Sights in Vayots Dzor & Syunik
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Meghri Fortress
The Meghri fortress above the town dates mostly from the 18th century.
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Surp Hovannes
The brick domes of Surp Hovannes at the Meghri town monastery date from the 17th century.
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Vyats Dzor Regional Museum
The Vyats Dzor Regional Museum in the centre of town describes local history but is frequently closed.
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St Astvatsatsin
In the centre of the main part of town is the fine St Astvatsatsin church with a distinctive octagonal dome, built in the 17th century with later frescoes.
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Surp Sargis
There's also the Surp Sargis church across the river in Pokr Tagh, the smaller side of town, with two rows of columns and some delicately restored frescoes.
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Svarants
The scenery around Tatev is gorgeous and there is plenty of scope for short hikes. One trail leads to Svarants (population 100) a hamlet 30 minutes walk away on the other side of the valley.
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Petroskhatch Mountain
The scenery around Tatev is gorgeous and there is plenty of scope for short hikes. One trail heads north to the top of Petroskhatch mountain, 4km away from Tatev (the round-trip hike takes under three hours).
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City Historical Museum
The city historical museum is worth wandering into if you are killing time in Kapan and need to catch up on your Syunik regional history. Among the thousands of artefacts are 19th-century swords, carpets and kilims.
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Stone Shelter
The road to Tatev turns south of the main highway and reaches the northern edge of the gorge at Halidzor. Near the start of the descent is a gorgeous little cone-roofed stone shelter, at the end of a ridge; it's well worth stopping to look.
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Museum of History
Facing the park is the Museum of History, with some carpets and ethnographical displays beside maps and historical information, mostly labelled in Armenian with some English. It also has some interesting photos taken after an earthquake levelled the town in 1931.
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Karadaran Park
The Karadaran Park in town one block from Sisakan Poghots gathers together stone carvings from different millennia, with sarcophagi, phallus stones, ram stones and megaliths. You can spot the evolution of the pagan khatchkars to rough stone crosses and finally medieval Armenian khatchkars.
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Museum of Axel Bakounts
The Museum of Axel Bakounts is a typical Goris villa with stone walls and a veranda looking onto a courtyard. The museum was the home of writer Axel Bakounts (or Bakunts), who died in Stalin’s 1937 purges. It features his personal effects and furnishings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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Monastery of Arkaz
About 3.5km along the road from Tanahat Monastery leads to the Monastery of Arkaz. It is well-known for holding a piece of the True Cross under a stone marker in the back of the church. The church sees many visitors during the last two Sundays of October when locals arrive in droves to sacrifice animals after the harvest.
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Museum of Gladzor University
The Museum of Gladzor University in the village of Vernashen, 4km uphill from Yeghegnadzor. The museum has displays on monasteries across the country, plus old manuscripts and descriptions of Armenia’s various schools and universities. The museum is housed inside a 17th-century church called St Hagop.
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St. Ripsime Church
About 2km northwest of the avtokayan is the village of Verisheen, which houses the ancient St. Ripsime Church. The barrel vaulted structure saw restoration in 2007 and is believed to have been built on top of an old pagan temple. Continuing on the main road northwest you'll spot plenty of cave dwellings by the road.
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Gallery of Waters
Open to the public is the Gallery of Waters, with a façade of archways and a pleasant view. Water runs into stone urns from pipes set in the wall and the temperature of the water is printed next to its pipe. The various waters are said to have different properties, good for curing stomach and liver problems, heart disease and cancer.
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Surp Poghos-Petros
A steep climb up the south side of the Vorotan Canyon turns left before Tatev village. The great fortified monastery's main church of Surp Poghos-Petros was built by the bishops of Syunik in the 9th century to house important relics. There are faint signs of frescoes, intricate carvings and portraits of the main donors on the northern side.
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Old Goris
Locals say the cave shelters and stables of Old Goris carved into the hillside on the east side of town were built and inhabited in the 5th century. Several trails lead up over a saddle where there are more volcanic pinnacle clusters to explore. Many of the rooms are linked together and arched 'shelves' grace some walls. The caves are sometimes used to house cattle - watch your step.
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Museum of Ancient History
The Museum of Ancient History displays Bronze Age knives, traditional costumes, carpets and other locally found artefacts. The most unique item is a five-sided stone with carved faces that represent the sun, moon, water, earth and sky, believed to date back 4000 years. The museum is dimly lit and everything is labelled in Armenian, but it’s still worth a look.
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Surp Stepanos
The Museum of Gladzor University marks the end of the village and just past it is a T-junction. The road to the right winds for 6km to Tanahat Monastery. The impressive main Surp Stepanos church was built by the Orbelians. There are significant stone reliefs of animals on the exterior of the church, including the crest of the Orebelians (a bull and a lion) on the tambour. All around the church are ruins that once made up the actual site of Gladzor University.
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Surp Grigor
The 11th-century Surp Grigor church nestles next to Surp Poghos-Petros, and there's a masterfully miniaturised chapel above the gatehouse. The fortifications, added in the 17th century, have been restored and are full of dining halls, towers and libraries. At the monastery's peak some 600 monks lived and worked at Tatev, and national icon St Grigor Tatevatsi (St Gregory of Tatev, 1346-1409) is buried here.
In the monastery'scourtyard, look for the 8m octagonal pillar topped by a khatchkar. The 9th century monument is said to have predicted seismic activity (or the roar of hooves by approaching armies) by shifting.
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Sisavan Church
Originally built in the 6th century, Sisavan church was restored as recently as the 20th century. It combines an elegant square-cross floor with some striking sculptures of royal and ecclesiastical patrons inside and out. Inside there's a display of microsculptures by local artist Eduard Ter-Ghazaryan. Seen through a microscope, one features 17 images of the cross on a human hair coated with metal.
The road up from town passes a large Soviet war memorial with a Karabakh War monument - local men were some of the first to volunteer to join their kin over in the next mountain range when the war began, and paid a heavy price for it.
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Spitakavor
The Museum of Gladzor University marks the end of the village and just past it is a T-junction. The road to the left leads to Spitakavor monastery about 9km along a winding dirt track for vehicles or 5km along a more direct walking path. The road is rough so hiking is a good idea; just bring plenty of bottled water. To find the trail, walk through the village and carry on straight up the western bank of the gorge past a small dam on the river (ignore the vehicle road which switches back).
The 20th-century Armenian fighter Garegin Nzhdeh was buried at Spitakavor in 1983. He fought in the Balkan Wars and in WWI, went into exile and lobbied the Nazis to restore Armenian…
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Satan's Bridge
At the bottom of the Vorotan Canyon are mineral springs and Satan's Bridge. Legend tells that villagers fleeing to Tatev were blocked by the raging river. Before the invaders attacked, a bridge was magically created by a huge falling rock and the people were saved. The site includes two natural spring pools so bring a swimsuit. Just past the second pool is a steep slope that leads down to the river.
A rope and ladder are on hand to help you down, but it's very dicey and potentially dangerous as you are literally putting your life in the hands of the rope. A caretaker may be on hand to help you down - if he is not then just forget it. If you do make it safely down the…
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