After spending a few wonderful days in Tbilisi, we set off to add another country to our list: Armenia. We weren’t sure what to expect, except for a lot of heat, given that it was now the beginning of August and the climate in Armenia is generally hotter than in Georgia. We would soon discover that our complaints about the heat in the Georgian Caucasus were an insult compared to the temperatures we would soon have to endure in Armenia.
Our first stop is Lake Sevan, a wonderfully clear, cold mountain lake situated almost 2,000 metres above sea level. Here, we enjoy some quiet time in nature, go for a swim every day, and explore the region. We then spend two days at a unique camping spot in the tiny village of Kalavan, although it’s not really a campsite. It’s a project started by an American writer who bought a house here with the aim of developing local tourism. He is renovating the house with the help of volunteers from around the world. We spend two nights here under a big walnut tree. It feels like something between a campsite and a hostel, and the people there were extremely friendly — we had a lot of fun with them! We also visit an abandoned hotel complex right next to Lake Sevan. We’re not exactly sure what is the history of this place, but it’s certainly a somewhat eery place.
After a short stop and a hike near Gosh, during which Apollo has the time of his life and we are accompanied by two kind stray dogs on the way back to the village, we head to Jerewan, Armenia’s capital. Our main reason for coming here was to sort out some visa stuff (more on that later…). Apart from that, we feel like the city doesn’t have much to offer. Temperatures of up to 45 °C in the shade during the day certainly don’t help. Essentially, the city is a prime example of how not to plan a city situated right in the centre of steppes. The architecture is dominated by asphalt and concrete, and the local transport system is dominated by cars. There is very little greenery to cool the city down, which is especially noticeable at night when it feels like the temperature doesn’t drop below 30 °C. We force ourselves to explore the city a bit while Apollo just about survives in the air-conditioned hotel room. To be quite frank, we’re quite happy to leave the city.
As is tradition, we head back up to higher altitudes. After a short ride, we reach the Aragats Cosmic Ray Research Station. Located at Lake Kari at an altitude of around 3000 metres, this research station is still in use today because of the thinner atmosphere. But we’re not here to do physics, but to conquer Aragats, Armenia’s highest mountain. This is because their national treasure, the biblical Mount Ararat, has been under Turkish control since 1921.
Svenja (plus Apollo) and I hiked to the summits of two peaks of the dormant volcano, whose crater is still visible today and is surrounded by around five peaks of varying heights and levels of technical difficulty. I broke my altitude record by climbing the ‘false’ north peak, which took me over the 4000 m mark (see full track here). The real peak is only around 100 metres away and roughly 20 metres higher (4,090 metres compared to 4,070 metres), but it is also extremely difficult and dangerous to reach. I was lucky to have left early in the morning because, on the way back, after I had already passed the most dangerous section near the peak, a strong hailstorm became trapped in the crater. There was nowhere for me to shelter, so I had to continue hiking. Soon, I had almost made it through the crater and back to a saddle point between the south and west peaks when the hail and rain stopped. The rest of the hike was easy.
Svenja and Apollo are aiming for the southern peak (see here). Being lower and closer to Lake Kari, it is, in principle, easier to reach. However, Svenja decides to walk back down along the mountain ridge, where the mountain drops a few hundred metres on either side. There are also some challenging climbing sections at the end, which would be difficult enough for Svenja alone, but even more so given that she also has to carry Apollo on some of them. Apollo — one might call him the Mountain Dog — is a good boy, though, and the three of us eventually make it back to the camper, exhausted but happy. What an adventure!
We decide not to visit the south of Armenia, mainly due to the high temperatures. Instead, we headed back north, stopping briefly at Haghpat Monastery on the way. Then we crossed back into Georgia and headed towards Tbilisi.