Shirak Guidebook
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Wuthering Heights of Shirak -the Land of Steppe and Sky YYerevanerevan 22013013 1 Facts About Shirak FOREWORD Mix up the vast open spaces of the Shirak steppe, the wuthering wind that sweeps through its heights, the snowcapped tops of Mt. Aragats and the dramatic gorges and sparkling lakes of Akhurian River. Sprinkle in the white sheep fl ocks and the cry of an eagle. Add churches, mysterious Urartian ruins, abundant wildlife and unique architecture. Th en top it all off with a turbulent history, Gyumri’s joi de vivre and Gurdjieff ’s mystical teaching, revealing a truly magnifi cent region fi lled with experi- ences to last you a lifetime. However, don’t be deceived that merely seeing all these highlights will give you a complete picture of what Shirak really is. Dig deeper and you’ll be surprised to fi nd that your fondest memories will most likely lie with the locals themselves. You’ll eas- ily be touched by these proud, witt y, and legendarily hospitable people, even if you cannot speak their language. Only when you meet its remarkable people will you understand this land and its powerful energy which emanates from their sculptures, paintings, music and poetry. Visiting the province takes creativity and imagination, as the tourist industry is at best ‘nascent’. A great deal of the current tourist fl ow consists of Diasporan Armenians seeking the opportunity to make personal contributions to their historic homeland, along with a few scatt ered independent travelers. Although there are some rural “rest- places” and picnic areas, they cater mainly to locals who want to unwind with hearty feasts and family chats, thus rarely providing any activities. So where to go, then? Finally putt ing its post-earthquake economic stagnation behind, Gyumri will thrill you with its Belle Époque center, lively art scene and delicious cuisine. On the other hand, just a ten minute drive can show you an entirely diff erent world: slow paced villages clad in dust, herds of catt le that wander aimlessly across the roads and groups of children gathered to see the “stranger” who has wandered into their territory. Are you an outdoorsy and adventurous person? If so then consider a visit to the North. With its magnifi cent landscapes and pristine nature, the area is a perfect destination for horseback riding, long-distance cycling or hiking, or more leisurely activities such as bird watching, fi shing or camping out under a sprawling mass of stars. Are you eager to experience culture? Th en head south, where every step will unfold another page of Shirak’s glorious past. Th is brochure has no pretensions to be an exhaustive guidebook about Shirak. Its objectives are rather to present the basic facts about its nature, history and culture, along with accommodation options and other practicalities, and to propose new itin- eraries and trails. Moreover, its primary goal is to boost your imagination and inspire you to take a step forward and explore the region from your own viewpoint. 2 3 marshes along the Akhurian River. Local breeding avifauna is particularly notable for the diversity of birds associated with wetlands and mountain meadows. Th e national park is a habitat for 89 species of butt erfl ies and about 700 species of vascular plants, including a number of endemics of the Caucasus and Armenia. Many of these are very ornamental: orchids, gladiolus species, poppies and many others. In addition, Arpi Lake National Park is the only habitat of Darevsky’s viper in the world. Th e best time to visit during the breeding season is mid-April to late June, while visits in late August to late October would be particularly rewarding for observing raptor migration. HHIGHLIGHTSIGHLIGHTS OOFF SSHIRAHIRA K NNaturalatural HeritageHeritage Th e nnaturalatural assetsassets ooff SShirakhirak iincludenclude somesome fantasfantastticic placesplaces ttoo vvisit,isit, eexplorexplore aandnd ddis-is- ccover.over. SShirakhirak ooffff eersrs pplentylenty ooff sscopecope fforor llightight hhikingiking aandnd bbackpackingackpacking ttrips.rips. Th eerere aarere ggoodood pathspaths aroundaround ArpiArpi Lake,Lake, thethe AkhurianAkhurian RiverRiver Gorge,Gorge, JavaqhJavaqh andand BazumiBazumi Ridges,Ridges, aandnd a mmoreore sstrenuoustrenuous hhikeike ttoo tthehe ttopop ooff MMt.t. AAragats.ragats. EEcotourismcotourism aandnd rruralural ttourismourism aarere ppossibleossible iinn AArpirpi LLakeake NNationalational ParkPark andand aroundaround thethe TrchkhanTrchkhan waterfall,waterfall, wherewhere vvisitorsisitors cancan eexplorexplore nnatureature bbyy hhiking,iking, ccyclingycling aandnd hhorse-backorse-back rriding.iding. LLoversovers ooff bbirdird wwatchingatching aandnd ootherther wwildlifeildlife oobservationbservation