Ancient Castle Walls, Secret Passages, Medieval Bathhouses & Armenia’s rather relaxed attitude towards safety barriers! 😂... A Road Trip Through Beautiful Lori Region!
GENERAL INFO
🏰 ATTRACTION: Lori Fortress (Lori Berd / Լոռի բերդ)
📍 LOCATION: Lori Province, near Stepanavan, Armenia
🚗 FROM YEREVAN: Approximately 2.5–3 hours by car
📅 FOUNDED: Early 11th c.
👑 FOUNDER: King David I Anhoghin (David the Landless)
🏛️ HISTORY: Former capital of the Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget
🌿 SETTING: Plateau between the Dzoraget and Miskhana river gorges
🏞️ HIGHLIGHTS: Fortress walls, church, medieval bathhouses and gorge views
👥 HISTORIC POPULATION: Approximately 10,000 at its height
⏰ TIME NEEDED: Approximately 1–1.5 hours
👟 WHAT TO WEAR: Comfortable shoes with good grip
⚠️ SAFETY: Steep, EXPOSED cliffs! and uneven ruins; keep well back from edges because there are no barriers
Now THIS is what I love about exploring Armenia!
1 min youre driving through beautiful countryside and then next standing amongst the ancient ruins of a long forgotten fortress and city looking down at gorges surrounding it with not even a barrier in its way, just your common sense 😂
Welcome to Lori Fortress, also known as Lori Berd! near the town of Stepanavan in northern Armenia, and just the views are worth coming here…
LOCATION
🗺️ GOOGLE MAPS:View location
Lori Fortress ~ near the gugh of Stepanavan
A 2.5hr drive to the Lori Province of northern Armenia, just outside the town of Stepanavan and its perched high on a rocky plateau between the gorges of Dzoraget & Mishkana Rivers
The scenery alone makes this roadtrip worthwhile!
👑 A KINGDOM, A CASTLE & A LITTLE HISTORY!
All this history, is speculative right, but its been said that Lori Fortress was founded in early 11th c. by King David I Anhoghin (nickname David the Landless)
He built himself an entire fortified city! That nickname just wasnt meant for him lol
So, by 1065, Lori became the capital of Armenian Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget – it was a bustling medieval city with churches and houses and merchants, bathhouses and heaps of people going about their lives
There is plenty of buried buildings through and who knows perhaps a maze of tunnels that lead all the way to the water at the bottom of the gorge
I would have loved to see what this fortified city would have looked like in its hey day
Buying our ticket from the literal “BOX office” lol
You also have the option to pay for a guide who can walk through with you
My ticket to the Lori Berd… and I excitedly run through the ancient gate and into my blissful castle life imagination for the next 45mins
THE LOST CITY ~ MORE THAN JUST A FORTRESS!
As you wander around Lori Berd, it’s easy to forget that this was once a proper city
There were homes, churches, public buildings, trading areas and systems for supplying water
Mwerchants travelled through this region, linking Lori with important trading towns and routes in Armenia and Georgia, just imagine it! So, cool!
And, looking around now…
All thats left behind are stone foundations, broken walls, and archeological remains (and me with my crazy imagination trying to feel what life would have been like living here…)
Lori Berd has some really interesting stories, as I look up a bit about it…
There were secret underground passages which include a route towards the river which would have let the people access or escape via the water during a seige – some descriptions have identified it as a :jri Tzampa” which means water passage or water road and descended from the fortress to the Miskhana Rover gorge
There are stories of hidden royal treasure that the Zakarian princes hid during the Mongol invasion and some say its still buried there under the fortress somewhere!
THE MONGOLS ARRIVE ~ AND EVERYTHING CHANGES!
The beautiful flowers hide a distant hardship the fortress encountered by the Mongols…
Its been said that in the 13th c. the Mongols captured the city, and destroyed it and even though later on it was still used, it never regained its former importance as a royal capital
During the 18th and 19th c. during raids and fighting which affected the Lori region, many villagers used it as a refuge
So, an interestig little story I came across, during these raids, groups from Dagestan would raid, the communities of Lori didnt sit back, but instead the created their own defensive system (known as Sghnakh, the ancestor of Hovhannes Tumanyan apparently played a major role and helped to fortify the fortress for those fleeing raids and seekign refuge
🌿 THE VALLEYS & RIVERS ~ NATURE’S OWN FORTRESS WALLS!
For me, one of the stand out experiences of wandering around this incredible place was the landscape surrounding it!
