Posts

Posted on

Get out of Yerevan with an Easy Half-Day Cycling Trip to Jrvezh Forest Park

two people walking behind grass

Considering that Yerevan is a rather dry city spotted with some tiny to small-sized parks here and there, it is extremely nice to have a bigger green zone in the vicinity that can make you disconnect.

Jrvezh Forest Park is located 10km east from downtown Yerevan. While jrvezh means waterfall in Armenian, mind that you won’t see any waterfalls here, however you will find yourself among pine, juniper and many other tree species some of which are included in the Red Book.

Getting to the park and the territory

two bikes on top of the park
View from the top on a foggy day

To get to the park you can obviously just cycle to it, however I personally don’t like the road (especially Myasnikyan Ave. or M4 part) that goes there as the busy traffic makes it very dirty (think of all the exhaust gases you breath in as you climb) and prefer to take a trolleybus. Trolleybuses are still functioning in Yerevan as of winter 2022 and are the only public transport that I find convenient to take my bicycle on. Trolleybus number #1 will take you from the downtown to outside of the city, just 2km away from the entrance (see the pic below).

The territory of the park may look bigger on the map, however note that only the part in the circle is covered with the forest. The main entrance/exit is shown with an arrow at the top. You can also enter/exit the park from a more eastern gate, however beware of the dogs that will likely be there to guard the area. If you can spot a human, it’s the best. Otherwise make sure that the dogs are chained.

Distance from the trolley stop to the park entrance
Map of the Jrvezh Forest Park

On the map above there is one car road that is marked in solid white colour and more walking paths. Even if you may need to walk some of them, these are really nice. Close to the main entrance there is a small lake where people have picnics or skate in winter. But my favourite part is to cycle or walk to the very top of the park where you can get views on the surrounding valleys and mountains and have a picnic.

Please, don’t step outside of the designated paths as there are all kinds of rare species both plants and species that you don’t want to disturb.

wild camomile flowers

Practical Info

  • Type: round trip
  • Length: 18km (starting from the trolley stop)
  • Climb: 200m (or 600 without the trolley)
  • Altitude: 1020-1610m
  • Surface: asphalt (forest roads optional)
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Sightseeing: Jrvezh Forest Park, Jrvezh Lake
  • Food: bring a picnic, no shops inside the Park but there are shops along the highway
  • Drink: no public water sources inside the Park
  • Best season: year-round
  • Link to Komoot Tour (winter)
lake
forest path
inside the park
a butterfly
pistachio tree close-up
a bug on a finger
Posted on

Cycling to the Symphony of Stones in Garni

Yeranos mountains

The well-known highlights of this cycling trip are the Temple of Garni and the Symphony of Stones. However, I would also add to them the views of Yeranos mountain which are spectacular especially towards the sunset when the mountain ridge starts to reflect all colors of pink.

Getting up early as always, we have started the day from Yerevan’s city center, climbing to Nork (Masiv) district. To skip a part of the main road to Garni, we took a smaller one going around Nork with much less traffic. Even though it’s only a few kilometres, I still like to take those breaks from busy traffic. Getting back to the main road we continued climbing towards Jrvezh and Garni.

At some point you will be wondering how can this be the main road full of shops, parked cars and people crossing it spontaneously. Welcome to Armenia where highways might just be one lane roads!

If you feel like adding another 100 meters of climb into your day, make a loop of Jrvezh Forest Park. It will surprise you with its small but well maintained green areas.

Tip: we also tried getting out of the park through another entrance further along the road instead of making a loop. It’s possible, but be ready to meet dogs that are guarding the entrance. A nicer human might come out to calm them down.

Celebrate reaching the highest point of the day at Charents’ Arch.

Charents' Arch

Everyone calls it Charents’ Arch even though it’s the unofficial name. Famous lines from Armenian writer Charents’ poem about Ararat are carved into the arch. On a clear day you can see Mount Ararat very well from here.

From here you will quickly reach the Temple of Garni. It’s the only pagan temple that survived in Armenia. Destroyed by an earthquake, it was restored to its current look in the 20th century using mostly original stones. There is also a nice viewpoint on the gorge from here.

