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.
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.
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!
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.
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 
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
- 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
