Foreigners always associate Armenia with summer, sun, warmth, and with the abundance of bright colors. And most of them prefer to visit the country in warm seasons, but believe me, winter hikes in Armenia are very interesting, too, you will find yourself in a winter Wonderland in the mountains.
Tour program
On the first day of the tour, we will meet you at the airport and help to get to the hotel. Then you can have a walk around wintry Yerevan and in the picturesque gorge of Hrazdan River, which flows through almost the whole city.
Hiking through the southern part of Armenia begins on the second day- we will visit Khor Virap temple, which is one of the main shrines of Armenia. It stands on a foothill of Armenians' major mountain- Ararat. Then we will drive to Noravank- the part of the road we will pass on foot, through a picturesque gorge. The rocks along the gorge and the monastery are painted in orange-red color, and in the lack of summer green, they look fascinating.
Then, we will visit surrounded by mountains and forests city of Jermuk, which is famous for its beauty and mineral waters.
The overnight stay will pass in Jermuk in order to continue hiking the following day.
The hike on the third day will start with geysers over Jermuk, which are warm even in winter, then the hike to Gndevank, to a highland by a riverbank will be continued.
After this, we will go to an ancient complex, where ancient people had created an observatory,
an academy and a place for worshiping- to Zorats Karer.
After Zorats Karer, we will move to one of the most amazing gorges of Armenia- to Tatev gorge with many monasteries, fortresses, ancient settlements, and many other hidden places.
In the gorge, we will have the night stay in a hotel.
As we've already mentioned- in Tatev gorge, there are ancient towns- Old Halidzor, Old Shinuhayr, Old Khot, which in the middle of the XX century were moved to a more convenient place for living(on the plain). The remaining ancient houses and other buildings amaze with their complicated constructions.
For the night stay, we will return to the hotel.
On this day, out of many interesting places in Tatev Gorge, we will have a hike to Tatev Desert- where monks lived in the Middle Ages. Tatev Desert was an important spiritual and educational centre, and besides, it had a defensive function.
The next wonderful thing in the gorge is the natural Devil's Bridge, situated above the river Vorotan, below which there are sources of warm water.
Through this bridge, we will get to Tatev- to a monastery on a height among rocks, from where opens a particularly beautiful view to the winter forests and to the high mountains surrounding the gorge.
The night stay will be in Tatev.
The sixth day of winter hiking in South Armenia begins with the hike around Khndzoresk. At first sight, Khndzoresk looks like a decoration for the film, but in fact, it is an ancient settlement, where, for centuries, people had created a complicated set of caves with no less complicated connection system. It was a full-fledged town, with all the attributes of a town- separate districts, churches, a fortress, and so on. According to the legend, Shaki waterfall, where we will go next, appeared in a place, where the waters of Vorotan rose to hide the girl, who had escaped from his pursuers. If it is frozen, then you will see multimeter icicles hanging from the top of the rock.
The night stay will be near Eghegnadzor.
In the morning we will visit a mountain village, from where begins the hike to standing on a rock
(height- 2000 m) fortress of Smbataberd. From here opens a view to the surrounding snowy peaks of Vardenis mountains.
After Smbataberd, we will probably continue our hike to the monastery of Tsakhats Kar, which was tightly connected with the fortress. Not far from Tsakhats Karer, there are preserved ruins of a more ancient monastery.
For the night stay, we will again return to Eghegnadzor.
Through the winter roads of South Armenia in SUV, we will go to Shatinvank monastery, which is situated on a mountain, on the bank of a mountain river.
Then, through the mountain paths, we will hike to white, but not from the snow monastery of Spitakavor. The place, where the monastery stands is cut by deep gorges and not far, on an impregnable high rock stands Proshlaberd fortress- the next goal of our hike.
At this our winter adventures in South Armenia end, and we return to Yerevan.
On this day(free day) you can continue already started 8 days ago acquaintance with Yerevan, with its museums and other interesting places.
In the end, we will provide you with a transfer to the airport.
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The relief of South Armenia, where we're going to hike in Armenia is mountainous, and at different heights winter is different. But the main peculiarity of the south is the abundance of sunny days, even in winter.
All the night stays of this hike will be in cozy guest houses or hotels.
"Winter fairy tale» Hiking in South Armenia for 9 days
To continue booking
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