Four Cornered

The Four Corners are so named for the country where the southwestern states of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado meet. If you want an insight into pre-Colombian North America and some spectacular canyon scenery, this high desert area should be on your list.

Four Corners Route. Source: Google maps, 2022.

Many of the sites visited are operated by the National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/index.htm), and you can plan ahead here. This trip was done in Winter and so while some of the park areas were closed, it wasn’t busy. Camping was out and so a decent size city stop worked well for overnights.

Durango, Colorado. Durango is a good hub for the area and is convenient to the Mesa Verde and Aztec Ruins parks, as well as being a great center for skiing and the southern Colorado outdoors.

Once you’ve walked Main Avenue, and checked out the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge steam railroad station, you’ve pretty much seen the place. There are good hikes nearby, such as the trails around Animas Mountain (trailhead at W 33rd St.).

You can chose to stay in one of the older downtown hotels and there are some newer chain places less than 10 minute walk just west of downtown along Highway 160. The El Rancho Tavern is a good local dive bar; Steamboat Brewing Company has excellent craft beer and a decent menu; and there are some good Mexican restaurants in town, including Los Amigos del Sur and the superbly named Tequila’s Family Mexican Restaurant.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. Located roughly halfway between Albuquerque and Durango, the Chaco Canyon was home to a complex of settlements containing great houses and religious sites, constructed between the mid-800s and 1100s. The area was the center of the Chacoan administrative world, connected by road networks to other communities.

Most of the settlements are located in Chaco Canyon, at a 6,200-foot elevation, although there is another complex – Pueblo Alto – located on the mesa to the north. Take a good pair of hiking or trail shoes so that you can climb up the initially steep Pueblo Alto Trail onto the top of the mesa, for a great view of the Pueblo Bonito and Kin Kletso great houses, and to access the Pueblo Alto sites. Another longer but flatter trail further west along the canyon can be made to the Penasco Blanco, with petroglyphs seen along the way.

The settlement’s largest great house, Pueblo Bonito, is a multi-level D-shaped mix of rooms, plazas and kivas. Kivas are partially sunken circular social, ceremonial and religious spaces, entered via a ladder through the roof. Kivas were equipped with hearths and were usually covered with a wood-beamed roof and surrounded by a plaza. Some of the interiors are known to have had plastered and muralled walls, although it’s unclear how common this was.

Kin Kletso, is a rectangular great house located just below the trail leading up to the Pueblo Alto Complex, and is a later construction from the early 1100s.

The Pueblo del Arroyo, in the center of the valley, is a large round multi-storey great house. Look for the few remaining wood timbers used to support the floors. Further southeast of the Pueblo de Arroyoa lies the largest kiva, at Casa Rinconada.

The Park is located about 21 miles southwest of Highway 550, of which 16 miles is hilly dirt track. You can reach it in a regular 2×2 vehicle when the track is dry, but be careful if rain or snow is in the forecast in which case a 4×4 is advisable.

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. An hour’s drive west of Durango along Highway 160, Mesa Verde contains one of the largest cliff dwelling sites in the Americas, set in a network of canyons. The Anasazi people – often called the Ancestral Puebloans – originally settled on the high mesa around the cliff tops in the mid-500s CE. The first permanent pit houses were constructed on the high mesa in the mid-700s, and the approximately 600 canyon dwellings were built in the late 1100s to mid-1200s. These were vacated around 1300 as the Anasazi moved further south, likely owing to drought and crop failure. The Spruce Tree House, one of the first cliff dwellings on the itinerary, is estimated to have been built in the early-mid 1200s, and has about 115 rooms and 8 kivas.

The dwellings open for park tours in the Spring and Summer of each year – book ahead and be ready to climb some ladders. The Square Tower House, built in the mid-1200s and named for its 4-level structure, was the tallest building in the US until the mid-1800s.

The most notable temple is the Sun Temple, located on a promontory overlooking Fewkes Canyon, where most of the major structures are located.

The 150-room Cliff Palace, built into a large cave, is the largest cliff dwelling in the US, with multi-storey buildings built of stone and mud mortar, supported by wooden beams.

The Oak Tree House is built into two levels of cave ledges and contains about 60 rooms.

Flagstaff, Arizona. Situated almost 7,000 feet above sea level in the San Francisco Peaks, Flagstaff is an excellent stopover town, that also provides a good base for local skiing and hiking. There is a contained 19th-century downtown served by Amtrak, with older hotels north of the railway station, and a cluster of newer hotels and motels about a 10-minute walk southwest along South Milton Road. Flagstaff is a good craft beer destination, with Dark Sky Brewing, Mother Road Brewing and the Mountain Top Tap Room being amongst those worth a visit.

Other parks worth considering include the Canyon de Chelly, which requires advance booking of a guide in order to fully explore the canyon, either on foot or 4×4 vehicle. The Canyons of the Ancients and Petrified Forest national parks, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Hovenweep National Monument, are worth a look. Finally, Flagstaff is a good base to explore nearby parks at Sedona (Red Rocks) and the south side of the Grand Canyon.

Navajo Code Talker Display – Navajo Nation

Logistics. The Four Corners are relatively isolated and populated by dispersed communities. Albuquerque, Durango and Flagstaff are convenient small- and mid-size airports, and Las Vegas and Phoenix are viable large-hub airport entry points. You will have to plan the journeys between the various sites and cities, unless you are good with camping or overnighting in isolated areas. For example, Chaco Canyon is a feasible visit between Albuquerque-Durango (3.5 hours), but you would have to pick between Mesa Verde and Canyon de Chelly if you wanted to include one of them on the longer Durango-Flagstaff run (5 hours) in a single day. One solution is to treat Mesa Verde as a daytrip from Durango and then visit Canyon de Chelly on the way to Flagstaff. The city of Gallup, NM is also a convenient mid-way stopover between Durango and Flagstaff.

Cusco a Go Go

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The Andean city of Cusco is one of the best-preserved Spanish colonial cities in Latin America, set in a mountain valley located at about 10,000 feet altitude. The city was originally developed as the Inca imperial capital by the Emperor Pachacutec in the 1430s, with palaces and temples connected by a road grid that stands to this day. Cusco is the main access city for the Macchu Picchu archaeological site, about 90 kilometers northwest via the Sacred Valley, or 4 hours away by a combination of bus and rail. The central Plaza de Armas is a natural meeting area, originally the Inca central plaza and now a more typical Spanish colonial square surrounded by churches and colonnaded buildings.

Plaza de Armas and the Company of Jesus Church

Cusco sits within a large valley that you get to observe on approach from the southeast if flying in.

Approach South East of Cusco over Urabamba River – Mount Auzangate Far Distance

Cusco has grown well past its imperial and colonial city, although the old city is quite concentrated and walkable.

Cusco was the capital of the Inca Empire at its height, which ended with the arrival of Spanish invaders in 1533. The speed and violence of the overthrow was notable, enabled by an internal Inca dynastic power struggle that the Spanish were able to exploit. Cusco’s architecture reflects the destruction of the Inca power structure, culture and religion by the common build-over of Spanish buildings, on the often still-visible foundations of Inca palaces and temples.

Qorikancha Temple and Santo Domingo Convent

Inca stone block construction has precise and razor-thin stone joins along the often irregular shape of the stones. Look out for the Twelve-Angled Stone lodged in the foundation wall of the Archbishop’s Palace, along Calle Hatunrumiyoc, one of the original Inca streets.

The Qorikancha Temple/Santo Domingo Convent (https://www.museoqorikancha.pe) is worth a visit not so much for the predictable renaissance-era Spanish monastic layout, but for the Inca temple structures that remain from the previous Qorikancha temple complex, constructed under Pachacutec around 1438. Again, the precision of the stonework, often with angled doorways to provide seismic resilience, is remarkable. There is an archaeology museum accessed via Avendia del Sol, which you should look for but be prepared for it to be closed if Covid restrictions are in force.

Cusco Cathedral. Overlooking Plaza de Armas and built over the Incan Viracocha Palace in 1559-1654, the cathedral has a range of renaissance and baroque architectural styles over its 95 years of construction, delayed by the 1650 earthquake.

You enter the cathedral through the Church of Triumph, located to the right side. This was the first church built in Cusco by the Spanish in 1538, which celebrated the final defeat of the Incas in 1536. Much of the stonework used to build the cathedral came from the Sacsayhuaman Fortress overlooking the city, where you’ll see similar dark gray andesite rock in the columns.

The cathedral contains a large collection of colonial art of the “Cusco School,” including one painting showing the city during the major 1650 earthquake. There are a lot of gold covered artefacts, some of which was lifted from Inca temples, such as the nearby Qorikancha.

Central Cusco has plenty of walkable sites, including the other major religious building on the Plaza de Armas, the Church of the Company of Jesus, built in the 1570s.

San Pedro Central Market is worth a look for street food, fruit juice and local produce, such as coffee, herbs and cocoa blocks.

