ARMENIA - Travel Recommendation

My 16 days Caucasus countries trip ended in Armenia. It is not the easiest country of the Caucasus to visit as both its border with Azerbaijan and Turkey are closed. To my pleasant surprise, the world’s first Christian nation has more to offer than countless monasteries.

Even if you are not a big fan of monastery, many monasteries in Armenia are built in scenic natural sites which makes them well worth a visit. Below are some of the beautiful monasteries that I’ve been to in Armenia:

The Hill: Haghpat Monastery is the first monastery that I visited in Armenia. Just love the green hills and surrounding mountains here. Reminds me a little of “The Sound of Music” background, haha.



The Lake: Sevanavank Monastery offers the incredible view of Lake Sevan. The interesting historical background also sets it apart from the other monasteries.



Many Armenians love to spend their summer holiday around Lake Sevan.



The Cave: Geghard Monastery is founded at the site of a sacred spring inside a cave. It is said that the spear that pierced Christ on the Cross was housed here.



It is partly carved out of a mountain. That is pretty impressive.



Surprise, surprise. This Roman style temple is a pagan temple, which is totally different from the monasteries that I visited. Many people who visit Geghard Monastery also drop by Garni Temple since it is along the road.



The Mountain: Khor Virap is a must visit for a few obvious reasons. The main reason being it rest atop of a hill in Ararat Valley, which offers the best view of Mount Ararat! Secondly, it is where St. Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for 13 years and later caused the conversion of King Tiridates III and Armenia into the first Christian nation in the world.



This photo would have been postcard-worthy if not for the fact that Mount Ararat shied away from our sight that day. It all depends on one’s luck whether you’re able to see Mount Ararat or not.




Areni near Khor Virap is the birthplace of wine making. However I still prefer Georgian wine though. My advice is skip the Armenian wine and go for the Armenian brandy instead.



The Canyon: Noravank Monastery is my favourite monastery in Armenia. You’ll have to travel through Noravank Canyon to reach this remote monastery. Momik’s last masterpiece, the St. Astvatsatsin, is small yet beautiful.



The Ruins: Archaeological site of Zvartnots Cathedral is also well worth a visit. It would have been magnificent if the round cathedral was not destroyed and left in ruins.



Last but not least, the Etchmiadzin Complex. It is called the Armenian Vatican. The complex is very large, covering an area of 150,000m².



The Etchmiadzin Cathedral inside the complex was undergoing renovation when I visited. You can pay a fee to see the Holy Lance that pierced the side of Jesus inside.


Aside from the monasteries, there are also plenty museums to visit around Yerevan:

Armenian Genocide Museum & Memorial is the place to be if you want to find out more about the Armenian Genocide. Till this day, the Turks and Armenians remain in conflict over this subject.



Matenadaran (Institute of Ancient Manuscript) will delight any literature enthusiast. The collection of manuscript is massive and eye-opening.



But even if you’re not interested to visit any of the above museums, the History Museum of Armenia at Republic Square is not to be missed. The world’s oldest leather shoes found at Areni-1 Cave is exhibited inside the museum.



Mother Armenia monument in Victory Park is hard to miss while in Yerevan.



The Cascade is a modern park and art centre. The sculptures and art works collection here are comprehensive and one can easily spend hours admiring the art collection.



The tasting of award winning Ararat brandy is the best way to sample Armenian brandy.



The Republic Square is the heart of Yerevan city. It is intersected by several main streets which are Abovyan, Nalbandyan, Tigran Mets Avenue, Vazgen Sargsyan and Amiryan. Every night I explore different streets from Republic Square on foot.



The singing fountain in front of the History Museum of Armenia performed every night.


There are many ways to explore Yerevan city.

You can rent a bicycle.



You can take a mini-bus or bus like the locals.



Or take a taxi. But keep in mind, most taxi drivers do not speak or understand English. As a former Soviet country, Russian is the most widely spoken foreign language in Armenia.



Yerevan is relatively a safe city to explore. But like any other cities in the world, exercise common sense and caution as a tourist.



Car accident is common especially in the city. There were numerous minor accident that I saw in Yerevan.



Gata (Armenian sweet bread) and lavash (dried fruit sheet) remained one of the most memorable food that I tasted in Armenia. I bought them at the stalls outside Geghard Monastery which couldn’t be found anywhere else.



Of course, Yerevan city has plenty restaurants and cafes.



Shawarma.








Tavern Armenian is a good place to sample Armenian food. They even have some Armenian dance performance during dinner time.




And the gelato is cheap, only 500 – 650 dram per scoop. A perfect dessert after meal.



Want to try local beer? Kilikia beer is one of the five beers brewed in Armenia.



We stayed four nights in Yerevan in Hotel Erebuni which is a 4-star hotel.



It is located strategically next to the Republic Square! Highly recommended for its location, modern and clean room





Spacious room for us.



The hotel breakfast was fine, but nothing fancy and can be quite repetitive.



Hotel Erebuni reception area.









Hotel Erebuni also arranges tour packages around and outside Yerevan city.



The Vernissage is not too far off from Republic Square. It is an open air flea market which is the best place to buy souvenir. Best to walk there from Republic Square if you can because the traffic congestion is bad around the area.



You can find handicraft souvenirs…



Wooden items…



And paintings…



There is another flea market for shoes, clothing and electronic items where the locals frequent. You can haggle for the best price here.






Mostly, the things here comes from either Turkey or China..



I bought a pair of ankle boots here for 10,000 dram, about USD 25 then.



Fashionista won’t be disappointed as there are plenty of boutiques in Yerevan.






Bought another pair of boots here at Uno Shoes. This time, it’s even cheaper.



Guess how much this pair of boots cost me? Only 7,500 dram, less than USD 20, can you believe it?



I wore it on the next day. Haha.



Northern Avenue has many posh and up-scale brand boutiques.







Can you see Mount Ararat in this photo? We have no luck to have a clear view of it during our entire stay in Armenia.



Last but not least, don’t forget to visit the Arenia Cave-1. Seen here together with my beau is Tigran from Tigran Tour. You can check out his website at www.tigrantour.com and he can be contacted at tigran.tour@mail.ru. Tigran was our tour guide for the whole duration of our stay in Armenia.



Zvartnots International Airport located 10km away from Yerevan is the main airport of Armenia.



A large billboard advertisement of the Ararat brandy in the airport. Well, at least I’ve tasted it before leaving Armenia.



We flew back to Doha, Qatar by Air Arabia which is a famous low cost airline in the Middle East. It was a short flight so I don’t really mind that meals are excluded. However I did bought a bottle of water during the flight.

Overall, the Caucasus countries trip is a trip that I’ll remember for a long time.