🇦🇲 ROADTRIP ~ Day 1 – South Armenia – Khor Virap / Shaki Waterfalls / Khnzoresk Caves & swinging bridge / Goris

ITINERARY

Yerevan -> Khor Virap / khor Virap -> Shaki Waterfall / Shaki Waterfall -> Khnzoresk caves / Khnzoresk caves -> Goris

We grabbed our hire car from Yerevan Airport and after getting stuck in heaps of traffic in the city centre we set off out of yerevan heading down south

On the road – driving through the tons of traffic in Yerevan

KHOR VIRAP

45min drive from Yerevan most spent in traffic – an easy drive with great roads

We parked the car and paid 500dram (they allow you to give what you want) to the parking attendant…

They have made new stairs up towards the monastery which make it easier to walk up, they still have those men selling the poor doves and holding them like ice creams

St Astvatsatsin Church – its dark inside with high ceilings… is smaller than it looks on the outside

The larger chapel is known as the “St. Astvatsatsin” (Holy Mother of God) was built around the ruins of the old chapel, the monastery, the refectory and the cells of the monks. Now, regular church services are held in this church. It is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Armenia

There were a few people inside praying as well as taking photos – priests were going in and out and it had a nice relaxed feel to it

The smaller dungeon on the opposite side – kept as a prison

Climbing down the steep steps of the main dungeon – if you are claustrophobic and scared of heights this is not for you!

The steps leading down… when you first start the decent its really steep and you dont know how much is left to reach the bottom of the dungeon

Its actually a scary descent! But pretty interesting and exciting to be in there and imagine what it would be like to be imprisoned there for 13 years!

Coming down the steep steps into the main dungeon

Armenian graffiti on the side of the church

Love these russian looking soviet cars! 🙂

The view from the monastic complex over towards the green well maintained vineyards

Windy roads with not many vehicles coming or going

Pitt Stop…

Areni is well known for its wine production and as you drive in you can see the abrupt change in scenery from dry and arid to lush green and fresh!

We stopped off in Areni region at a random road stop where they were selling beautiful huge peaches and had coffee

We bought a couple bottles of apricot brandy from the local guy there, they had made it and selling in old wine bottles 7000dram – so tasty! Especially chilled

The ladies selling peaches beautifully stacked and displayed

A really nice hot Armenian coffee with peaches

The ladies were selling fruit flavoured wines and vodka in huge plastic bottles! It was so hot im thinking the alcohol MUST evaporate! Its 35degrees and HOT

Shaki Waterfall

6km from Sisian, stop on the way there you cant miss the sign on the right sending you towards the beautiful 18m high waterfall – dont miss this little pitt stop!

The unique rock forms on the way towards the south, reminds me of Cappadocia in turkey with the turrets

Really close to Sisian if you want a nice picnic spot this would be perfect

18m high waterfall – basalt lava flows have solidified and formed this beautiful waterfall

Green bushes popped up every now and again where there was red sands and deep orange colours

I guess the farmers are working from home this day? Cows all over the roads!

The new paved roads… such a massive difference from what they were before! Pot holes everywhere and it took double or triple the amount of time to get anywhere

The scenery was changing constantly in a short amount of time and distance – it was becoming more greener and mountainous and at this stage we were around 2000m above sea level and the clouds were settling in and we were driving through dense dark clouds as we were nearing Goris

KHNZORESK SWINGING BRIDGE & CAVES

Old Khndzoresk caves and areas of exploration!

You need a good day or 2 to really be able to explore in detail these caves and hike the beautiful canyon

Starting the walk across the bridge can be daunting if you are scared of heights but its so worth it!

One of the many cave dwellings that are now sadly abandoned – you can just barely imagine what their lives would have been like and how their caves were organised and made into a home

The bridge on the other side – a lonely horse stands wanting to walk tourists to the caves

We got to see what the inside of a cave would have looked like many years ago – we had a local older man show us and explain to us how he lived in the caves as a youth and shared some stories

The cave was dark but well equiped and comfortable- even had a toilet in 1 room

Some of the many caves you can visibly see openings to, there are so many more there that need to be explored

GORIS… overnight

We finally left Khnzoresk at around 8:30pm luckily its summer so doesnt get dark until later and headed to our hotel Mirhav in Goris for the night, had some awesome dinner which was beautiful! Awesome wine and armenian beer and settled down after a full day of driving

I absolutely love the dark green herbs they have in Armenia, they bunch up and serve specifically these 4 herbs together with spicy chilli green peppers its so delicious!!!

The famous summer salad of Armenia… pure and simple… tomato, cucumber, capsicum and some dark green leafy greens… perfect in the summer heat!

Settled down for the night in Hotel Mirhav – comfy rooms, clean and simple

A fantastic day full of driving but great scenery… the roads have all been paved now most of the way so expect a comfy drive… the only part where you will have your brain rattled is the part towards Khnzoresk which takes around 20mins 1 way so be prepared for a bumpy ride!