The market area, opposite the San Pedro railway station entrance to its east, is a gathering space for Cusquenans for their time off.

San Blas Neighborhood. This area is a well-preserved traditional neighborhood, located up the hillside just northeast of the center, reached from the main square via the pretty Plazoleta Nazarenas. Centered around the Plaza San Blas with it’s fountains and mid-16th century church with accompanying ornate one-piece cedarwood pulpit, the lanes are mostly quiet and allow a few hours of wandering – it’s also on the way up to the Sacsayhuaman Fortress if you want a longer walk.

Museums. There are a range of comprehensive museums that explain the Inca and colonial past. The Regional Historical Museum of Cusco (corner of Casa Garcilaso and San Bernardo) has Incan and colonial artefacts, and don’t miss the Museum of Precolombian Art (Nazarenas 23). Check to see whether the Macchu Picchu Museum (Santa Catalina Ancha 320) – currently closed under Covid – is open for some background on the site. Finally, the Museum of Contemporary Art (Plaza Regocijo), is worth a quick look.

Cusco Day Trips. Additional to longer trips to Macchu Picchu (see trip report here https://www.aerotrekka.com/slow-train-once-lost-inca-city/), the Valle Sagrado, Choquequirao, and various hiking and outdoor attractions, there are a range of day trip opportunities around Cusco. Other than for the nearby Sacsayhuaman Fortress, a simple way to access them is to get a taxi out, and walk back along the 28G road.

Sacsayhuaman Fortress. Located a short but steep walk from Plaza de Aramas, Sacsayhuaman is one of the largest fortifications in Latin America, as the principal fort guarding the imperial capital city, located on high ground to the north.

The fortress, on a slope descending to the east, was constructed with a cliff on it’s southwest side and otherwise with two layers of zig-zag walls designed to ensure that anyone attacking faced a defense from two directions.

Sacsayhuaman Site. Source: Google Maps, 2022.

The central citadel was later demolished by the Spanish although the assault and conquest of the fortress was well-documented and detailed how the Incan commander threw himself from the main tower rather than surrender.

Tambomachay Springs Site and Puka Pukara Fortress. Located about 7 km north of the city along the 28G Road, these Inca sites are other outposts to Cusco. Tambomachay consists of a series of terraced irrigation structures supplying spring water, although it’s unclear what other roles it had, such as ceremonial or military.

The Puka Pukara Fortress, located just east of Tambomachay, overlooks the approaches to Cusco from the southeast. Believed to be built in the reign of Pachacutec around the mid-1400s, and located on higher ground about 5 km north of Sacsayhuaman, it may have been a complementary outpost to the main fortress.

Qenco Archaeological Complex. Located about a mile east of Sacsayhuaman, this is believed to be a temple complex built around rock formations, where sacrifices and mummifications occurred.

Logistics. Cusco is Peru’s 7th most populous city with almost 500,000 inhabitants and is an important center for the Andean southeast. There are plenty of hotel and catering options geared towards the tourism trade and ranging from backpacker to more well-heeled visitor needs. You are at altitude so take the first day easy; many of the hotels offer treatments for altitude sickness such as coca tea, although at a minimum you should stay hydrated and get a good first night’s sleep.

You’ll need to purchase a Cusco Tourist Ticket (Boleto Turistico del Cusco) from the local government office (Av. del Sol 103) in order to access many of the local attractions, including Sacsayhuama and the surrounding Inca sites, and the Regional Historical Museum. In 2021, there was only one purchase option, which included sites in the Valle de Sagrado, such as the Ollantaymbo Inca city and temple.

I stayed first at the Antigua Casona San Blas (Carmen Bajo 243), which was a great small hotel with a large covered courtyard to hang out in; and the Terra Andina Hotel (Union 184) which was a larger more formal hotel in a converted Spanish mansion.

There are plenty of good restaurants in town, and many emphasize traditional Andean recipes. A few good restaurants included Pachapapa (Carmen Bajo 120) that had good Pisco-based drinks and Andean recipes in an outdoor courtyard; El Mordisco (Calle San Juan de Dios 298) and La Chomba (Calle Garcilaso 290), both serving good staples for mostly local customers.

Jacob’s Brewery and Bar (Carmen Bajo 235) has great local craft beers and a well-delivered vegan menu. There are plenty of bars and cafes around Plaza de Armas and off the streets leading in, including Hanz Craft Beer and Jack’s Cafe (Choqechaka 509).

Slow Train to the (Once) Lost Inca City

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There aren’t many constructed wonders of the world remaining that are only accessible by 19th-century transport modes. Macchu Pichu is one that can be reached on foot via the Inca Trail or by rail. The site takes some planning to visit – do not just turn up – not least because booking/planning ahead is required and visitor numbers are capped.

Macchu Picchu Looking Northeast Towards Huayna Picchu and over the River Urabamba

First, fly to Cusco – unless you enjoy long bus rides – Lima-Cusco is about 18 hours by road. Cusco is unique and itself worth a visit but once you’re there it would be a shame not to go the last 100 kilometers.

Macchu Picchu is a mystery in part because it has no record, either from the Incas (who had no written script but used a system of knotted thread to record information) or the invading Spanish. Archaeological research has established that it was commissioned by the Emperor Pachucutec around 1450, probably as a religious and political center, with a series of temples, a palace complex, residences and terraced agricultural areas. It supported a relatively small community of up to about 1,000, as compared to the Inca imperial capital of Cusco which is estimated to have had about 50,000 inhabitants. Connected to the empire’s highway network, there is an identified trail that runs east-southeast from Macchu Picchu via the Sacred Valley to Cusco. The Urabamba River winds round the site and opens out into the Sacred Valley, which widens to form an important agricultural area that would have served both Cusco to its east and Macchu Picchu to its west.

One common reference point for the Inca civilization – histories written by the invading Spanish – is silent on Macchu Picchu. As such, one theory is that the Incas abandoned the site sometime after the Spanish seized Cusco, thereby leaving the site to be overgrown in the high jungle environment. Thereafter, it was known mostly to the local population and as the subject of rumors, until its global re-discovery by the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911. It is estimated to have taken about 60 years to construct starting in around 1450 – quarried and platformed out of a granite mountain whose stone was then used to build the terraced foundations and buildings – and was only used for a few decades before being abandoned, possibly as late as 1572. Although, notably, Cusco was seized by the Spaniards in 1533, and one theory is that this event precipitated the withdrawal from Macchu Picchu.

Main Gate overlooking Urban and Temple Areas

The site – about 530 x 200 meters in size – was walled but not fortified, suggesting that it existed within a relatively secure imperial environment. In addition to its own agricultural area, it would have been supplied via the trail network from the Sacred Valley located to the southeast. The site’s 8,000-foot altitude location, in a saddle between two peaks, within the mountainous terrain of the high tropical Andes, limited access and assisted in its security.

The late Inca empire extended northeast into the Amazon basin. This area held the last stronghold at Vilcabamba on the northeastern slopes of the Andes, that was finally conquered in 1572.

The Site. You enter from the southeast side and head up to the top of the main agricultural terraces at the south of site, which provides the classic view north towards the residential and temple areas, set around the main plaza that runs north toward Huayna Picchu. There are over 600 terraces, built to serve as a set of foundations, as well as for agriculture. You will see how the Urabamba River loops round the northern side of the site, and how inaccessible it was from most directions.

View North from Agricultural Area to Residential and Temple Area – Urabamba River Below

To the south east, you can see the original Inca trail that leads up to the Sun Gate, Machu Picchu’s main entrance from the Sacred Valley.

View Southeast along Inca Trail to the Sun Gate

As you walk north to enter the main gate, you look down into the temple complex, which consists of a set of temples – the Main Temple, Temple of the Three Windows, all arranged around the Sacred Plaza. Above them is a rocky terraced outcrop, the Iniwatana Pyramid, which contains a ceremonial stage and a sundial. There is another temple hidden behind Huayna Picchu – the Moon Temple – built into a cave.

Sacred Plaza and Iniwatana Pyramid (left) overlooking the Main Plaza.

It is believed that higher status priests had access to the Iniwatana, with lower status individuals joining religious ceremonies from the Main Plaza.

Main Temple Wall and Inhuaytanu Terraces

The stone block construction is particularly impressive when you consider the Incas didn’t have access to pack animals – apart from llamas whose carrying payload is about 30 kilos – or to iron or steel tools, with copper being the main working metal.

At the north end of the main plaza, you’ll find the Sacred Rock, a flat-faced granite slab, possibly used for religious ceremonies.

Moving clockwise around the site, the buildings located southeast of the Main Plaza along the terraced hillside contain the imperial residences and the Sun Temple, and also the main cluster of water springs. Macchu Picchu’s water supply came from springs on site, supported by a network of water sluices.

The buildings had sloped roofs and the stone walls had painted plaster covers, making for a colorful city.

Temple of the Sun and Agricultural Terraces

The Temple of Condor lies close to the Temple of the Sun, so called because it was constructed around a rock formation that resembles the spread wings of the bird.

