Hiking from Garni Temple to Havuts Tar, Khosrov State Reserve

Armenia 2022, part 2

When traveling in the former Soviet Union, Roman architecture isn’t the first thing you’d expect. Yet close to Armenia’s capital Yerevan is a Roman-style temple from the first century. It is called the Garni Temple, though it’s unclear what the purpose of the building was. As the oldest surviving building in Armenia and one of the country’s top destinations, Garni Temple is well covered by guidebooks and blogs. I briefly visited the temple during my first visit to Armenia in 2014, and was amazed by the beautiful landscape around it. When I returned in 2022 I was excited to explore more.

Most hiking trails near Garni are in the Khosrov State Reserve. Unfortunately it can only be visited with a guide. An exception is the hike from Garni Temple to a monastery in the reserve called Havuts Tar. There is not much information available about this hike, which made me curious to give it a try. Here’s what the hike was like.

From Garni Temple to Garni Townhall

The temple is in the town of Garni. This town of about 7.000 people produces cigarettes as well, and the taxi-driver from Yerevan actually offered me one. To get into the Khorov State Reserve I first had to get a permit, but it was unclear how. In my basic Russian I asked for a permit at the tourist-information desk in Garni Townhall. The lady at the desk said the permits were only sold online. She admitted this would be complicated for a foreign tourist, and then walked me to a payment terminal nearby to help me buy them online. She gave me the receipt, which I had to show later at the entrance of the national park (the permit was 3.000 AMD, scroll below to ‘’Practical info on traveling here’’ for more information about the route).

The Symphony of Stones

In between the town and the national park is a canyon. There are spectacular basalt rock formations here called ‘’The Symphony of Stones’’. It is still accessible by car, and there were many other visitors. To enter the national park I followed a path upwards, leading to a nice view of the canyon. From then on I was the only visitor.

Further down the trail was a house that seemed abandoned at first. Then two men in military uniforms came from the back, shouting and asking me where I was going. After showing my receipt and passport they waved me through. From here the trail was mostly straight, gradually going up. I could see the monastery from afar. I passed a ‘’khachkar’’, an ancient stone cross, before entering the monastery.

Havuts Tar dates from the 11th century and used to be walled. The ruins are on a hilltop overlooking the canyon and the town. Walking around the ruins I came across more khachkars. On the way back I saw a snake moving away into the grass.

The verdict

Though the trail goes to Havuts Tar, I think the major draw is the canyon. The monastery itself can’t be compared to the famous monasteries like Tatev, Sevanavank or nearby Geghard. The views from the trail and the monastery are nice, and it’s unlikely you’ll see many other visitors. It’s an easy hike as well: 2 kilometres from the temple to the canyon, another 3 kilometres to the monastery, making it a 10 kilometre hike when returning the same way. There is not much of an incline. The downside is the permit. For such a short walk into the park, 3.000 AMD and the time needed for getting the permit is a bit much. By being limited to the short bit until the monastery, I felt I didn’t get to experience the national park properly. Maybe I should have looked for a guide after all.

Practical info on traveling here

The route from Garni Temple to Havut Tar

From Garni Temple to the canyon I followed the first bit of the ‘’Temple of the Sun Trail’’. This is on the ‘’Hike Armenia’’ app, but you can use Google Maps and maps.me as well. As most of it goes through town it is very straightforward. The part from the canyon to the monastery can be found on the app ‘’All trails’’. Entering the canyon from town you cross the river, climb up until you reach a field (marked as a camping ground on maps.me). Then you go left towards the only house, this is the one with the guards. As I mentioned above you need a permit to go further. Follow the path behind the house, with the canyon to your left side, until you reach Havut Tar.

Getting to Garni

I took a taxi from Yerevan to Garni using the app Yandex Taxi. It cost me about 2.000 AMD one way. Yandex taxi has service in Garni too, and this is how I found a taxi back for the same price. I read the bus is another option to reach Garni.

Traveling around Armenia

For info on travelling around Armenia, check part 1: ‘’My travels around Armenia during Covid in spring 2022’’ .

CaucasusArjan MookNovember 10, 2022