🇦🇲 Armenia (Caucasus part 1)
Caucasus! This was part of a multi-country trip I had. See also: Georgia. I went with a friend and two others, four of us boys sharing one car. To explore the sparse mountainous countries in the Caucasus region, a car was definitely needed.
This was my first time outside of Asia/Oceania, and this region being my first foray into Europe seems a little unorthodox. I don't think it's a popular tourist spot, and I mostly saw Chinese and Korean tourists if I even saw them at all. As usual, I'm going to share my experience!
Some things you might enjoy in Armenia, and by extension, Georgia (but I'll save the specifics for its own post), include nature and history. These areas are very mountainous and have beautiful sceneries. Just about everyone seemed to grow their own grapes and apples.
As you might know, Armenia is the first Christian country in the world, followed by Georgia, in adopting the state religion. I'm no Christian myself, but I'm grateful to be able to first enjoy the shrines of Japan followed by some of the oldest monasteries and churches in the world.
Anyway, Armenia is safe! Everyone's really nice and chill. It wasn't uncommon to find kids who'd want to take photos with us. Maybe they don't get to see Asians often.
The entire time we were there, it was cloudless, bare blue skies, except in Yerevan. You'll notice in the photos I have. The sun shines really bright, despite the colder atmosphere, so sun protection was important.
Zvartnots
We spent our first night in Zvartnots technically, touching down at the airport just past midnight and spending the first night at hotel Altunyan.
We were unaccustomed to the driving and missed a turn, and were thus rerouted through the Alley of Glory, which was quite a trial to drive through. Bumpy and narrow roads, darkness in some parts, with an apt name to boot, just the type of drive we needed at 1am after a series of flights.
After a filling breakfast, we checked out and drove down to Khor Virap, en route to Areni, to kick off our trip proper.
Khor Virap
First monastery of the trip, with quite a handful of visitors. The road leading up to it was lined with graves, many of which had life-size portraits of whom I assume were the deceased.
The portraits were mostly of men in military gear. I don't know the details, but likely their lives were lost in a land war with neighbouring countries.
The monastery itself is significant because it was where St. Gregory was imprisoned, the guy who converted Armenia to the Christian nation we know today. I got all of this off Wikipedia. Apparently he was imprisoned in a rather deep pit, which we didn't manage to find, and probably wouldn't have gone down into anyway.
We did, however, enter another such goon cave in one of the church buildings.
Areni
Our check-in date was on the 4th of October, which just so happened to be the day of the biggest wine festival in Armenia, located in Areni, known for its wine. The traffic was crazy. Because we booked a shack on top of Noravank Gorge, Sareni, the only way up was through a mountain road which was closed off on this very day.
First Armenian meal of the trip: Arpi Hacatun
We contacted the folks and had lunch while waiting for the manager, Vardges, to come find a way up.
He brought us to his restaurant, where we parked our car and took his jeep up another off-road way up to Sareni, which our rental car wasn't built for.
Sareni is one of two huts sitting atop the gorge, surrounded by nothing but nature. Aside from the spotty water heater, it was bliss.
Later on in the day, we went to get our car again. By this time, the festival had cleared, leaving drunk people just walking along the roads. I say this without any negative undertones. They were drunk off wine from the festival, and they looked very jolly.
We also got dinner from Vardges' restaurant, portioned "for two"... staples including bread, fish, (goat?) cheese, gata, vegetables. By the way, their restaurant has NO electricity whatsoever!
Arpa Protected Landscape
I can't be sure where we walked around, as the Google Maps data isn't substantial, but I'll just say we were in the vicinity of the Arpa Protected Landscape.
Lord, it was beautiful. We could just leave the hut and trek around, which we did. The views were amazing, nature all around us, and it was all for us to enjoy since we were the only ones staying up there (another couple later checked into the other hut later that night). Didn't see any bezoar goats this entire trip, which was a bummer.
Noravank Gorge and Monastery
The next morning, we checked out to head to the next destination, first taking a detour to Noravank monastery. Looking at the map around Areni, the monastery here is at the end of the road that stretches at the base of the gorge.
Here there was another goon cave. We had reservations going down at first, because it looked like a ladder leading into a well.
It's a shame we couldn't fit in a cave visit into our itinerary; a bunch of caves are along this stretch (Areni-1 and Magellan) which would've been nice to explore.
Lake Sevan
From Areni, our next stay was at Garni. We decided to drive up north and pass by Lake Sevan, seeing as the major roads looped around the terrain. It's the biggest lake in caucasus, all the more significant for a landlocked country.