Logistics. Arranging a visit to this restricted and isolated site is straightforward but needs planning. Peru’s Ministry of Culture has reduced visitor numbers post-Covid and it appears that they prefer those lower numbers. You must book your visit in advance, either through the official website (https://www.machupicchu.gob.pe/?lang=en), or through a range of providers who hold block bookings and can also provide an individual or group guide. Guides are compulsory, and it is better to get one in advance, although there are official guides available at the entrance. The visit will be for a specific entry time and will last about 2.5 – 3 hours over a fixed route. The old mountain (Macchu Pichu), small mountain (Huayna Picchu) and the original Inca site entrance (the Sun Gate) were all closed as of October 2021. More ambitious visitors should look out for opportunities to go to Huayna Picchu or the Sun Gate, both of which are in the site, as things open up. Huayna Picchu adds at least 2 – 3 hours to the visit time.

Oversight from Peruvian Ministry of Culture Llamas

Having obtained your slot, you should book your train tickets to Macchu Picchu’s service town of Aguas Calientes (also called Macchu Picchu Pueblo). There are two providers, the national rail company, Peru Rail (https://www.perurail.com), and Inca Rail (https://incarail.com). On Peru Rail, it’s worth spending more to ride the Vistadome service, which has a bit more space and better views. While there is a lot of hype over this service, ultimately you are traveling down a valley and so the views are limited. Peru Rail offers service from Cusco’s downtown San Pedro station, which rail purists will want to take, but most services with either operator run via a bus connection between Cusco’s Wanchay Bus Station (about 1.3 km from Cusco’s Plaza de las Armas) and the suburban Poroy rail station, with rail service to Aguas Calientes via Ollantaytambo. Also note that a “Bimodal” service option is also offered where the Cusco-Ollantaytambo section is by bus – I don’t recommend this as the bus journey is less comfortable and on not great roads.

The journey to and from Cusco takes between 4 – 5 hours and so you should overnight in Aguas Calientes either before or after your visit, unless you are keen on early starts and long days. Aguas Calientes has been mostly developed for the tourist trade in the last 8 years but is pleasant enough for an overnight with decent hotel and catering options. As of October 2021, rail and bus service requires a facemask and a faceshield. Check for your particular season, but be aware that for much of the year the cloud cover is most extensive in the morning, so afternoons are hotter but have better light for photography.

Once you are situated in Aguas Calientes, unless included in your Macchu Picchu visit package, you’ll need to buy a round-trip bus ticket between downtown and the park entrance. The Consettur ticket office (take your passport) is located just off Avenida Hermanos Ayar, with the bus stand round the corner here https://goo.gl/maps/evtYe3zwznszbwjg9. You should arrive at the bus stand about 45 minutes before your Macchu Picchu entry time to allow for the line for the bus followed by a 25 minute ride to the entrance. Key items to take on your tour include passport, ticket (on phone or paper), water and of course a camera. Dress for sun protection and apply sunblock.

The Inca Trail. Not covered here, the Inca Trail is definitely on most hikers’ bucket lists and there are many outfitters (e.g. https://incatrail.center) who offer guided/portered trips – again, the route, through a designated national park, is controlled with limited visitors, so guided travel is the only option. This is usually a 4-day excursion departing culminating in a morning entry to the Macchu Picchu site, although there are other shorter options.

The Sacred Valley. You pass through the Sacred Valley on the journey between Cusco and Macchu Picchu and it is worth pausing. As a major agricultural area – about 1,000 feet lower than Cusco – there are a set of historical sites that you can visit, including the fortress of Ollantaytambo and the temple city of Pisac. Ollantaytambo is a stop on the rail journey.

Be aware of the altitude. Cusco and Macchu Picchu are at 10,000 feet and 8,000 feet respectively so be ready to take it easy to start with, particularly if you aren’t in great shape. In most cases, having a slow day on arrival and a good night’s sleep, while staying hydrated, should set you up reasonably well. If in doubt, check with your doctor. The Macchu Picchu visit involves walking up and down stone stairways and again if you’re less fit, a couple of days’ acclimatizing is useful.

Yerevan: Armenia’s Garden City

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Yerevan is Armenia’s capital and your likely first sight of the country. It’s also a good base for regional day trips – but unless you have a very modest itinerary, it’s better to spend a few days acclimatizing in town and then heading out.

The Garden City. In 1837, Yerevan became the capital of the Tsarist Russian empire’s territory that mainly covered eastern Armenia. Russia conquered the region from the Persian empire and developed Yerevan as the colony’s main political and economic center. There are many Tsarist style buildings in town, some of which are being restored.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the city was extensively redeveloped as a modern Soviet city The general plan was designed by the Armenian architect Alexander Tamanian in 1924. The central city plan included a street grid punctuated by grand squares, large parks and a circular green belt, much of which stands to this day. There are plenty of parks to pause in.

Statue from the Movie Tghamardik (Men) (1972), Saroyan Park

Despite later modernization, the city has an approachable feel. 6-level mixed storefront/apartment buildings built in the interwar and postwar Soviet classical style are common – and is it readily walkable.

Republic Square is a useful starting point, with the History Museum of Armenia located on the east side. The Vernissage arts and crafts market is just south of the square. This open-air market contains the usual range from interesting craft to trinkets, but is worth a look, especially on the weekend.

Yerevan’s city center is just east of a major ravine, the Hrazdan Gorge. A walk to the top of the Cascade, located in the northern green belt, gives useful orientation. The Cascade is a limestone stairway and artificial waterfall partially constructed in the late Soviet era and then improved after independence. Look for the Fernando Botero statues – cat and nude – in the sculpture park at the food of the stairs.

There are a range of buildings worth passing by that show the city’s changing history – from the Soviet era Opera House (Freedom Square), built in 1933, to the Blue Mosque (12 Mesrop Mashtots Ave.), built as a shia mosque under Persian rule in 1765. The Blue Mosque was secularized in the Soviet era and then restored as a mosque and cultural center in the 2000s with Iranian government support.

A walk along Abovyan Street shows a number of Tsarist-era buildings, as well as the Moscow Theater (Number 18), another classical Stalinist-era structure opened in 1933. You will get periodic glimpses of Mount Ararat, about 50 kilometers northeast of Mount Ararat, which lies in Turkish territory.

Museums and Stuff. Yerevan has a range of cultural sites to visit, established in Soviet and independent times. The National Gallery of Armenia (1 Aram St.) has an extensive collection, in part as many pieces were moved there from other parts of the Soviet Union for safety during WW2. The History Museum of Armenia (Republic Square) is worth a visit. Just west of downtown, the Armenian Genocide Museum (8 Tsitsernakaberd Highway) is an obligatory stop to explain Armenia’s painful history. For those interested in the urban design of Yerevan, the Tamanyan Architecture Museum-Institute (Government Building # 3, on Aram St. at Hanrapetutyan St. ) is worth a visit.

Day Trips. Here are a few day trip ideas.

Day Trip 1. The Geghard Monastery and Garni Temple, are popular days out, although I’d recommend using these as the first stop on a longer trip and then heading on. Otherwise, if you’re pressed for time, this is as good a group as any. Details of these places and subsequent stops are here https://www.aerotrekka.com/yeghegnadzor-armenian-highlands-hilltop-fortresses-and-wine/

Day Trip 2: While you can easily reach the Yereruyk Basilica from Gyumri, it’s also a reasonable day trip from Yerevan, especially if combined with a visit to the Vagharshapat cathedral precinct. Yereruyk, located in the village of Anipemza adjacent to the Turkish border along the River Akhurian, is one of the earliest (5-6th century) examples of early Armenian church architecture. Its also one way to see the Turkish border – the basilica is south of the 10-11th century Armenian kingdom’s capital of Ani, which was one of the world’s largest cities until being sacked by the Seljuk Turko-Persian army in 1064 and subsequently by the Mongols in 1236.

The church must have been truly impressive by the standards of the 6th century and reflected the power and wealth of the early Medieval Armenian kingdoms, that extended into present day Turkey.

Day Trip 3: A hike up Mount Aragats. Consisting of four peaks around the rim of a huge volcanic crater, the Northern Peak is Armenia’s highest point (4,090 meters), although heavily snowed in from around October through April. An ambitious day trip to the nearest Southern Peak is potentially doable with good weather and an early start. The main trailhead has a small hotel and a campground. Check for snow state before you go, and go equipped. You can drive up the lower slopes of Aragats from the south along the winding H20 road, to a starting point at the parking lot next to the Aragats Cosmic Ray Research Station (built in 1943) and a small lodge and restaurant, located next to Lake Kari. The hiking trails lead from there towards the various peaks.

Mount Aragats Lodge, Cosmic Ray Station and Kari Lake

There are plenty of trail guides to take you the various peaks, with the Southern Peak (https://www.alltrails.com/trail/armenia/kotayk–3/southern-peak-of-aragats?u=i) being the shortest trail and the highest Northern Peak being a longer hike that may need an overnight campout .

