My travels around Armenia during Covid in spring 2022

Armenia part 1: Yerevan, Dilijan and Goris

With mountains, history, local wines and low prices, Armenia is a great choice for off the beaten path traveling. The nation has been part of the Soviet Union, though its history goes much further back. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity over 17 centuries ago. It’s famous for its ancient monasteries, many of them surrounded by spectacular scenery. The first language is Armenian, an Indo-European language with its own alphabet, followed by Russian. Outside of the capital few people speak English, but Armenians are among the most helpful and friendly people I have ever met. The country is in the Southern Caucasus Mountains, and has some great hiking trails.

Unfortunately disaster struck twice in recent years. The first blow was the COVID-pandemic. After that war broke out between Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region claimed by both countries. A ceasefire followed, and the countries started peace talks. It was generally considered a safe destination again when I visited in Spring 2022, though I still saw unrest in the capital Yerevan (more on that later). Here’s what it was like to travel around Armenia in April and May 2022.

Yerevan during Covid and protests

Entering a country can be a headache in COVID times. Fortunately my arrival at Yerevan airport was easy: no chaos or bureaucracy like I experienced flying into Uzbekistan earlier that year. There was only a short check for a COVID certificate (vaccination proof or PCR-test result), and that was the only COVID measure I would encounter in Armenia.

Yerevan’s most famous sight is actually across the border in Turkey: the holy mountain Ararat. A nice way to see Ararat is on a stairway called ‘’Cascade’’, at least on days without clouds or smog. Outside of the city centre is an impressive museum and memorial commemorating the Armenian Genocide. Most of the city is from Soviet or post-Soviet times, and it lacks a historical area like Tbilisi or Baku. But as Armenia is small and has plenty to offer, Yerevan’s a great base for exploring the country.

During my stay, Yerevan faced massive protests. The government entered peace talks with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. The protesters feared Nagorno-Karabakh would now join Azerbaijan. Protesters occasionally blocked the streets. While returning from the south, the bus I took got stuck in a crowd of protesters until the police cleared a lane for the traffic. The atmosphere wasn’t aggressive, but almost festive. On a big stage in the centre protesters gave speeches and played nationalistic music in front of a big crowd wearing flags from both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. I would see the flag of Nagorno-Karabakh a lot while traveling around the country.

North to Dilijan, the Dilijan National Park and Lake Sevan

Just a two hour bus ride from busy Yerevan is Dilijan, a small town surrounded by mountains. Dilijan itself has restaurants and a couple of streets with renovated old houses. But the major draw is the Dilijan National Park. There is a network of well-marked hiking trails leading to ancient monasteries and awesome viewpoints. A hike I recommend is the 20 kilometres from Goshavank Monastery, via Parz Lake and Lchasar Peak to Dilijan. What I also recommend is finding a stick or stone when encountering angry stray dogs in the outskirts of Dilijan, which happened to me twice (scroll below to ‘’practical info on travelling here’’ for more tips about hiking around Dilijan).

About 30 Kilometres from Dilijan is Sevanavank, an ancient monastic complex and one of the most popular sights of Armenia. It’s beautifully located on a peninsula in Sevan lake. Sevanavank was crowded with tour groups when I stopped here on the way back to Yerevan, and I was looking forward to going more off the beaten path in Southern Armenia.

South to Goris, Old Khndzoresk and Tatev

In Yerevan I found a bus to Goris, the gateway to the South. Since all seats were already booked the driver gave me an empty beer crate to sit on. Not the most comfortable seat on a four hour journey through the mountains.

I read people only use Goris as a stepping stone to Tatev Monastery about 30 kilometres further. The town itself is great as well. Surrounding Goris is a range of limestone rock formations called ‘’Stone Forest’’. I followed a trail into the rock formations. Apart from me there were only some cows and sheep around. Centuries ago people used to live in the caves around Goris. I saw some ruins in Stone Forest, but the best place to see their traces is the cave-village Old Khndzoresk. As there are few public transport options around Goris, I took a taxi to Old Khndzoresk and asked the driver to wait. I didn’t see many interesting details in the caves (and I didn’t have a guide), though the overall view of a village cut into the cliffs is impressive.

Goris is close to Nagorno-Karabakh. Coming back from the cave-village I asked the driver, in my basic Russian, if tourists go there too. Apparently he thought I actually wanted to go to Nagorno-Karabakh. He firmly replied he will not drive me there because there are snipers along the road.

