich archaeological deposits in 2008 when the world’s oldest shoe was found on the site. In 2011 the earliest known winery was in the world was discovered in the cave. Since then there have been extensive excavations and conservation work, but there is still a lot to be explored. In the coming years the site will become much larger and will draw lots of visitors. It was very cool to explore this place with a guide. For a little additional fee at the ticket booth you can engage a professional tour guid who will tell you lots about the cave and it’s archaeological treasures, as well as the people who used to live here millennia ago.

The next monastery we visited was Noravank. Beautiful setting, not too far from Areni Cave. Entry is free.

Driving in Armenia involves meeting herds of sheep in the road. Roads were actually in a better condition than we expected, except for a stretch over a mountain the following day.

Shaki waterfalls are gorgeous. It is maybe a 15 minute hike from the car park to the waterfall.

This is Armenia’s Stonehenge. It is older than the English one but much smaller in scale. However, it has zero crowds, we were the only people there and looks stunning in its mountain setting. So cool! There is a small entry fee to the site.

Our hotel for the night. They lost power right as we got there so we had to eat our delicious dinner by the light of our iPhones. It was also quite chilly in our cabin overnight because the heating was also out. Views of Tatev Monastery across the valley were amazing.

In the morning we took the Wings of Tatev cable car over to Tatev Monastery. The world’s longest reversible cableway, Wings of Tatev takes you over the deep valley to the monastery and back for about $20. If you come during busy season do book your ticket in advance online.

Tatev Monastery is a beautifully renovated medieval church and school complex that used to house Armenia’s largest university in the Middle Ages. Spectacular.

Beautiful views driving across the Caucasus mountains on our way to Lake Sevan.

Next monastery on our way is Hayravank. This is a small place situated right on the lake. Very pretty

Sevanavank Monastery is the more famous one just up the road. It is also very pretty in a gorgeous setting, but instead of being by itself on a promontory, it is surrounded by tourist trappy buildings selling food and souvenirs. I preferred the solitude of Hayravank, but Sevanavank is also worth a visit. Just beware of all kinds of locals peddling candles and other wares.

We did buy this amazing pastry at Sevanavank. They sell it in a kiosk just at the foot of the stairs leading up to the monastery. This pastry was so delicious I have to implore you to try it when you visit.

We spent the night at this hotel in Dilijan. Very pretty setting. Owners didn’t really speak English. Room came with good breakfast.

We wanted to hike in Dilijan National Park but the weather had other plans. So instead we came to see this monastery (last one on our list). Haghartsin was the most beautifully restored of the monasteries besides Tatev. The ruler of Sharjah in the UAE visited the site years ago and loved it so much he donated a bunch of money for the restoration. It is now done and it made Haghartsin one of the must visit places in Armenia. Like all monasteries, a visit here is free.

On our way back across the mountains it started to snow. No wonder, we were at over 2200 m elevation.

Back in Yerevan we visited the Cascade again to show it to our son who only arrived the night after we visited here last.

After a week of Armenian food we opted for Japanese for dinner. It was good.

In the morning we woke up to amazing views of Mt Ararat from our hotel room.

Ararat stayed with us during our drive to the airport and the beginning of our flight to Tbilisi, Georgia. Check out my upcoming itinerary of the Georgia portion of our trip.