You can also see the nearby Amberd Fortress, built in the 12th century overlooking the Amberd River gorge.

Logistics. Yerevan is an excellent urban destination with a high concentration of quality restaurants, hotels and drinking establishments, which are often unique to the country and avoid a lot of the cookie-cutter places you see elsewhere. Additional to Armenian, there are plenty of Georgian, Russian and middle eastern restaurants – the latter increasing as many diaspora western Armenians have returned. Bradt’s Armenia guidebook (www.bradtguides.com) is the most comprehensive and its recommendations are reliable, although beware that some places have changed hands or closed; Yerevan is a fast changing city. A few restaurant recommendations:

Artashi Mot. (21 Tumanyan St.) Casual Armenian counter-served cafe specializing in charcoal bbq shawarma. Genatsvale Tavern. (12 Ishakyan St.) Comprehensive Georgian menu in a multi-room layout. Lavash. (21 Tumanyan St.) Higher end Armenian with streetside veranda. Tavern Yerevan. (5 Armiryan St.) Well-delivered Armenian standards. Tumanyan Khinkali Factory. (21/1 Tumanyan St.) Good Georgian cafe specializing in dumplings.

There are plenty of excellent wine bars featuring the fast evolving Armenian wine industry. Armenia’s wine industry is making a comeback and recovering from the Soviet-era decision to prioritize brandy production. Additional to the usual lagers (of which Gyumri is probably the best delivered) there is a growing craft beer industry in Armenia, led by Dargett.

In Vino. (6 Martiros Saryan St.) Wine bar plus store serving snacks with an excellent selection of bottles to take back. Voskevaz Wine Time. (6 Martiros Saryan St.) Another wine bar dispensing Voskevaz winery products. Dargett. (72 Aram St.) Brewpub and restaurant for Armenia’s largest craft brewery. Dors craft beer & kitchen. (4,6 Amiryan St.) Brewpub and restaurant with onsite microbrewery. Wine Republic. (2 Tamanyan St.) Thai restaurant with a major wine selection and outdoor seating.

Hotel quality is good and some recommendations include the Republica (7/1 Aramyan St.) and Tufenkian Historic (48 Hanrapetutyan St.).

Transport. Taxis are very reasonable in Armenia so tip generously. There are various ride-hailing apps that make life easy and mitigate the language barrier – I used YandexGo, which I downloaded in advance of visiting. Note that most of the ride-hailing apps used in Armenia just quote the fare and don’t accept western credit cards, so carry cash. Yerevan also has a late Soviet-era metro, opened in 1981, however it’s focus was to move people out of the fairly small city center area. The Republic Square stop is the most central.

Shopping. Armenia has a unique culture and it’s worth taking a look. A few places worth a check are the Vernissage Market, which leans to a lot of tourist tat but is a useful starting point. Armenia has an important traditional carpet culture and the carpet store in the Tufenkian Heritage Hotel (48 Hanrapetutyan St.), run by this non-profit foundation, is worth a look.

While probably not the lowest prices, the quality is high and you know that the revenues go to a worthwhile cause. The Armenian-Ceramics store in the basement of the Villa Delenda B&B (10 Yeznik Koghbatsi St.) run by another non-profit, have interesting ceramics. The Yerevan City supermarket (5 Mesrop Mashtots Ave.), opposite the Blue Mosque, is one of the largest central markets and worth a visit.

Armenian brandy is high quality and was sold around the Russian empire and beyond since the late 19th century. Between the various producers the largest firm, Yerevan Brandy Company (2 Admiral Isakov Ave.), is probably the best bet and offers a distillery tour followed by a tasting. They offer a standard and premium tour with a better tasting selection, and the premium is well worth it. You can purchase at the factory store, and another good place, for wine as well, is Noyan Tun (https://noyantunonline.am/en/ 12 Amiryan St.).

Armenia: Up North and a Turn West

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Northern Armenia shares mountains, valleys and history with Georgia, its northerly Caucasus neighbor. This part of the country is well worth seeing and is greener and lusher than the more arid southern regions. This journey continues along the Debed Gorge (starting in the earlier post here: https://www.aerotrekka.com/armenia-silk-road-passes-mongols-migs/) and then heads west to see Gyumri, Armenia’s second city.

Khachkar Time at the Debed Gorge Monasteries. The Debed Gorge hosts five of Armenia’s most notable churches and monasteries, that were as much medieval military and political as well as religious centers.

Haghpat Monsastery – Saint Nshan Cathedral

Haghpat Monastery’s main cathedral, Saint Nshan, was built in 976-991 and was the first major construction of a complex that included a library, bell tower, refectory and other buildings, that continued into the mid-13th century. Like many religious centers of the time, it was built on high ground – here overlooking the Debed Gorge – originally with a fortress wall.

Unusually – for ordinarily unpainted Armenian church interiors – and influenced by the Byzantine orthodox, Saint Nshan has a series of frescoes, the largest and best preserved of which are in the apse showing Christ and other religious figures.

The monastery’s library space is still intact, still showing the holes set in its floor for the purposes of hiding books when the next invader swept through. Next to the library is one of Armenia’s most elaborate khachkars – ornate sculpted stones dominated by a cross – the Holy Redeemer, carved in 1273.

A stand alone bell tower was constructed in the 1240s.

If you have enough time, there is an 8-kilometer hiking trail to Sanahin Monastery https://hikearmenia.org/all-trails/trail/world-heritage-trail. Both Haghpat and Sanahin were the first of Armenia’s monasteries to be granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1996.

Akhtala Monastery, built on a hillside bluff in the 10th-13th centuries and originally within a fortress, the church is unique in the extent of its luminous and intricate murals; again in a Byzantine orthodox style. Only 10 kilometers from the Georgian border, the Holy Mother of God Church was originally built as a Georgian orthodox church in the early 1200s.

The dome collapsed in the 18th century and was replaced by a wooden structure. Akhtala is one of the less visited of Armenia’s monasteries, but worth the extra journey on the road to Georgia. The site has superb views into the surrounding valleys but watch your step as there are multiple collapsed subterranean rooms in the monastery grounds.

The interior is heavily fresco’ed with biblical scenes and figures of the apostles and saints. The murals are believed to have been painted around 1205-1216 and mostly contain Greek and Georgian script.

Western Wall – Depictions of the Kingdom of Heaven and Various Saints

The apse has a large fresco with a defaced figure of the Virgin Mary and child, and below her a depiction of the last supper and various saints, all overlooking the altar.

Gyumri – the North’s Urban Center. Gyumri is Armenia’s second largest city, and after occupation by the Russians in 1804 during the Russo-Persian War, was Armenia’s principal city until the conquest of Russian Armenia by 1828, where Yerevan was made the capital. Gyumri was renamed Alexandropol – after a Tsar – in 1837 and then Leninakan – after another Tsar – in 1924, only regaining its original Armenian name in 1990. It’s a convenient stop along the northern part of the country, with a Tsarist-era historical center that largely survived the catastrophic 1988 earthquake, which leveled over half of the city. While Gyumri was surpassed by Yerevan as Armenia’s principal city, it is perhaps one of the best preserved examples of Tsarist-era architecture anywhere. Many of the buildings are solidly constructed low-level buildings, some made from black and orange stone found in the region.

Gyumri grew not only as a military and commercial hub for the expanding Russian Empire, but as a refugee center for Western Armenians fleeing the Ottoman Turkish genocide of 1915. The scale of the slaughter was such that orphanages for 22,000 children were established in the city. Historians don’t always look kindly on the Tsarist Russian Empire, but in this case it served a positive role.

The December 1988 earthquake was a disaster for the city and surrounding region, killing over 25,000 people and making 500,000 homeless. Gyumri’s main sights are easily walked from the main Vardanants Square – the old town is directly north and Central Park is just west for a greener walk.

Abandoned City Block – South of Central Park

The collapse of the Soviet Union through 1989-91 and the struggle of the restored Armenian Republic’s formative years meant that rebuilding was protracted – in many cases supported by the global Armenian community. Many buildings – Soviet and Tsarist – are still vacant.

The historic city center – look for the blocks north of the main Vardanants Square, particularly Abovyan Street – is increasingly restored and is a good place to start your walkabout or evening out.

The Black Fortress. Gyumri was an important strongpoint in the Russian defenses against the Ottoman Empire to the west and Imperial Persia to the south. In 1837, the Black Fortress was constructed just west of the city. The circular fortress, made of the black stone you see throughout the city, was never attacked but served as a strategic center that was instrumental in the Russian victories over the Ottoman Turks in the 1877-78 war.

The walls are heavily carved with Russian and Armenian graffiti. Today, the fort serves as an entertainment venue, with the cannon positions tastefully converted into concert hall style boxes.

Many of the Soviet Republics obtained a memorial to the motherland – here is Mother Armenia, built in 1975, located next to the Black Fortress. This statue holds a wheat sheaf and complements the other Mother Armenia statue in Yerevan, which comes armed with a broadsword.