wwillill bbee tthrilledhrilled iinn AArpirpi LLakeake NNationalational PPark,ark, wwherehere mmanyany rrareare sspeciespecies ooff fl o roraa a nandd f afaunauna c acann b ebe s pspottott eed.d. WWinterinter aactivitiesctivities iincludenclude ccross-countryross-country sskiing,kiing, ssnow-shoeingnow-shoeing aandnd ssledging.ledging. SSnowmobilingnowmobiling ccanan aalsolso bbee pprac-rac- tticediced allall aroundaround thethe province,province, thoughthough iitt iiss fforbiddenorbidden withinwithin thethe bordersborders ooff AArpirpi LakeLake NNationalational Park.Park. 02. Trchkan waterfall 001.1. ArpiArpi LakeLake NNationalational PParkark Th e Trchkan waterfall, called the “Armenian Niagara”, with its 23 m long drop is Th e AArpirpi LakeLake NationalNational ParkPark isis locatedlocated toto thethe northnorth ofof Shirak,Shirak, nextnext toto thethe the highest in the country. Th e waterfall, which is on the Armenian Government’s bborderorder wwithith GGeorgiaeorgia andand TTurkey.urkey. ItIt waswas establishedestablished iinn 22009009 oonn aann aarearea ooff 2211791179 list of natural monuments, is located on the right bank of the Chichkhan River’s hhectares.ectares. Th e Javakhq-ShirakJavakhq-Shirak ecosystemecosystem withwith itsits mountainmountain steppes,steppes, ssub-alpineub-alpine Trchkan tributary at 1786 m above sea level. Surrounded by the beautiful Bazumi ggrasslands,rasslands, aass wwellell aas,s, llakesakes aandnd wwetlandsetlands iiss uuniquenique ttoo tthehe CCaucasusaucasus eeco-region.co-region. Mountains, it is situated on the border with Lori Province, approximately 33 km AArpirpi LakeLake isis alsoalso deemeddeemed ttoo bebe a sitesite ofof “international“international importance”importance” uundernder tthehe away from Gyumri. Th e river Chichkhan is rich in trout which swim upstream RRamsaramsar CConvention.onvention. Th e ecosystemecosystem iiss rrecognizedecognized asas a globallyglobally importantimportant stagingstaging during the reproductive season. According to a local story, one day the villagers aandnd bbreedingreeding ggroundround forfor migratorymigratory andand rresidentesident bbirdird sspecies,pecies, ooff wwhichhich sseveraleveral aarere noticed the fi sh swimming upstream of the river and jumping over the waterfall. llistedisted aass endangeredendangered iinn tthehe IIUCNUCN RReded DDataata BBook.ook. SSoo ffar,ar, mmoreore tthanhan 119090 bbirdird sspe-pe- Th at is why they named it “Trchkan” which in Armenian means “jumping”. Th e cciesies hhaveave bbeeneen rrecordedecorded iinn tthehe aarea,rea, ooff wwhichhich aaboutbout 112020 aarere bbreedingreeding iinn tthehe ppark.ark. waterfall’s area is composed of sand stones, lime-stones, and tuff conglomerates Th e lakelake iiss tthehe habitathabitat forfor thethe biggestbiggest colonycolony ofof thethe ArmenianArmenian GullGull (Larus(Larus arme-arme- of the Eocene Epoch. Diff erent kinds of unique plants and birds registered in the nniacus)iacus) iinn tthehe wworldorld andand tthehe oonlynly bbreedingreeding sitesite ofof thethe DalmatianDalmatian PPelicanelican ((Peli-Peli- Red Data Book can be found in its surroundings. ccanusanus ccrispus)rispus) inin Armenia.Armenia. SomeSome endangeredendangered sspeciespecies tthathat aarere rregularlyegularly sseeneen iinn tthehe Recently, the waterfall was endangered by the construction of a hydro-electric pparkark iincludenclude tthehe CornCorn CrakeCrake (Crex(Crex crex),crex), BlackBlack StorkStork (Ciconia(Ciconia nnigra),igra), CCommonommon station on the Chichkhan River. A civil initiative named “Let’s Save Trchkan Wa- SShelduckhelduck (Tadorna(Tadorna ttadorna)adorna) aandnd CCommonommon CraneCrane (Grus(Grus grus).grus). MigrantMigrant wwater-ater- terfall”, supported by many ecological organizations, succeeded to stop the con- bbirdsirds couldcould bebe foundfound atat thethe north-easternnorth-eastern andand westernwestern shoresshores ofof ArpiArpi Lake,Lake, wherewhere struction. Finally, the Government of RA adopted a special protective territory ttheyhey gathergather oonn mmudfludfl a tats,s, s hshoals,oals, a nandd o non t hthee i sislandslands o fof t hthee l alake,ke, a sas w ewellll a sas a raroundound with the aim of providing appropriate protection. 4 5 03. Akhurian River Gorge Cultural Heritage AAss iitt passespasses tthroughhrough tthehe pprovince,rovince, tthehe AAkhu-khu- rrianian RRiveriver ccreatesreates sseveraleveral iinterestingnteresting gorges.gorges. With more than 2500 registered cultural monuments, it can be inferred that there Th e mostmost sspectacularpectacular ppartsarts llieie nnorthorth ooff AAmasia,masia, are pieces of history found all over the province. Shirak has a very rich cultural heri- aaroundround VVahramaberdahramaberd vvillageillage aandnd ssouthouth ooff tthehe tage,