Garni Temple
Temple of Garni, originally built in 1-2 century AD

A bit further down the village from the temple you will find a road leading down the gorge towards the famous Symphony of Stones. As with all wonders of nature, it doesn’t matter how many times you have seen them – it still is a wonder!

basalt columns with two cyclists in front
Spectacular view as soon as you descend into the gorge

When you feel like you have taken in all the views, there are basically two options – to return the same way you came in or to continue down the gorge. We chose the second option. It’s a pretty road, you will see many private properties on the left at the riverbank, many of them – just fenced green areas where locals go to relax.

Cycling through Azat gorge
Cycling through the Azat river gorge

The only downside is that getting out of the gorge means climbing up a steep shadowless broken road, although it’s only some 20-30 minutes so you will get over it quickly. From here it’s a very nice downhill road towards the Azat reservoir with Yeranos mountains on the left. But don’t relax too much since you still need to climb a few hundreds to get back to Yerevan 🙂

Views on mountains
These mountains will make you will like on a different planet

All in all, it’s a very nice day trip from Yerevan. I would not recommend it for beginners as it requires quite some climbing but if you are in good shape – go for it and you won’t regret it!

Practical Info

Route
Elevation Profile
  • Type: round trip
  • Length: 79km
  • Climb: 1490m
  • Altitude: 990-1670m
  • Surface: mostly asphalt (destroyed in some parts) + dirt road
  • Difficulty: hard
  • Sightseeing: Garni Temple, Symphony of Stones, Azat river gorge, Yeranos Mountain
  • Food: plenty of options until Garni
  • Drink: public water sources are available along the way; when in doubt – ask locals
  • Best season: spring, autumn
  • Link to Komoot Tour
View on Azat gorge
Basalt columns
Basalt columns
rest area
reflection in a mirror
view when going out of the gorge
countryside road
View of Ararat at dawn
Cyclist at dawn

Posted on

Cycling Around Mount Ara in Armenia

Luckily we have plenty of mountains in Armenia for all those who like to go around a mountain. Last week we ventured to cycle around mount Hatis and that was a beautiful ride! So we decided to try out another route, this time around Mount Ara.

The mountain is a bit of a legend itself. It’s said to be where Ara the Handsome situated his troops when fighting with the Assyrian queen Semiramis. The shape of the mountain resembles Ara’s profile with nose sticking out as the most prominent piece. If not the clouds, you could see that for yourself, but I am afraid you will have to cycle there to see it.

Mount Ara from far away
Mount Ara with its nose in the clouds, as seen from Ashtarak highway

As you can see on the map below we have made the journey from left to right with the idea to make the highway piece in the early morning before the traffic hits the road. This would still be fine if not for an off-road segment that you have to go uphill this way. It starts right when you are on the mountain slopes and start circling it. So I think going downhill would make it a lot more enjoyable and would rather turn the journey around. That way you will have an excellent asphalt until the northern point of the route where Yernjatap village is. Only after the next village/summer house place the asphalt will disappear but you will be going downhill and that should be fun.

Practical Info

  • Route on the map
    Route
  • Elevation profile
    Elevation Profile
  • Type: round trip
  • Length: 89km
  • Climb: 1260m
  • Altitude: 1030-1930m
  • Surface: mostly asphalt (destroyed in some parts) + an off-road segment
  • Difficulty: medium-hard
  • Sightseeing: Mount Ara, Kasagh river gorge
  • Food: there are a few villages on the way, but it’s best to stock up before leaving the village of Nor Erznka
  • Drink: public water sources are available along the way; when in doubt – ask locals
  • Best season: year-round but take care of the off-road segment as it can get very muddy after the rain
  • Link to Komoot Tour
Gravel road with big puddles
First signs of mud and ever lasting clouds above our heads

If you like overnight trips with camping, this spot below was quite spectacular. It’s right before you enter (or exit if you choose to ride vice-versa) the summerhouses. On the photo below, Mount Ara is on my right, ahead and to the left is the beautiful gorge of Kasagh river and ahead are Tsaghkunyats Mountains.

