® TourArmenia Travel Guide Highlights TAVUSH marz TAVUSH MAP (p. 70) To the north is the (now dormant) industrial town î³íáõß Ù³ñ½ DILIJAN MAP (p. 13) of Noyemberian, in the Koghb riverbed. Nearby IJEVAN MAP (p. 34) are the amazing Koghb monastery and some • Visit Dilijan and walk its leafy streets important archeological excavations, plus the road BERD MAP (p. 43) and Old World houses (p. 6) to Georgia and Tbilisi. In the south is the resort By Rick Ney NOYEMBERIAN MAP (p. 63) town of Dilijan, dubbed Armenia’s Little Maps by Rafael Torossian • Sample a bottle or two of the excellent Switzerland” by the Soviet Tourist board, and in Edited by Bella Karapetian wine at Ijevan Winery (p. 24) Note about pronunciation: we transcribe words this case the proletariat got it right. Houses boast using local dialect, and substitute “i” for “y” as in • Travel the Shamshadin region, wooden lattice trim and balustrades with a Sarigiugh instead of Sarigyugh. “p.” stands for TABLE OF CONTENTS Armenia’s “Shangri La” with forests, uniquely Tavush design in the stonework. The poghots (street), ‘pts.’ For poghotsner (streets), mountains and medieval castles at center holds Ijevan, a second resort area and ‘pta.’ For poghota (avenue). INTRODUCTION (p. 1) Berd (p. 29), Artsvaberd (p. 32), favorite summer camp area during Soviet times. Kirants (p. 42) and Berdavan (p. 48) Ijevan is the gateway to the East, over the high NATURE (p. 2) Note: GPS coordinates are in decimal degrees (DD) DO (p. 3) Sarum and Tsaghkut mountain passes into the Latitude x Longitude. Elevation (elev.) is in meters. • Visit Goshavank, founded by 13th c incredible, wild, Tavush mountain valleys and WHEN? (p. 3) Population counts (pop.) are estimates for 7 km historian, mathematician and scientist Shamshadin, Armenia’s “Shangri La”. All the How Long radius from place and due to ongoing migrations Mkhitar Gosh (p. 15) towns in this region ramble up and down wooded the numbers are not exact. hills, you are never far from solitude and nature. • Visit the 13th c. forest monastery at HISTORY (p. 3) Haghartsin, with its royal banqueting Prehistoric Age Border closures: Due to the continuing conflict Like Lori a part of the Gugark Kingdom, from the over Karabakh Tavush’s border area nearest hall (p. 14) Copper and Bronze Ages beginning the area was known as the “middle Azerbaijan may be blocked to visitors when you Urartian, Roman eras • Visit the extraordinary Bronze Age to land” (middle earth may be more to the truth), are traveling. Though the entire marz is normally Early Christian Era – Middle Ages 13th c sites at Makaravank (p. 40) craved for its natural resources and as a buffer open and a truce between both countries has been zone between Armenia and its eastern enemies. The Georgian Kingdom in effect since 1995, there have been border • See the Koghb monastery near Castles and fortresses from the Bronze Age 19th Century incidents, the latest in 2005 when villagers from Noyemberian (p. 46) forward dot the landscape, especially in the east. Genocide & First Republic one side ran over to the other and attacked locals. A domain for the Armenian kings and princes The Soviet Period Most destinations are far from this area and safe • Hike the woods around Dilijan (p. 8) & (Mamikonian, Bagratuni, Zakarian, Orbeli) as well Earthquake and Second Republic from incidents like this but caution is necessary, Ijevan (p. 23) as the Kings of Georgia, Tavush has traces of each Tavush Now and you must not risk visiting the near border if epoch of its history indelibly carved into its incidents have occurred while you are here. Ask • Roam the Aghstev (p. 19), Tavush (p. mountains and valleys. your guide or authorities first. 31) and Khndzorut (p. 33) Rivers, IN AND OUT (p.6 ) explore their caves (p. 6), soak in their OVERNIGHT / EAT (p. 6) natural springs (p. 2) The capital of the region is Ijevan, in a valley with woodlands and vineyards, and is home to Ijevan INTRODUCTION Tavush lies in the Northeast of Armenia, and is • Climb Mts. Hovik, Ijevan, Pahakn, and Winery, one of the most successful wineries in the DESTINATIONS (p. 7) considered by many its most remote area. A tiny Jilis in the west, Mts. Itsakar, Murghuz, country. NATURE TOURING (p. 7) portion of the North-South corridor from Georgia Metsial and Petrosi ala in the south (p. Nature-Adventure Tour Operators to Iran passes through the far NW end of the 5) Archeological Tour Operators marz, leaving the rest to be served by rugged mountain roads (read: pot-holed or rutted dirt • Drive up Mt. Murghuz to Gegharkunik marz and Lake Sevan (p. 28) DILIJAN (p. 9) paths) into its mountain hamlets. The rest is AROUND DILIJAN (p. 19) hemmed in by the Virahaiyots, Gugarats and • Travel up the Sevkar pass to Arekelots Miapor mountains and the tributaries of the Kura (p. 43) and Noyemberian (p. 44) EXPLORING THE REGION (p. 27) River flowing to the Azerbaijan