Armenia - The Caucasus
by Steve Gregson
We flew to Armenia looking for good weather, lonely roads and high mountain passes. We were not disappointed. The three of us found all that... and more. We overnighted in good value-for-money establishments that ranged from a three star hotel in a ski resort to a "flea pit" on a main highway. We found ancient religious locations, discovered little-known places of enormous historical importance and managed plenty of the rough-stuff riding that we love.
My wife summed up the Armenia we found in 2008: It's almost the least threatening country we've ever cycled across. Nearly as safe as Scandinavia. Like most parts of the world, traffic, especially 4x4s, is now the greatest danger. Up in the mountains, watch out for the short tunnels.
Since the typical foreign visitor in Armenia is a diaspora Armenian from America, riding in a chartered bus between Yerevan, the capital, and one of the many monasteries, we three touring cyclists were very rare creatures. Consequently we were very well treated.
High in the mountains, the "summer farmers" were so thrilled to meet us that they offered to trade cups of delicious coffee for the English lessons we gave their children. In fact we only met one other tourist, a Russian-speaking woman member of the US Peace Corps who admitted to being a "Soviet groupie" (whatever that is).
Our great excitement every day was the sprint training in the name of "outrunning the dogs". My wife fills out empty panniers with newspaper to keep them away from her legs should they get too close. In the end it was never a big problem and the result of the sprints was English cyclists 50 versus Armenian dogs nil! It could have been much worse, there are bears in Armenia. on our first evening, we saw caged bears in a restaurant.
We had planned a clock-wise circuit from Yerevan airport, and our overnight stops before we found the rough-stuff were: Ashtarak on May 31 via Ejmiadzin the spiritual centre of Armenia's Christians. Vanadzor via a steady 37 mile climb with magnificent views of snow covered Mt Ararat over the border in Turkey. Haghpat Monastery where a Babushka look-alike owner cleared out her English speaking daughter in law's rooms for us.
Ijevan, after riding excitedly and quietly through former Azerbaijan territory. Dilijan, 2 nights as we had a relaxing B&B with a beautiful veranda looking out over wooded hill-sides. There was tasty home cooking, an interesting town with museum and a nearby National Park Tsaghkadzor was a ski resort with excellent hotels and a lift that ran in summer so we had a morning walk above the snow level. Our inaccurate Reise-Know-How map showed a short cut road from near Lake Sevan on this day but no-one even knew of a footpath nor bridleway. Gavar and Martuni followed with long sections alongside Lake Sevan, one of the world's largest high altitude lakes. Crossing the Serim Pass with its ancient 1332AD Caravanserai, it was a long free-wheel to Yeghegnadzor and another friendly B&B with delicious home-garden cooking.
June 10, we only found our rough-stuff towards the end of the 2 weeks. Leaving Yeghegnadzor, a really steep asphalt road 5 miles up to 5000 ft and Tanahat monastery where bear droppings are sometimes noted! As we seemed to be in a different place than our inaccurate German map showed, we stopped the only car we had seen in a half hour and pointed to a 2-lane track that we saw on the map lead back down into the valley. By sign language, the driver of the Lada agreed with us that it was the "road" shown on our map. I said to my wife Ann, and our friend Helen, that I would descend this steep and stony track carefully and estimate if it did indeed lead to where we wanted to go "If I'm not back in 20 minutes, it's either the correct way or I've been eaten by bears, I'll bequeath you the strong Karrimor panniers".
It did indeed lead down and with great views over Nakhichevan (Azerbaijan). At the end of the day there was another tremendous climb 15 miles to a former Soviet Spa resort where we found excellent set of rooms behind the most rundown facade. It took time for a helpful resident to find the part-time janitor and later he saw us out walking and invited us in to a going-away party for a new army recruit. Having just eaten we were sorry to have to refuse the sumptuous feast, barbequed meat, fresh vegetables including tasty red tomatoes. We also managed to refuse glasses of local Vodka – well most of them anyway. We were glad of the descent and cool air the next morning!
11 June and we were determined to find more rough-stuff and also to find the old river bed track down from Jermuk which we had not used the previous day due to the landslides supposedly blocking it. I had noted a really steep, stony and hair pinned way dropping down into the Upper Arpa River valley, not shown on any map so once again headed off very slowly even walking in parts and stopping to take photos of the rocky cliffs with 3333m mountains in the distance. Lots of photos taken, 2 sleepy guard dogs at some fish-ponds, and we were down on the broken asphalt track and ready for lunch of fruit, honey, bread and butter donated to the cyclists from last nights feast.
On 12 June, we were within 2 days ride from Yerevan the capital, so after a lively breakfast in Arpi (sausages, omelette, bread, coffee) with cheerful ladies running market stalls outside our hotel at the side of a transport cafe halt, we were off on the busy Iran-Yerevan highway but soon found a quiet parallel road that passed through small towns and villages. On the map it was shown as only entailing a short climb and then a long descent; and at least I could check the contours with my state of the art altimeter, thermometer etc, new computer. This road was just west of the Tukh Manukl-tsk Pass and so we enjoyed a long shallow descent on partly broken asphalt, partly gravel through Lusashogh. The scenery was almost biblical with old villages, hardly in tents for the summer, then honey collected by a wild looking man driving a Russian motor-cycle and side car. Unfortunately, we missed the only decent place to stay due to lack of signs (Armenia does not seem to put up accommodation names), and ended up in the only flea-pit in 14 days there.
We were not so keen on capital cities and it was so nice out in the countryside, so our final we rode the old road straight into Yerevan Republic Square, saw Government buildings, bought and sent some postcards and enjoyed a pavement coffee by the Cascade before cycling out through the suburbs for a last meal. At the airport, late at night, we wrapped up the cycles in 2m x 3m of clear polythene which the airline representative agreed was suitably packed'. A friendly worker invited us to watch a European Cup football match (and doze in comfy chairs) until check-in time for the 0540 flight to Vienna/London.
Daily averages were 40 miles at 9 mph, with 950 mt of climbing on mostly well surfaced roads and it did not bankrupt us. Only 1 puncture on the whole trip- broken glass. Temperatures were ideal, one thinnish top sufficing for most elevations, only on the high passes did we need another top. Would we go again? Definitely yes, the next time to travel the north side of the Lake Seven and through to Nagorno Karabagh and on to the Iranian border.
(this article first appeared in the March 2009 RSF Journal)