The most famous destination in the south is the 5752 meters long cableway from Halidzor to the Tatev Monastery. Most tourists come here by tour-bus on a long day trip directly from Yerevan. The monastery is on a cliff overlooking mountains and dates from the 9th century. The views were stunning, but once again I was surrounded by crowds of tourists.

Traveling further: hiking around Garni Temple and the road to Georgia

I returned to Yerevan, where I would take a bus to Georgia’s capital Tbilisi. There was one thing I still wanted to do before leaving Armenia. Near Yerevan is the oldest surviving building in Armenia, Garni Temple. I briefly visited the temple during my first visit to Armenia in 2014 and was amazed by the beautiful nature around it. This is the Khosrov State Reserve. As there wasn’t much information about hiking there, I was excited to explore more this time. Read about my hike in part 2: hiking from Garni Temple to Havuts Tar, Khosrov State Reserve.

Practical info on traveling here

Flying into Yerevan

By April 2022 travellers needed to show a COVID certificate (vaccination proof or PCR-test result) after arrival. Check online if your nationality requires a visa and what the latest entry requirements are. Simcards are sold at Zvartsnots International Airport, even as early as 3.30 AM when I arrived. I used the Yandex Taxi-app to get from the airport to the city centre and to get around the city.

Travelling around Armenia

The website t-armenia.com shows timetables of buses around the country. Buses to Dilijan leave from Yerevan Northern Bus Station. The tickets are sold at the desk inside the terminal. Many buses go to Dilijan, and I didn’t need a reservation at the time. There are few buses between Yerevan and Goris. As I mentioned above it’s best to get tickets at least a day in advance. Buses go between Yerevan Southern Bus Station and Komitas Street in Goris. Outside of Yerevan few people speak English. Russian is widely known. Use a translate app to buy tickets if you don’t speak Armenian or Russian.

Getting around Dilijan

The app ‘’HikeArmenia’’ shows trails in Dilijan National Park. As the app sometimes doesn’t work I used ‘’maps.me’’ as a backup. The trails I followed were very well marked. Most trails start quite far from the town. There are many taxis in Dilijan, and Yandex Taxi works here as well. I paid about 500 AMD for local rides and about 1.500 to 2.000 AMD for rides to nearby monasteries. I took a taxi to Goshavank Monastery and followed a 20 kilometre trail back to Dilijan via Parz Lake and Lchasar Peak. This is a well-marked hike along the Transcaucasian Trail with some beautiful views. Six kilometres from the centre is the trail to Matosavank and Jukhtak Monastery. As it is mostly forest there aren’t any views, but especially Jukhtak Monastery is worth to check out. The famous Haghartsin Monastery is 13 kilometres out of town. Nearby is a short trail to a waterfall, the ‘’Hidden Waterfall Trail’’. Though Haghartsin is beautiful, I didn’t think the trail to the waterfall was anything special compared to other sights around Dilijan. Sevanavank Monastery is about 30 kilometres from Dilijan. For 12.000 AMD I got a taxi from Dilijan to Yerevan with a stop in Sevanavank along the way.

Getting around Goris

Stone Forest is walking distance from the town. I used maps.me to find the trails and viewing points. There are no buses to Old Khndzoresk and the cableway at Halidzor. Yandex Taxi only works in the town itself, and taxis are more expensive compared to Yerevan, Dilijan and Garni. I paid 8.000 AMD to get a taxi from Goris to Old Khndzoresk and back, including one hour waiting time for the driver. To get from Goris to the Halidzor-cableway I took a taxi and called the driver when I was ready to go back to Goris. I paid 10.000 AMD in total for the taxi and 7.000 for a round trip with the cableway. There are cheaper options: a French guy I met took a taxi from Goris straight to the Tatev Monastery for 5.000 AMD, skipping the cableway. He found a ride from Tatev Monastery back to Goris for 6.000 AMD after some bargaining.

Getting from Yerevan to Tbilisi, Georgia

There is at least a daily bus from Kilikia Central Bus Station in Yerevan to Tbilisi (read about departures at t-armenia.com). Read here about my journey from Yerevan to Tbilisi by bus in May 2022.

CaucasusArjan MookNovember 12, 2022