View on a village and a gorge
The most beautiful spot of the journey! (photo by Aram H.)
Two cyclists looking ahead
On the edge of a quick downhill before the big climb (photo by Aram H.)

The second part of the journey is nothing but enjoying the wind and the scenery and hitting the breaks from time to time. The road in either direction will pass through several villages so you can buy something to eat and get fresh water.

All in all, it’s an excellent day trip or a weekend overnight trip for any medium-level cyclist. As always, I recommend leaving early in order to complete the climb before it gets hot, plan your stops well and enjoy the views.

Two cyclists posing for the camera
In the middle of enjoying a 40km downhill ! (photo by Aram H.)
Old Lada car turns towards a village
Old Lada car turns towards Buzhakan village. In the background are Tsaghkunyats Mountains
Posted on

Around Mount Hatis – Picturesque Cycling Trip from Yerevan

Cyclist as seen riding through flowers

Mount Hatis is located in Kotayk region just 30 km away from Yerevan. It’s a popular destination for hikers in Armenia and one of the oldest hiking groups is called after it. Hatis is 2528m high, however this biking route takes you as high as 2060m. The tour uses a minimal amount of the main roads and if departing early morning (we left at 6am) before the car traffic starts, there is a good chance you will have very little interaction with it. Leaving early also allows to skip climbing during the hottest hours of the day if you are doing this tour in summer season.

The first part of the trip is really about getting out of the city through Nor-Nork or ‘Masiv’ district and towards Abovyan city. From here you will be cycling through little nice villages. After passing the village of Kotayk, the climb will become more steep. Take it easy as this is the last really hard part today.

As you finish your climb, you also reach a village of the same name – Hatis. Plan to have a good break here. Ask locals where the water source is (or look at the map, link below) and enjoy your lunch here. The ice cold water comes right from the top and is truly rejuvenating.

Mount Hatis is located just before the main ridge of Gegham mountains which means that you will be looking at them after you leave Hatis village and head back. The road here is in much worse condition which is a good reason to slow down and enjoy the scenery.

Practical Info

  • Komoot map of the tour
    Map
  • Elevation profile of the tour
    Elevation profile
  • Type: round trip
  • Length: 73.5km
  • Climb: 1300m
  • Altitude: 1020-2060m
  • Surface: mostly asphalt (destroyed in some parts)
  • Difficulty: medium-hard
  • Sightseeing: Kaptavank Church in Kaputan, Mount Hatis
  • Food: have a picnic near the mountain source in Hatis village. There is a small shop in every village you pass.
  • Drink: plenty of villages to ride along, plenty of public sources are available
  • Best season: year-round, but spring and early summer will surprise you with flowers
  • Link to Komoot Tour
flower fields
Flower fields before reaching Hatis village
Mount Hatis and three cyclists in front of in
Mount Hatis in the background
  • rest place
  • old road through fields
Left: picnic place near Hatis village Right: damaged road after Hatis village
Posted on

Beginner Cycling Trips From Yerevan

View on Mount Ara and Mount Aragats from top of the Jrvezh Forest Park

Very often we want to go on an easy relaxing ride or there is a beginner in the group and we need to make it a relatively painless first trip. But it just happened so that Yerevan is surrounded by mountains on most of its ends with only 1/4th of the circle around the city being flat. So here are a few easy to medium routes that you can take from Yerevan.

To the South

Cycling to the south from Yerevan is the easiest thing to do. It’s both flat and there is both a highway with a wide shoulder and a secondary road parallel to the highway. So depending what is more comfortable for you and your companions you can choose to combine those two. I always recommend to take the highway going out and the secondary road on the way back.

You can cycle as far as you want however I recommend those three destinations:

Khor Virap Monastery
Relatively long ride to the Khor Virap Monastery where the famous Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned. Great views of Ararat Mountain.

Round Trip: 87km | Elevation Up: 270m

Read more about Khor Virap Monastery trip here.

Continue reading “Beginner Cycling Trips From Yerevan”