I found a path in the high grass and followed it out towards the edge of the plateau, not knowing where it would lead me, no one was around…
What the!!?? Im glad I wasnt running LOL…
The deep valley and gorge area is carved out by the Dzoraget & Miskhana (Urut) Rivers and it has steep rocky cliffs dropping down!
Watching my every single step, I stayed here for ages appreciating the sounds of nature, the wind in my hair and the freedom of no barriers!
I noticed a herd of goats walking all along the grassy area on the rivers edge, they entertained me for a while!
I love watching nature and seeing how everything works so well together, if us humans let it that is….
These rivers have been flowing for centuries and gradually shaping these beautiful gorges and I really felrt how isolated it would have been living on this plateau – mother nature really steals the show here!
THE MEDIEVAL BATHHOUSE ~ THEY HAD UNDERFLOOR HEATING!
I wasnt expecting to find a bathhouse here with roman underfloor heating thats for sure!
They had a design of a very clever underfloor heating system which circulates warm air beneath the floor, so seeing this changes the way that I think these people would live, freezing their butts off! no, seems like they keep themselves warm in these hot baths
You can see inside the broken remains of the underfloor heating… reminds me very much how the romans built theirs
Heres more of the floor heating system and im assuming this was the area which would let the water flow through and under the building
⛪ THE LITTLE CHURCH ~ QUIET, PEACEFUL & FULL OF CHARACTER!
While exploring, I came across this quiet little church sitting all on its own!
I first want to show a before photo (from the net) of what it used to look like and I could see that they had recently reconstructed it as it looked too new, 87,000,000 AMD was provided to this reconstruction!
This little church shows us that this was once a thriving town with villages and not just a military stronghold
Archeologists believed that it served different purposes though, over the centuries, there seems to be a bit of mystery surrounding the building
It was so nice and peaceful, I had the church to myself and stayed inside for a while and appreciated the energy and the silence
The inside of the church there were 3 seperate supporting arches, and in the corner a place to light the little yellow candles and pray… as I stood there looking at the details of the stone, I could just image this place with candles lit in every corner and shadows flickering on the walls, so beautiful yet so eerie…
I found a video of the reconstruction of this church here on youtube!
During her working visit to the Lori Province of Armenia, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (ESCS) Zhanna Andreasyan visited the “Lori Berd” (Lori Fortress) historical-cultural site. Since 2024, large-scale restoration works have been underway there, commissioned by the Ministry of ESCS.
The projects include the consolidation and restoration of the Lori Fortress walls; the consolidation, repair, and restoration of the church—or public structure—within the citadel; the consolidation and partial restoration of the citadel’s bathhouses; as well as the restoration of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, located in the village of Amrakits.
Construction work on the church (or public structure) and bathhouses within the Lori Fortress citadel, as well as on the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Amrakits, was completed in 2025. Final execution documents have been submitted and are currently undergoing review and verification.
The Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Amrakits—which is included in the List of Immovable Monuments of History and Culture of the Republic of Armenia—is under state protection and will serve as a cultural monument. All restoration work was carried out based on approved projects, which were developed using archival materials, measured drawings, surveys, and other professional research.
Restoration efforts for both the “Lori Berd” (Lori Fortress) settlement site and the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Amrakits were conducted with a focus on preserving the historical and architectural characteristics of the monuments. Specifically, the color schemes for the roof and walls of the Amrakits church have been restored to their original, historical colors. They have been restored based on detailed studies and material analyses.
In 2025, an informational modular center was also installed at the “Lori Berd Settlement” site, which will serve as a tourist information and service point for visitors. It was noted that the area requires improvement and should be developed into a comfortable walking path, ensuring a more accessible and well-maintained environment for visitors. In 2020 alone, the settlement received over 27,000 visitors. The Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport also proposed developing a café area, viewing it as an additional source of revenue that could help revitalize the site and improve the quality of visitor services.
GHOSTS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY
There are some local stories which claim that visitors hear horses at night and soldiers walking around the walls and bells ringing, I did keep an ear out, but didnt hear anything, I prob didnt really want to walking around on my own in this huge over grown grassy plateau!
In 2025, Armenian archaeologists excavated part of a royal bathhouse near the canyon, uncovering water basins and drainage systems, along with an unusual peacock-shaped brick. They also investigated a secret chamber within the fortress wall and discovered sections of a medieval paved road
Lori Fortress is one of those places that combines everything I love about exploring Armenia! History, ruins, views, ghost stories, once beautiful atmosphere full of laughter and chattering… humans and nature working together
I def recommend exploring Lori Berd, bring some comfy shoes, a good imagination and youre good to go!
ROADTRIP – 2AUG26
