Armenian Hiking Tour

30/04/2020

Gutanasar is a mountain in the Kotayk Province near Fantan in Armenia. It is a 7,543 ft (2,299 m) high. A small Surb Astvatsatsin Church is located below it.[citation needed] It is a volcano which last erupted 200,000 BP, judging from Ar39/Ar40 dating of lava flows, and one of the common sources of obsidian in archeological sites of Armenia. Neighbouring communities include Fontan and Alapars. The volcano is part of the Geghama mountains volcanic area. and appear to share a common feeding conduit.

30/04/2020

Komitas Museum-Institute (Armenian: Կոմիտասի թանգարան-ինստիտուտ) is an art and biographical museum in Yerevan, Armenia, devoted to the renowned Armenian musicologist and composer Komitas. It is located adjacent to the pantheon at the Komitas Park of Shengavit district. The museum was opened in January 2015.

30/04/2020

Lake Sevan is the largest body of water in Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, at an altitude of 1,900 m (6,234 ft) above sea level. The total surface area of its basin is about 5,000 km2 (1,900 sq mi), which makes up ​1⁄6 of Armenia's territory. The lake itself is 1,242 km2 (480 sq mi), and the volume is 32.8 km3 (7.9 cu mi). It is fed by 28 rivers and streams. Only 10% of the incoming water is drained by the Hrazdan River, while the remaining 90% evaporates.

29/04/2020

The Sergei Parajanov Museum is a tribute to Soviet Armenian director and artist Sergei Parajanov and is one of the most popular museums in Yerevan. It represents Parajanov's diverse artistic and literary heritage.
The ground-breaking of the Opera-Theatre took place on 28 November 1930 during the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of Soviet Armenia. On January 20, 1933, the building was officially opened. Soon after the theatre foundation, a ballet troupe was established. Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was the first ballet performance in 1935.

29/04/2020

29/04/2020

28/04/2020

Vahagn waterfall - Khosrov Forest State Reserve .
National park in Armenia.

28/04/2020

Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet named after Alexander Spendiaryan in Yerevan was officially opened on 20 January 1933, with Alexander Spendiaryan's Almast opera performance. The opera building was designed by the Armenian architect Alexander Tamanian. It consists of two concert halls: the Aram Khatchaturian concert hall with 1,400 seats and the Alexander Spendiaryan Opera and Ballet National Theatre with 1,200 seats.

27/04/2020

The Cascade is a giant stairway made of limestone in Yerevan, Armenia. It links the downtown Kentron area of Yerevan with the Monument neighborhood. Designed by architects Jim Torosyan, Aslan Mkhitaryan, and Sargis Gurzadyan the construction of the cascade started in 1971 and was partially completed in 1980.

Inside the Cascade, underneath the exterior steps, are seven escalators that rise along the length of the complex. There are also exhibit halls connected to some of the landings along the escalators which compose the Cafesjian Museum of Art.

27/04/2020

Khustup is a mountain located in the southern Syunik Province of Armenia, to the south of Kapan city. The height of the mountain is 3,206 meters. The origin of Vachagan River is located at the northern edge of mount Khustup.

The Armenian national hero; military leader Garegin Nzhdeh is buried on the slopes of Mount Khustup.

26/04/2020

Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia as well as one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country. It has been the capital since 1918, the fourteenth in the history of Armenia and the seventh located in or around the Ararat plain. The city also serves as the seat of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese; the largest diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and one of the oldest dioceses in the world.

The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC, with the founding of the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC by king Argishti I at the western extreme of the Ararat plain.Erebuni was "designed as a great administrative and religious centre, a fully royal capital."

25/04/2020

Sunset in Armenia

23/04/2020

Tsover sea is a geological monument in the Republic of Armenia, in Lori Province, 3 km south-east of Dsegh villageIt is recorded in the Republic of Armenia’s State Nature Reserve Ministry of Nature Protection. Tsover sea is a historical place and is mentioned in Hovhannes Tumanyan’s works.

21/04/2020

One of the natural beauties of Armenia, Trchkan waterfall is situated on the border between Shirak and Lori regions at 33 km distance from Gyumri, cultural capital of Armenia. The highest waterfall of Armenia, beautiful Trchkan of 23 meters high rushes down on Chichkhan river, the left rivulet of Pambak river, which starting to stream from the north-eastern slopes of the mountain range of Shirak (2250 meters) flows to the east. According to the old tradition the name of the waterfall is connected with the “crazy adventures” of Chichkhan river that flows in the wide ravine. As the villagers tell the river Chichkhan is rich in trout who flow upstream of the river in the season of reproduction.
One day the villagers notice the fish swimming upstream of the river and jumping over the waterfall of more than 20 meters high. And after that incident the beautiful waterfall is called “Trchkan” which in Armenian means “jumping”. Trchkan is not only the highest waterfall of Armenia but also the most abounding in water, for which it is often called “the Armenian Niagara”. The territory of the waterfall is also rich in many endemic species of birds and plants which can be seen very seldom and are registered in the Read Book.