Gyumri Railway Station. In 1899, the Russians connected Gyumri westwards to Kars (then Russian territory) and north to Tbilisi by railway, as part of the Transcaucasian Railway that connected its southern empire. Built in 1979 and an example of late Soviet-era modernist regional architecture, the railway station will connect you efficiently but slowly to Yerevan or as a stop on the way to Tbilisi – and ultimately Batumi on the Black Sea for the beach vacation crowd. The train schedule hasn’t changed much since Soviet times, although links into Russia via and beyond Tbilisi aren’t advertised.

Jrapi Caravanserai. The flatlands southwest of Gyumri run into Lake Arpi, through which the Turkish border runs. Just east of the lake and the H-17 highway is the 11th-century Jrapi Caravanserai, built as a way station between Anatolia and the Caucasus by the Seljuk Turks (https://goo.gl/maps/dkdAUMioZq6pMqhp6). There are two church structures on the site – one in 11th-century ruins and an 1874 building that is active, but usually unattended.

Jrapi Churches with Lake Arpi and Turkey Beyond

Only a quarter of the caravanserai’s roof remains, but there is enough of the remaining walls and archways to see how the full structure must have been. Rather like the Selim Caravanserai (https://www.aerotrekka.com/armenia-silk-road-passes-mongols-migs/), it is a long rectangular building with a single entrance at one end.

Logistics. You’ll need your own vehicle to travel around the region efficiently, although if you take the train to Gyumri, the town and the Black Fortress are navigable on foot or with a taxi ride. For hotels, the Tufenkian Avan Dzoreget is a good base to explore the Debed Region and Gyumri has plentiful accommodation – I stayed at the Hay Aspet B&B (53 Shiraz Street – shown as Gorky Street on Google maps, look just east of the Hovnannes Shiraz Museum).

Gyumri has a decent range of restaurant options, serving mainly Armenian food. Some good options include Gyumri Hatsatun (1 Peace Circle – southeast side) and Kilikia Bistro (22 Garegin Nzhdeh Avenue) near the center; in the old town, you can try Florence Gyumri (5/7 Shiraz (shown as Gorky on Google Maps) and Poloz Mukuch (Jivani Street – south of Rustaveli Street). Be aware that Gyumri’s old center is developing so it’s worth taking a walk around to see what else has opened – or closed. The Gyumri Garden House (Abovyan Street, south of Shiraz/Gorky Street) is a popular beer hall and bar and there are a number of cafes along pedestrianized Rijkov Street, with Herbs & Honey (5 Rijkov Street) well recommended. Also popular is Ponchik Monchik, a cafe/snack restaurant located on the west side of Vardanants Square.

Armenia: Silk Road Passes, Mongols and MiGs

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Armenia lies on one of the many silk road routes between West Asia and Europe, and has experienced Mongol, Ottoman and Russian influence in addition to its own rule over thousands of years. Taking a route up the center of the country puts you on a silk road route, past Armenia’s largest lake, and into the high plateaus and gorges of the Lori region.

The Selim Caravanserai. Caravanserais were medieval-era way stations established along the silk road routes to provide safe overnight lodging and provisions for the supply teams. Many were established under the Ottoman Empire and can be seen from the Balkans to the Stans. Armenia has a number of them, the best-preserved being located just south of the crest of the Selim Pass at about 2,400 m. elevation, along the main route between Yeghezhnador and Lake Sevan.

View South from Selim Pass towards Yeghegnadzor

Built around 1332 by Prince Chesar Orbelian – and also called Orbelian’s Caravanserai – it is a long rectangular basalt stone building with a stone slabbed roof. It has a single entrance to a large vestibule on the southeast side, with ornate carvings, including a griffin and a lion, and a lengthy inscription by Chesar dedicating the building in his family’s name and that of Armenia’s Mongol ruler of the time, Busaid Khan. Mongol rule in Armenia was under the Ilkhanate, which included modern-day Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, and lasted from the mid-1200s until the 1330s, when the Black Death triggered its disintegration. Busaid Khan died in 1335, allegedly poisoned, although plague could have been the cause.

Inside, there is a long central hall, where pack animals were housed and fed, with partitioned spaces off to either side for the merchants and their goods, and skylights to provide some daytime lighting.

This must have been a welcome site for a 14th-century mule train working its way between Central Asia and southeast Europe. Restored in the 1950s, the high degree of preservation was in part possible because of the difficulty in carrying away the building’s stone blocks from such an isolated location.

Lake Sevan. Lake Sevan is Armenia’s largest lake and sole domestic seaside resort. If you are driving over the Selim Pass, you’ll see it as you descend. Heading north, the roads along the west side are most direct and in the best condition.

Passing north through Dilijan, you enter the northern and increasingly mountainous Lori Region. This visit was in late April, so there was plenty of cleansing rainfall.

The Mikoyans of Alaverdi. The post-industrial city of Alaverdi is interesting in part because it shows how Soviet-era industrial activity was jammed into narrow valleys, but also as the birthplace of the Mikoyan brothers – Anastas in 1895 and Artem in 1905. The Mikoyan Brothers Museum (https://goo.gl/maps/HjbGg16i2WD6EjQ69), established in the Soviet era but still very much a source of pride today, is worth a visit.

Anastas Mikoyan was a Bolshevik revolutionary from 1915 onwards and became a senior Soviet-era politician who joined the Politburo in 1935. A supporter of Stalin, he participated in and survived the purges to become Deputy Premier, involving himself in foreign affairs, before retiring in 1966.

Anastas, Ernest, Translator and a Cocktail Shaker

Artem was an aeronautical engineer who founded the prolific Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau – now synonymous with the word “MiG” for a Russian fast jet aircraft – with Mikhail Gurevich, in 1939. While their early piston-engine designs weren’t successful, their first significant design was the world-beating MiG-15 jet fighter, admittedly powered by the British Rolls-Royce Nene engine. The engine was sold to the Soviets under a license in 1947, which probably ranks as one of the greatest intellectual property and security failures of all time. The MiG-15 went on to shock western air forces in the Korean War.

Needless to say, a MiG gets the top billing at the museum, where a two-seat trainer version of the MiG-21 is exhibited outside. This was one of MiG’s highest production models, that has served since 1959 with over 60 air forces.

The museum features memorabilia from two very busy lives and acknowledges the ethical lapses needed for Anastas to survive and thrive as a Soviet politician, particularly during the purges of the 1930s.

Debed Gorge. The Debed River runs north and then northeast from the hub of Vanadzor, past Alaverdi to the Georgian border.

Fans of disused Soviet-era factory buildings will have plenty to look at along the Debed River valley around Alaverdi.

Logistics. I stayed at the Tufenkian Dzoreget Hotel (https://tufenkianheritage.com/en/accommodation/avan-dzoraget-hotel), which is worth a stop in itself for it’s grand building and location next to the Debed River.

Tufenkian Dzoreget Hotel and Debed River

Northern Monasteries. Northern Armenia’s monasteries get less visits owing to their distance from Yerevan but were a very important part of political and spiritual life. In the next post, we look at the spectacular Haghpat and Akhtala monasteries.

Down South: Armenia’s Mountain Highway

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Armenia has a similar area to Belgium but with a very diverse geography, from the Caucasus mountain range that runs along the length of the country, to wine-growing valleys and lakeland beaches. Most visitors head for the regions around Yerevan where you’ll find winter sports and summer hiking. Further southeast takes you along rugged terrain on the road to Meghri on the Iranian border. This route takes you from Yegheghnazdor to the cities of Goris and Kapan, and along the way you have stunning scenery, monastic centers and silk road route towns.

Trip 1: Tatev Monastery. Setting out from Yegheghnazdor towards Goris, you’ll get to experience the typical valleys and mountain passes that Armenian road travelers have to deal with. Tatev Monastery sits on the southern side of the wooded Vorotan Gorge.

You’ll turn south off the main M12 highway and head along the northern side of the gorge before crossing the river at Devil’s Bridge and then approaching the monastery up the other side. If you wish to save yourself a hilly switchbacked drive of about 20-30 minutes in each direction, you can stop at the Wings of Tatev cable car (https://tatever.am/en) and take that instead – the view from the 12-minute ride over the Vorotan Gorge is certainly better. Tatev monastery was founded in the 9th century and its main Sts Peter & Paul church dates from around 900. The St Gregory Church was built just south of it around , next to the separate tomb of Saint Gregor Tatevitsi. As with many old buildings in seismically active Armenia, there was extensive damage from a 1931 earthquake, since reconstructed.

Tatev Churches and St. Grigor Tatevatsi’s Tomb

If you have extra time, there is a great 7-kilometer hike between the monastery and Devil’s Bridge, a natural rock bridge over the Vorotan River that runs down the side of the gorge and along the valley floor (https://hikearmenia.org/all-trails/trail/devils-bridge).

You’ll need to arrange for a pickup at the other end to return to your start point.