We dropped by a lakeside restaurant, Tarsus Sevan, where we had some nice food (seafood included!).
After lunch, we went to the peninsula, which seemed to be where some activity congregated. There's another monastery at the tip of the peninsula, which used to be an island.
Garni
We stayed for a night at Garni, in a "hidden garden". Breakfast (the next day) was simple, but having it in the midst of nature elevated the experience.
Once again, another location which would have been nice to chill at, but we only stayed for a night.
The night we arrived, we put our stuff down and immediately visited the following landmarks:
Symphony of Stones
An interesting natural formation of stones around a gorge. Not a very long walk, quite interesting to look at. Ticketed, it was inexpensive. That's the extent of my recollection. It was tough finding a parking lot but drive up far enough and there'll be space.
Garni Temple
Garni seemed to have quite a number of ticketed locations, and naturally tons of tourists. This was also one of them, but I could see the appeal. Apparently, this was a pre-Christianity temple!
After that, we looked for a place to eat. We wandered into Sergei Mot, which was open on Google Maps, but couldn't find anyone.
We eventually stumbled into the kitchen, who told us they were closed, but at the entrance were the cooks, having drinks by the grills, who told as that they're in fact open (or at least intended to serve us).
They turned the lights on at the dining area and we had some of the best barbequeue this trip. On the way out again we passed the cooks who offered us shots of their vodka. Incredible hospitality. Even before this we had considered coming back again the next morning, but our plans didn't allow for it.
A Spoonful of Love
A funny thing happened: our rental car had to be exchanged because it had been used in a movie, and they wanted to continue shooting with it! They should've told us that before we topped up the fuel, but, alas...
Anyawy, the movie's called "A Spoonful of Love", due to be released in 2026. You won't see us, but perhaps you'll see the car...
Geghard, Azat Reservoir
On the 2nd day, we told the owner we were headed for Geghard monastery, and he gave us a chef's kiss and made the sign of the cross, so you know UNESCO got something good in store for us. Unfortunately, we had arrived too early (or it was closed?) so we didn't get to see much. Played with puppies, looked around, then headed back for breakfast.
After breakfast, we checked out and set off for Yerevan. We took a detour along the way to check out Azat Reservoir from atop some cliffs.
Yerevan
Finally, after a loop around parts of the country, our last stop was Yerevan. The city's probably full of experiences as well, but we only gave ourselves a few hours before heading for the airport.
In fact, too much time was lost trying to park. I learned my lesson the hard way: never try to drive or park in the city, least of all in a historical European city where the infrastructure was never meant for such density.
At one point, we got stuck in a narrow two-way alley, and a local got in our car to help us navigate the gridlock. Talk about hospitality!
After lunch, we realised we were cutting it too close, and locked in... navigating, finding a gas station, heading to the airport, splitting up (two returning the car, two bringing the luggage to check-in).
We made in the literal last minutes (check-in closes an hour before the flight). Well, the counter graciously waited for the other two to return the car to check their bags in, since they had to be present.
The flight to Georgia was short, expectedly. It might have been possible to drive there, as the car rental company operates in both countries.
Itinerary
We basically went to Areni, did a loop up to Lake Sevan without staying a night there, and stayed again in Garni before returning to Yerevan. It's highly recommended you rent a car. Driving is no issue in the country as cars are sparse, except in the city.
I would not drive in Yerevan. Even if you do find a parking lot, everyone else's parking is so bad, it's not uncommon to see double- or even triple-parked cars.
While the monasteries were nice to see, don't only go to them. I find it a shame we didn't manage to fit in any cave visits into our schedule (at Areni).
Costs
Armenia is slightly cheaper than Georgia, but also slightly less developed. Food-wise, we ate a lot, which was typically SGD 10-20 per meal. Not much in the way of variety, but the food is good nonetheless.
Totals
Flights cost 1.6k for a multi-city trip. Singapore to Armenia with one stop in Doha cost about 600, and Georgia to Singapore with a stop in Doha cost 1000.
According to my friend who planned the trip, he snagged the tickets when the total prices dropped to 1180 (likely during the Israel-Iran exchanges). My fault for booking later than them, but oh well.
Rounded up to 2-3 significant figures, prices in SGD
- Flights: $1750
- Accomodations: $300
- Transport: $320
- Food: $275
- Attractions: $88
- Miscellaneous: $39
... For the rest of the trip, check out the post on Georgia!