20/04/2020

Mount Ararat is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in the extreme east of Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey and the Armenian Highland with an elevation of 5,137 m (16,854 ft); Little Ararat's elevation is 3,896 m (12,782 ft). The Ararat massif is about 35 km (22 mi) wide at ground base. The first recorded efforts to reach Ararat's summit were made in the Middle Ages, and Friedrich Parrot, Khachatur Abovian, and four others made the first recorded ascent in 1829.

19/04/2020

The Saghmosavank is a 13th-century Armenian monastic complex located in the village of Saghmosavan in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. Like the Hovhannavank monastery which is five kilometers south, Saghmosavank is situated atop the precipitous gorge carved by the Kasagh river. Their silhouettes dominate the adjacent villages and rise sharp against the background of the mountains crowned by Mount Aragats. The main structures of the monasteries erected by Prince Vache Vachutyan—the Church of Zion in Saghmosavank (1215) and the Church of Karapet in Hovhannavank (1216-1221)—belong to the same type of cross-winged domed structure with two-floor annexes in all the corners of the building. Subcupola space predominates in the interiors of both churches, which is reflected in the exterior shapes of these structures.

18/04/2020

This cave is actually a complex of smaller caves that are more easily explored than Mageli Cave. The cave is located at the (M2) highway, at the entrance to Noravank Canyon. It is in the cliff behind the riverside restaurant (to the right as you enter the gorge). It is reached by taking a footpath behind the restaurant up the steep hill to the triangular entry points into the caves. The cavern's collection of small caves, interconnected with narrow tunnels, include a few smaller caves in the higher cliff walls. A more recent excavation uncovered evidence of wine production from the Chalcolithic period, which if proved will make the cave one of the earliest known sites for wine fermentation in the world (ca. 4200-3800 BC).

17/04/2020

Hovhannavank is a medieval monastery located in the village of Ohanavan in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia. The monastery stands on the edge of the Kasagh River canyon, and its territory is adjacent to the village of Ohanavan. The deep gorge is carved by the Kasagh River.

16/04/2020

Khndzoresk is a village and rural community in the South-East of Armenia, in the province of Syunik. The village is located to the right of Goris - Stepanakert highway, on the steep slopes of Khor Dzor (Deep Gorge), from which, according to tradition, it got its name. Crossing the bridge at the entrance of the village, the road continues towards the towns of Lachin and Stepanakert. New Khndzoresk (the current inhabited area) was built in the 1950s. The village is located at 1580m above sea level and occupies 6772,8ha. The National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia reported its population as 2,260 in 2010, up from 1,992 at the 2001 census.

15/04/2020

Vahanavank is a 10th-11th century Armenian monastic complex located approximately 5 kilometers west of the town of Kapan in the Syunik Province of Armenia, situated at the foot of Tigranasar mountain along the right bank of the Voghdji River. The monastery was built over a Bronze Age grave field (13.-11. BCE) by Prince Vahan Nakhashinogh, of which it gets its namesake, the son of Prince Gagik of Kapan in the early 10th century. The Armenian historian Stepanos Orbelian (c. 1250 – 1305) wrote that the prince had taken on a monk's robe and lifestyle to cure himself of demonic possession. In the year 911, Prince Vahan gathered 100 like-minded clerics and built the church of Surb Grigor Lusavorich. It is the oldest among the structures at Vahanavank. The church is a domed hall like building with a main temple and a pair of sacristies. The drum rises on huge steeple rocks. The church has a west and south entrance. Prince Vahan was buried near the door to the church.

13/04/2020

Goshavank is a 12th- or 13th-century Armenian monastery located in the village of Gosh in the Tavush Province of Armenia. The impressive monastery which has remained in relatively good condition also houses one of the world's finest examples of a khachkar.

12/04/2020

Vorotnavank is a monastic complex located along a ridge overlooking the Vorotan gorge, between the villages of Vaghatin and Vorotan in the Syunik Province of Armenia. The complex is surrounded by a high stone wall for defense against foreign invasions and once housed workshops, stores, a seminary, resort, cemetery and an alms-house. A pillar stood in the yard of the monastery symbolizing that there were monks entering into religious service and kings inaugurated at this location. Hovhan Vorotnetsi (1315-1398), an Armenian medieval philosopher and theologian as well as the founder of Tatev Vardapetaran University lived and worked at the monastery.

11/04/2020

Sunset in Yerevan...

10/04/2020

Mount Aragats is an isolated four-peaked volcano massif in Armenia. Its northern summit, at 4,090 m (13,420 ft) above sea level, is the highest point of the Lesser Caucasus and Armenia. It is also one of the highest points in the Armenian Highlands.