Trip 2: Goris. Goris is an excellent town for a stopover. It’s an attractive place that sits in a wider valley area, with the medieval cave city of Old Goris nestled in the cliffsides and conical rock formations to the east of town.

Goris has many well-preserved classic southern Armenian stone houses, many of which are adding their traditional wooden balconies back.

It’s a pleasant town to walk round and the medieval cave dwellings of Old Goris are worth seeing – you can cross the Vararek River via the Garegin Nzhdeh Street bridge and then take a right on Satyan Street to reach the park area. You can use the Hike Armenia app to guide you – https://hikearmenia.org/all-trails/trail/time-travel-to-old-goris.

Kapan’s main Parc de Vienne square and the commercial area just north are popular gathering spots and there are a few cafes and restaurants in the immediate vicinity. You can visit the Aksel Bakunts House Museum (41 Mashtots Street), which is a well-preserved example of a traditional home and an insight into a famous Armenian writer.

Goris Logistics. Goris has a wide range of accommodation and I stayed at the Khoreayi Dzor Hotel, a modern hotel with large rooms and great views over the city – it’s a 20-minute walk to and from the center and there are also good alternatives closer in. Two good restaurants in town are the Wine Garden (65 Syunik Street), which has a large outdoor garden area and is popular for Armenian barbeque, and the Takarik Tavern (65 Syunik Street).

Classic 1960’s Russian GAZ (Gorky Automobile Factory) M-21 Volga automobile, Goris

The Cafe Tur Bazar (end of Grigor Tatevatsi Street), which overlooks the river and medieval cave complex has a good outdoor beer garden and friendly staff – try the local Goris beer, a well made malty lager.

Goris is the home of Armenia’s national quick dish, Jhingalov Hacs, which is a selection of fresh herbs put between fresh lavash bread and griddled. It’s delicious and meets most dietary requirements.

Dowtown Goris and Police Station Emblazoned with a Former Soviet Star

Trip 3: Kapan. Kapan is a 2-3 hour drive south through the scenic Goris River gorge and Vorotan River valley. It can be a slow drive with hairpin bends, Iranian trucks and periodic rainy weather and fog. Note that certain stretches of the road lie inside the post-2020 War settlement Azerbaijani border, and that you’ll see (as of 2021) Armenian military and Russian ceasefire observers at certain points.

You can travel through in safety – applying caution for rain, fog and slow-moving trucks – but be ready to stop at the Armenian security checkpoints where they may ask to see your passport and then wave you through. If you use google maps you won’t be routed via this direct southeasterly Goris-Kapan road (and instead sent via Tatev), but ask at your hotel before you set out whether the road is open, which it was in Spring 2021.

Kapan is a grittier working town set in the Voghji River valley, with significant industrial activity from Soviet times. You’ll see a large number of workers’ flats set into the northern hillsides overlooking the town, reflecting it’s importance as a Soviet-era industrial center.

Abandoned Ferris Wheel, Kapan Central Park

Today, it’s an important center for molybdenum mining. The Kapan History Museum (24/41 Garegin Nzhdeh Street) is worth a visit, and records the history of the 1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War, as well as the participation of Kapan’s citizens in WW2. There’s also good recording of Kapan’s development since the 19th century and as a mining center.

Kapan’s WW2 Veterans – Kapan History Museum

There are some good side trips possible from Kapan. If you’re a determined driver, you could go on to Meghri, 72 kilometers away on the Iranian border.

Russian FSB Ceasefire Patrol Vehicle, Kapan

Vahanavank Monastery is worth a look – just 10 minutes west of Kapan along the Meghri Road, this 11th century church was built by the Queen of Syunik.

Another more ambitious outdoor objective is Mount Khustrup, which can be accessed via the Baghaburj area of Kapan or via Navcha https://www.alltrails.com/trail/armenia/syunik–3/mount-khustup.

Kapan Logistics. Kapan has a few hotels in the center, and the Dian Hotel, a 15-minute walk just east of town, is modern and well-run. Cafe Elegant (32 Shahumyan Street) and Tumanyan’s (Shahumyan Street roundabout just east of Cafe Elegant) are popular restaurants. A good shwarma cafe is located just west of Cafe Elegant on the opposite side of Shahumyan Street.

Yeghegnadzor: Armenian Highlands, Hilltop Fortresses and Wine

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The town of Yeghegnazdor is the capital of the central Armenian province of Vayots Dzor, a winemaking region and a good travel base south of Yerevan. Central Armenia has plenty of rugged terrain, and the roads get windy. At this point, it was worth hiring a vehicle to get about. Yeghegnazdor is less than a day’s drive from Yerevan and there’s plenty to see along the way.

Trip 1: Monasteried Out. Heading south towards Yeghegnazdor from Yerevan, you can hit up the historical sites of Khor Virap, the Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery, finishing up in Yeghegnazdor for the evening. These are all day-trip distance from Yerevan, so are better seen early in the day and best avoided over weekends, but nonetheless worth checking out. The Khor Virap (Deep Dungeon) Monastery is worth seeing in part because of its location in the plains east of Mount Ararat – arrive early because Ararat clouds up through the day. You want to catch it in the morning when it’s year-round snowy peak floats above the cloud line.

Garni Temple. Heading southeast from Yerevan, the first stop is the Garni Temple, a Roman-era basalt temple originally constructed in about 170 AD in memory of the Romanized ruler of the Province.

It sits above the Azat River Valley and is co-located with a 7th-century Christian church. Demolished by an earthquake in the late 17th century, it was only restored in the early 1970s.

Geghard Monastery. Further east, you can also see the Geghard (Spear) Monastery, another iconic Armenian religious center, partly built into the cliffside and with cave dwellings and rock-hewn chapels in the cliffs above the complex. Founded in the 4th century around a Spring overlooking the Azat River gorge, the main chapel was built around 1215. There are active churches within the walled monastery complex, with the main Katoghike Chapel quite busy on a Sunday.

Khor Virap. The Khor Virap monastery was the place where Gregory the Illuminator, the first leader of Armenian christianity, was imprisoned for 12 years before he began converting the monarchy and population to Christianity. You can visit his 3rd-century dungeon – grab the safety line and take it carefully down the stairs. The current buildings are more recent, from around the 17th-century. It’s better to go early in the day to be able to see Mt. Ararat, just over 30 km to the west, before the peak clouds over.

Trip 2: Yegheghis Village and the Jewish Cemetery. Armenia is located in a tough geopolitical neighborhood with challenging mountain terrain. The village of Yeghegis is located in the verdant Yeghegis River valley, a state wildlife sanctuary, and has been settled for thousands of years. The original medieval town is closer to the river than the current town and has one of the oldest known Jewish cemeteries from around the 13th-15th centuries. It has a cluster of churches, notably the Zorats (Army) Church just east of town, built in 1303. It has a terraced outdoor gallery so that arms and horses could be blessed before battle, along with their riders.

If you head just east of town and take the first right-hand vehicle track, you go south towards the river and cross it on the footbridge that leads to the medieval Jewish cemetery (https://goo.gl/maps/yw1NcpwTYDQmUJJX8). Believed to be one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries identified outside the Middle East, there are about 60 medieval headstones from a period when the region was ruled by Mongol and Turkic invaders. Many of these are elaborately ornamented and inscribed.

Yeghegis village can be a prelude to the next trip, but it makes for an ambitious day.

Trip 3: The Smbataberd Fortress and Tsakhats Kar Monastery Hill Hikes. This is an approximately 4-5 hour out-and-back hike that takes you to the impressive hilltop fortress, named after Prince Smbat, the regional ruler of the time, and then via a high meadow to the monastery, which is about 2 kilometers east of the fortress via a vehicle trail. As also used here (https://www.aerotrekka.com/armenia-hiking-the-caucasus/), the trusty HIKEArmenia.org website and app provide a useful downloadable hiking map. https://hikearmenia.org/all-trails/trail/tour-through-wine-country

Smbataberd Fortress. You can either start this trail from Yeghegis Village to the south, or approach from the next valley over, from the west, via the village of Artabuynk – you’ll see the hiking app displays both approach routes. I visited Yeghegis Village first, left my Lada Niva safely parked in the center and took the gradual path up to Smbataberd, which you can see from the start of the trail.

Yeghegis Village from Smbataberd Fortress

Once you’re at Smbataberd, for which the outlines of the outer walls, entrance tower, keep and certain inner walls remain, you can see how this dominated the valleys off to either side of its clifftop redoubts. Largely built by Armenian rulers around the 9th-10th century, the fortress was lost to invading Seljuk Turks in the 11th century, with the legend that a thirsty horse discovered the water pipe supplying the fortress – leading down from the monastery – which was then cut.

Smbataberd Fortress looking northeast towards Tsakhats Kar Monastery

Tsakhats Kar Monastery. After checking out the fortress, and wondering how anyone moved around these hills with medieval military equipment, you then head northeast down the vehicle track into a meadow – grazing cattle may be around – and then up the hillside towards the windswept Tsakhats Kar monastery complex, almost 4 km northeast.