border to the east. • Explore the extraordinary Yenokavan TRIP 1: DILIJAN TO IJEVAN (p. 27) The marz is a folded mountainscape, with heavily gorge and the Anapat caves (p. 21) - Ijevan (p. 31) forested mountains plunging into canyons and TRIP 2: IJEVAN EAST (p. 38) white-water rivers coursing through the region. • Jeep up the Samson ravine to Kirants, - Berd (p. 41) Forests give way to mountain meadows and a cool, Samson, Deghdznut Vank and TRIP 3: SHAMSHADIN (p. 45) crisp landscape of wild flowers and eagles in the Noyemberian (p.21) upper elevations, and some of Armenia’s mildest TRIP 4: IJEVAN NORTH (p. 53) • Travel to Tbilisi (93 km) via weather in the lower elevations, with plenty of - Noyemberian (p. 62) Noyemberian (p. 44) and the border snow in the winter and moist, cool summers. Fog TRIP 5: AROUND NOYEMBERIAN (p. 65) post at Bagratashen (p. 49) often envelops the mountains in the early morning hours, giving a haunting, comforting feel to the RESOURCES (p. 68) landscape. Tavush Marz: page 1 of 72 - TourArmenia © 2007 Rick Ney ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - www.TACentral.com ® TourArmenia Travel Guide and Koghb Rivers, each of which feed the Kura (Pyrus takhtadzianii Fed.), Ficus (Ficus carica L.), mineral and thermal springs) supported a thriving NATURE 44 River in Azerbaijan. The Aghstev River is the Almond (Amygdalus fenrliana (Fritsch), Blackthorn health and spa ("Sanatorium") industry in the Tavush is part of Armenia’s green belt with the largest River in the region, with its headwaters in (Prunus spinosa), Pitachio (Pistacia mutica Fisch. 1980’s, and make up one of Armenia’s most largest forest in the country covering its second Lori Region. The rivers all run from South to North, et Mey., Wild Apple (Malus orientalis Uglitzk). promising tourist attractions. oldest mountains. Up to 410 million years old, the dropping more than 2500 meters before they enter Miapor, G’nats, Hakhum, Ijevan, Halab, Gugarats Wild Berries include the Grape (vitis sylvestris Azerbaijan. As such they form the greatest and Voskepar Mountain ranges first clashed across C.C. Gmel), woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca potential for hydroelectric generation in the the district, forming myriad striations of L.), Blackberries (Rubus armeniacus Focke.). country. mountains, valleys, vegetation zones and rock Cereal grains include the Flax (Linum barsegianii formations. Tavush District has the largest Nature Preserve in gabr.), Alfalfa (Medicago papillosa boiss) and Maize Armenia, the Dilijan Preserve. This technically (Secale vavilovii grossh) The area is so diverse with so many varieties of prevents locals from logging the trees, but the forests, vegetation, flora and fauna, it is hard to energy blockade and a lack of adequate jobs in the For detailed information and list of species see take it all in. The area is the major meeting place region has meant this restriction is largely ignored. TourArmenia Flora pages of the Iranian, Caucasian, and Minor Asian What is surprising when one visits the region is Tectonic Plates, and it is possible to stand astride that while perhaps 15% of the forest has been Birds Tavush is similar to Lori in the number and several landmasses in a single spot. The weather is logged since 1990, it is renewing itself in a variety of topographies, but with a warmer climate extremely variable, with towns and villages located relatively short period of time. Until substitute and so a greater variety of birds. There are two at a higher altitude than Yerevan actually having employment is created, though, the region is in main locales: the forested mountains of the NW warmer temperatures in the dead of January. In danger of serious ecological damage. and SE (Dilijan, Berd), and the river valleys fact, the major towns in the region, Ijevan and between (Ijevan, Noyemberian). Noyemberian, far in the north of Armenia, have Flora Tavush is a habitat for a variety of flower the same climatic zones as the semi-tropical city of species. A partial list includes: Tavush’s mountain plains and alpine country Tavush has numerous springs throughout the Meghri in the far south. are habitats for the Greater Spotted Eagle, Steppe region, most are pure or carbonated calcium, Mountain pass flora includes Iris furcata, Eagle, Northern Harrier, Buntings, Eurasian Eagle- including those on the Gugarats Range (Mt. The diversity is astounding. Every type of Anemone fasciculata, A. raminculoides, Primula Owl, White Tailed Eagle, Cranes, Storks, Crakes, Ulvanasar) and at Voskepar near Noyemberian, vegetation in Armenia inhabits the region. Forests ruprechtii, P. macrocalyx, Trollius patulus, Caltha Flacons, Pheasants, Bustards, European Bee-eater, near Ijevan at Aigehovit village, Dilijan, and near include Dry and Arax Oak, Eastern Beech, polypetala, Rollers, Larks, Wigtails, Warblers, Buntings, Berd at Mosesgegh village.