This consists of two chapels built in the 11th century; the eastern Holy Cross and western St. John the Baptist churches. The monastery complex has great views looking south and over Smbataberd and has elaborate carved designs on its facade and on the standing stones (khachkars).

A large ruined monastery building is located along the road track about 150 meters west of the two churches, with an intact doorway, front wall and standing archways. This appears to have been built between about 1000 and 1200, and would have been a substantial center for the time, notable for being in such an isolated spot. The weed-filled open area inside the walls is filled with stones, khachkars and a water trough.

Logistics. I stayed at the Green Stone Hotel (https://goo.gl/maps/3QbhQDmNP5kDGTsy8 2, 5, Gladzoryan Lane), which is a new and very comfortable small hotel, equipped with a garden and swimming pool. Food options in town are mainly via the local hotels and B&Bs, which are very high quality with plenty of fresh local produce. You should try to book dinner the day before.

The Green Stone Hotel has great catering, and the Old Bridge Winery (https://www.oldbridgewinery.com) offers an extensive Armenian set menu with their own wines. A good casual option and popular stopoff is the Food Court, which offers a typical Armenian menu and is located on the Yerevanyan Highway heading southeast just out of town (https://goo.gl/maps/oSrWVvr5252myBMu6).

Wineries. You should do your winery research before you go. Armenia and Georgia have a healthy debate as to who has the oldest winemaking tradition, although Armenia’s wine industry is at a smaller scale given that many vines were given over to brandy production in the Soviet era. There are nonetheless plenty of quality wineries that focus on some of the 31 wine grape varieties found in Armenia, like the Areni (red), Kangun (white) and Voskehat (white). Vayots Dzor hosts the annual Areni Wine Festival every May and there are plenty of nationally recognized wineries in the valley, including Hin Areni, Momik, Trinity Canyon, Yacoubian and Zorah.

Car Hire and Roadways. Your car hire choices are mainly located in Yerevan. I went with one of the local providers, Car&Van (https://www.caravan.am/en-home.html), who usually have the option to hire a Lada 4×4, pictured earlier in front of Mt. Ararat. The Lada lacks the comforts and ergonomics you usually expect and is a dated design with an upper speed limit of about 80-90 km/h. However, the suspension and clearance are well suited to many of Armenia’s roads, particularly outside and south of the Yerevan area. Once you’re clear of Yerevan, specifically when you turn off the main H8 highway to head east to Yeghegnadzor, nearly all roads are single-lane each way and degraded in places, so figure on a typical road speed of between 50-80 km/h.

Armenia’s sole north-south road between Yeghezhnador and the Iranian border at Meghri runs through the towns of Goris, Kapan and the hill ranges and associated hairpin bends along the way, so it’s a careful drive along with the Iranian lorries. Given the incidence of potholes and roadworks, you should avoid driving in the dark.

Armenia: Hiking the Caucasus

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Armenia has wild and wonderful hiking country that is easily reached from its capital, Yerevan. You can start by heading to the resort town of Dilijan, a 90-minute drive away in the hills north of Lake Sevan, Armenia’s largest lake and the closest thing to a beach destination that a landlocked country has. Many of the hikes combine superb scenery with historical sites not easily accessible to most visitors, along with some substantial elevation changes.

You can plan your hikes and download the trail map using the HIKEArmenia app. HIKEArmenia are a non-profit organization that organize and map out treks of varying difficulty around the country. Check out their website at https://hikearmenia.org and download their app. You can download the trail maps before each hike and use them offline – make sure that your phone is fully charged before heading out!

Hike 1: The Jukhtakvank – Matosavank Monasteries Loop. This is a good shorter hike that can be done in 3 or so hours. The app has you start walking from Abovyan Street, which is the main road (and then track) that leads past the mineral water plant to Jukhtakvank from the M8 highway. The monasteries are on different sides of the same river valley, so you get a hilly forested hike with a couple of river crossings thrown in. I started at Jukhtakvank and looped counterclockwise to Matosavank. Both the monasteries were built off trails leading up from the valley floor, amid forests that still stand today.

Jukhtakvank was built around 1200 and became an important religious community centered around its two chapels, one of which, St. Gregory’s, has elaborate wall carvings.

There are cattle grazing in the valley so watch out for them, and make sure to follow the app trail closely as there are multiple trails in the valley. Matosavank, named after St. Matthew, is a larger, L-shaped single building from the 13th century, built into the hillside, with a collapsed cupola off to one side.

At the end of the trail leading down from Matosavank to Abovyan Road, you’ll have to cross the river by a small footbridge. There is a rest area and water point with gushing spring water, topped with a memorial stone.

The trail link is here: https://hikearmenia.org/all-trails/trail/medieval-monasteries-trail You can access the trail start easily by taxi; there as a bus stop at the village on Abovyan Road, or you can simply walk to and from Dilijan which is about 6 km from Jukhtakvank.

Hike 2: Dilijan National Park from Haghartsin Monastery to Jukhtakvank Monastery. This is an all-day approximately 20-kilometer / 6-8 hour hike that takes you along the passes and ridgelines north of Dilijan. https://hikearmenia.org/all-trails/trail/360-dilijan

It’s an A to B hike and the best way to get to the start is a 20-minute taxi ride to Hagartsin from Dilijan. You can absorb the historical vibes around the Hagartsin Monastery complex, which sits at the top of a valley leading up from the Dilijan road. This is a larger complex with five churches or chapels and a refectory, built in the 10th-13th centuries; it’s a popular attraction so an early start is good to avoid the crowds and get going on the hike.

You’ll start up a fire trail that puts the monastery below you in its valley setting. The start point just north of the monastery is signposted for Jukhtakvank, and there are periodic red/white painted markers on rocks. The route is mostly on well-defined walking and vehicle track, but is hard to follow in places, so have the HIKEArmenia trail map downloaded from the app before you set out. Check the weather before you go and prepare for the mountain weather – while you aren’t up around the peaks, dependent upon time of year, you can get weather fronts moving through.

Much of the trail crosses high meadows stretching along the hillsides, interrupted by some climbs over passes. There are a series of small farming communities along the route, often with the herds out grazing the hillsides.

For much of the trail route you can keep the Dilijan area main valley in sight on your left side. As you complete the route into Jukhtakvank, you’ll descend into farmland and forested trails. Watch out for the farm complex about 1 km from the end – the dogs are quite verbally aggressive; although their bark looks to be worse than their bite, and a swing from the daypack keeps them away.

Other Wanderings. The hiking app offers other trails, including short hikes in the forested hills around Dilijan. Another destination hike offered is to start at Lake Parz (get a taxi out there), a popular local destination, and hike back into town. In addition to the fairly small restored old town, there are also other local sights, including an abandoned Soviet-era hotel overlooking the city lake.

Further up the hill overlooking the lake from the south is the abandoned Khanjian Villa (https://goo.gl/maps/xqEzZh2YhNFcNfiM6), built on the orders of Aghasi Khanjian, the First Secretary of the Armenian Communist Party in the 1930s, who allegedly committed suicide on a trip to Moscow in 1936, but was likely assassinated in a power struggle or as part of the purges of the time. Opened in 1937, the villa was later used as a government rest house but left to ruin after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The google map location is best accessed on foot via Maxim Gorky Street – the main road that heads south out of Dilijan – and taking the second road on the right after you go past the lake.

Logistics. Dilijan is a very walkable town that is used to accommodating travelers, and has good B&B and catering options. There is a lower town based around the main roundabout (where the bus stop is), and an upper town that has a traditional restored old town area along Sharembayan Street, and the main commercial center further east.

I stayed at the Toon Armeni Guesthouse (Kamarini 4) which overlooked the upper town center, and was a 5-10 minute walk from most of Dilijan – pleasant simple rooms with a porch, a view over the valley and a good breakfast to set you up for a day’s walkabout.

You can move independently to/from Dilijan without needing a hire car. Minibuses depart to and from Dilijan center via the Yerevan North Bus Station and timings are online at the excellent https://t-armenia.com/en website. Alternatively, you can get a taxi one-way from central Yerevan for about $20. I used the YandexGo app, which was excellent for taxi rides of any distance, including around Dilijan. The app won’t take US/European credit cards, so you just pay the quoted cash amount. There are plenty of good restaurants in town – Haykanoush (Sharambeyan Street), run by the Tufenkian Foundation, is a good traditional bet, and the Kchuch Restaurant (Myasnikyan 37) has traditional Armenian stews and barbeque as well as pizza. The Carahunge Cafe (Kalinini 25) has a good Armenian menu and is one of the few places in town that’s also set up more as a bar/cafe.

A good local post-hike amenity is the Russian-style beer stand (look for the “пиво” sign) located close to the Mimino character statues (after the popular Soviet-era movie that had Armenian and Georgian lead characters) on the west side of the main roundabout. The staff are very friendly and while they usually sell in 1-liter containers for takeout, if you want to get some glasses to take to sit by the nearby boating lake, just ask. They have a range of typical Armenian lagers – Gyumri being the highest quality, as well as the excellent range of Dargett craft beers.

Memphis to the Sea – Part 1

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The United States is more a continental federation than a country. Mississippi is a different place to California. Rather like asking a Norwegian why Hungary is a certain way and expecting them to have a deep insight because they are all Europeans, it seemed to be a good time to get a bit smarter about other places and go visit fellow Americans down south.

THE ROUTE

Memphis, Tennessee was the start and finish point, with a counter-clockwise route following the Mississippi south to Vicksburg and Natchez, cornering at Lafayette, Louisiana, before stopping on the Gulf coast at Biloxi and Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Then up to Oxford, Mississippi and finally back to Memphis.

MEMPHIS

Memphis grew as a trading hub on the Mississippi River and as a large urban center for western Tennessee and the surrounding states.

It’s a mid-size town with many cultural identifiers as the center of the Memphis Blues, and the home of the Civil Rights Museum. Elvis lived here and a visit to Graceland is worth the 2-4 hours that the tour takes. You’ll really need a car though – the downtown is quite small and while Beale Street is worth a look as the cradle of the Memphis Blues, it’s been touristified and most other locations are a bit dispersed. I stayed east in the Midtown area. The airport is just 10 miles from the city center and easy to use. A few places to see include:

National Civil Rights Museum (450 Mulberry Street). Located on and built around the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King was assassinated in April 1968, this is well worth visiting to understand the civil rights struggle in the US.

It’s quite extensive and mostly focuses on the postwar period through to the 1970s, and you should allow at least 2 hours.

The museum features exhibits about the Green Book, a travel guide published in Harlem between 1936 and 1966 so that African-American travelers could avoid discrimination and violence, and find a welcome place along their journey.

Stax Museum of American Soul Music (926 E McLemore Avenue). Stax Records was the pre-eminent soul record label in the 1950s-1970s, and the museum explains how musicians in the Memphis area gathered in gospel, blues and country influences to produce a unique sound that complemented other regional sounds such as Motown and Nashville. The other major Memphis label, Sun Records, founded by Sam Phillips in 1952, was famous for discovering the likes of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, but moved to Nashville in 1969.

Graceland (Elvis Presley Boulevard). Elvis Presley’s mansion and accompanying personal aircraft. Allow at least two-three hours for the organized tours and book ahead online at https://www.graceland.com. You can also stay at the affiliated guesthouse for the full Elvis experience.

Eating Out. Not surprisingly BBQ and hot fried chicken are two staples worth checking out, although there are plenty of more contemporary takes on southern cooking.

Central BBQ – traditional local mini-chain, downtown (147 E Butler Avenue) and midtown (2249 Central Avenue).

Arnold’s BBQ and Grill (337 Madison Ave #2).

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken – classic fried chicken, in the midtown (596 Cooper Street).

Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken – one of the originals, downtown (310 S Front Street) is usually busier than the east Memphis (730 S Mendenhall Road) branches and both are excellent.

Craft Beer. Memphis has some good craft beer options, mostly around the downtown area.

Ghost River Brewery & Taproom (827 S Main St, Memphis, TN 38106)

High Cotton Brewing Company (598 Monroe Avenue)

Memphis Made Brewing Co. (768 Cooper St), located in the Cooper-Young district.

Wiseacre Brewing Company (main taproom at 398 South B.B. King Boulevard and also for East Memphis at 2783 Broad Avenue).

The Mississippi Delta Cottonfield Country

Driving south towards Vicksburg along the east side of the Mississippi, you’ll pass through cottonfield areas – requiring substantial irrigation hence their location close to the river – that are now industrial farms. This was a major center of the slaver agricultural economy and to this day, towns like Clarksdale and Greenfield are still quite poor – Mississippi takes turns with West Virginia to have the lowest average per capita income in the Union. This is also the home of many blues and gospel artists and Clarksdale is worth a stop to see the Delta Blues Museum (1 Blues Alley, Clarksdale) and take a wander round.

The center has a rundown air to it, common to many smaller towns that peaked in the postwar period but then depopulated or suburbanized. Clarksdale and the surrounding area saw substantial outward migration as agriculture mechanized in the mid-20th century and urban centers such as Chicago offered better opportunities.

There are various memorials to musicians, such as Sam Cooke, who grew up here but left, or Ike Turner, who was also a local DJ, as well as the infamous but now workaday crossroads (North State Street and Desoto Avenue) where Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his musical talent. The Mississippi Blues Trail website is worth visiting to see who did what and where: http://www.msbluestrail.org/delta

Abe’s Bar-B-Q is located on the southeast side of the crossroads at 616 N State if you’re there around lunchtime. A good place to stay is the historical Riverside Hotel, which as an African-American owned hotel accommodated many musicians in the day. http://www.riversideclarksdale.com

Vicksburg

Vicksburg, located on a hilly overlook of the intersection between the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers, is a good place to stay for a day, and a visit to the Civil War battlefield park just east of the city is well worth it. A major market center for the cotton economy, it was fortified by the Confederacy and heavily shelled during siege by Union forces in 1863. Subsequently rebuilt with a residential and downtown core from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it’s walkable and attractive. You’ll find a set of historical buildings in town, including the 1863 siege headquarters of the Confederate General Pemberton (1018 Crawford Street) and the postwar railroad terminal (1010 Levee Street), by the river, also the site of the local battlefield museum (http://www.vicksburgbattlefieldmuseum.net).

Washington Street has most of what you need for an evening out, including craft beer (Cottonwood Public House, 1311 Washington) and few southern cooking options (Rusty’s Riverfront Grill, 901 Washington and 10 South Rooftop Bar & Grill, 1301 Washington). I stayed at the Duff Green Mansion (1114 1st E Street), which has a preserved antebellum-era interior.

The Vicksburg National Military Park (3201 Clay Street https://www.nps.gov/vick/index.htm), just east of the city, covers most of the battlefield sites of the Union attack and siege of Confederate Vicksburg in 1863. Grant’s first major victory, the conquest of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, robbed the Confederacy of control of the Mississippi River and split the southern states apart. Founded in 1899, the park covers specific battle sites and fortifications are identified, along with monuments installed by States and veterans of both sides after the war.

The Confederate monuments – mostly installed at the turn of the 19th century – are oblivious to the misery that slavery caused, or the fact of their treason. The park is best accessed by car and there are parking areas along the route so that you can get out and walk the main areas. You can also download the battlefield app (https://www.battlefields.org/visit/mobile-apps/vicksburg-battle-app) which supplements the rather handy park map.

The battlefield’s preservation less than 40 years after events kept many of the features from development and you can understand what it must have been like to make a frontal attack on a well-entrenched enemy.

You’ll enhance your experience and help the park if you hire a guide via the park website. It’s worth seeing the USS Cairo (3201 Clay Street), a recovered and partially restored Union Navy steam-powered ironclad that bombarded Vicksburg and is now housed in an open air shelter.

Vicksburg is surrounded by other smaller battlefield memorials. The campaign consisted of multiple attempts to force the city, including the futile Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, where General Sherman’s force of 9,000 attacked from a bayou against a Confederate fortification and were thrown back with heavy loss of life. Port Gibson, about 20 miles south of Vicksburg, was the scene of a holding action by the Confederates as the Union forces advanced north from their landing grounds.

Natchez

Natchez was founded in 1716 as a French fort and trading post on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi. It was the southern river hub for the Natchez Trace, a trail that linked the Mississippi with settled colonial-era regions in the southeast, that ran through to Nashville.

Natchez grew as a port and urban center for the Southern agricultural economy and is dotted with former slaveholder mansions. It surrendered in 1862 and avoided the damage inflicted on Vicksburg. Today Natchez is a sedate, well-preserved Victorian-era town, although the lower town on the banks of the river once had a seedy dockside reputation.

There are a couple of decent bar/restaurants, including The Camp, which has a good food and craft beer menu, and the more atmospheric Under-the-Hill Saloon (21 and 25 Silver Street). The Natchez Brewing Company in the main town (207 High Street) is worth a visit for local beer.

Natchez is a good overnight stop; as with many southern towns, there was a violent civil rights struggle in the 1950s and 1960s, that is memorialized outside the City Hall and in the Museum of African-American Culture (301 Main Street). There are various preserved antebellum homes in town and a city trail that overlooks the river. I stayed at the Guest House Mansion Inn (401 Franklin Street).

Aero Trekka

The World Has Many Corners, Let's Go See Them

Four Cornered

Cusco a Go Go

Slow Train to the (Once) Lost Inca City

Yerevan: Armenia’s Garden City

Armenia: Up North and a Turn West

Armenia: Silk Road Passes, Mongols and MiGs

Down South: Armenia’s Mountain Highway

Yeghegnadzor: Armenian Highlands, Hilltop Fortresses and Wine

Armenia: Hiking the Caucasus

Memphis to the Sea – Part 1