Researching is one of my favorite parts of traveling – apart from the actual travel of course. I look for the most unique experiences possible in a place and try to accommodate it into the itinerary. After all, if I am traveling all the way to another country, I don’t want to come back and find out that I missed something good. This is not to say that the trip should become a long check-list. Rather the contrary – know everything that the place has to offer and then make an informed decision – pick only those that appeal to you. This process led me to Khor Virap, Mount Ararat and Areni in Armenia.

It was Day 4 of our Armenia trip and we found out that it was Zaven of Hyur Service, once again, who would be taking us. This was a 2-day trip which meant he would be staying overnight with us and then bring us back the next day. There he stood next to the Mercedes Vito with his black sunglasses and white shirt – sharp as always.Our two-day excursion to south Armenia started with Khor Virap, Mount Ararat and the Areni winery.

The journey to the south

We were going south to the village of Pokr Vedi to visit the Khor Virap monastery. If you Google images of this monastery, it is absolutely stunning. Standing on the top of a rock and with the majestic snow-capped Ararat in the background, it is a sight to behold. We just hoped that the weather would be nice so that we could see the mountains.

What is on those poles?

Just after we turned off the highway, Zaven slowed down the van and asked us to look outside – at the electric poles. On top of them, there were nests and giant storks. The stork was standing still and I assumed that it was a statue. There were plenty of nests lined up on most of the poles and I thought it was some kind of tradition. I even spotted a few on rooftops. 

Zaven realised that I hadn’t understood and he kept saying “aragil” meaning stork in Armenian. He was telling me that those birds were indeed alive. As if on cue, the next stork opened its wings and flapped to prove that it was indeed real! What a strange and unexpected sight – giant storks on electric poles!

The edge of Armenia

We could spot the monastery from far away. There are a few rocks which jut out of the flat landscape – on top of one of them is the monastery. There is nothing that lies between here and Mount Ararat. It was amazing how this mountain was considered so revered in Armenia but it actually stood in Turkey – similar to how the Mansarovar lake lies in China. 

Khor Virap is the place where Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for 13 years by the King before he became the religious mentor and led the conversion of the entire nation to Christianity. The monastery stands literally 100m away from the Turkish border. We explored the different halls and secret underground chambers. A girl was singing opera-style and her voice echoed inside the monastery – it was a goosebumps moment!

On one side, there were binoculars through which we could look at the mountain which stood next to us.

The inescapable Mount Ararat

Here’s a bit about Mount Ararat – the one that fascinated me the most. In the previous blog, I mentioned how I found it similar to the Burj Khalifa. Everywhere I went in Dubai, I would scan the skyline trying to spot the tallest building in the world. It was something very similar for me in Yerevan and throughout this drive to the south.

The first thing you’ll notice about Ararat is that there are two volcanic cones. The smaller one is more pointy and less covered in snow. The Greater Ararat is the third tallest mountain of West Asia. It is described in the Bible as the resting place of Noah’s Ark when the entire world was flooded by the deluge. Armenians believe that they were the first humans who walked out of the Ark and re-settled on the earth. In Turkish, the mountain is called Ağrı.

I was a tiny bit disappointed as there was some cloud cover obstructing the peaks of both Ararats. But I was glad we could make it here without any rain.

Dodging borders

We continued our journey south. At a village called Yeraskh, we reached a junction. Zaven told us that this was an interesting junction because we were close to multiple borders here. To our right was Turkey, straight ahead was Azerbaijan, to the left was the road to Iran and behind us was of course, Armenia. If you’ve had a look at the map, you would be wondering how Azerbaijan ended up to the west of Armenia. Well, there is an exclave called Nakhchivan which is part of Azerbaijan even though it is not connected to the mainland. It is part of the complicated history that these two countries share.

There were a few places where Google maps said we were entering and exiting foreign territory. But Armenia controlled the highway and there were no checkposts. I could now spot trucks with Iranian registration on the roads. Yet another small thing that fascinates me – the number plates on vehicles!

Pomegranate and wine regions

The road sides were now dominated by pomegranate trees. Soon, they were replaced by vineyards. We had entered the wine region of Armenia, Areni. This is the place where the oldest winery in the world was discovered in 2011. The winery has been dated back to 4100 BC.

We visited the Areni winery factory where the entire commercial wine making process was explained to us. It was a world apart from what we had seen at Wine Yard N1 in Georgia where it was made at home. The equipment came from different parts of the world and were calibrated to create the best wine of all types – red, white and rose. We also saw barrels made of different types of wood from countries like Romania which were used to age the wine further. 

Our guide also told us why they always stored wine bottles horizontally – so that the cork is always moist with the wine and remains tightly sealed. He also told us that they maintained a consistent temperature of 14-17 degrees for the wines. Anything more, and it would slowly stop being wine.

Wine tasting time

At the end of the visit, we had a tasting session where we tried all their classic and reserve collections. The manager at the winery explained the various flavors before we tried them and we could taste some of them. When the flavors are quoted upfront, the brain has a tendency to perceive those tastes even if they aren’t there. So, there must be some trick there! The reserve collection was amazing though!

For lunch, we went a little further to a food court at a town called Yeghegnadzor. There were salads of all kinds, breads, pasta, pizza, rice, kebabs and a lot more. We had a quick lunch and left – we didn’t want to be late to reach Tatev.

Going off the grid

Now, we entered the really remote parts of the country. There were fewer towns and villages in this part and the landscape was pristine. Flowers of all kinds spread across the hills and valleys. We were relieved that we didn’t take a car on our own – it would have been really tough to navigate a car trouble here. Very few vehicles were on the road.

After 2 hours of driving, we got to the junction where we turned towards Shinuhayr. I could see that we were hardly 3 hours away from the Iran border. We spotted a tiny airport – apparently, it was a defunct Soviet era airport. Just before the village called Halidzor, we entered a huge parking lot. 

We had finally arrived to board the Wings of Tatev!

Read all the Armenia blogs here:

• The Armenia itinerary – plan your perfect itinerary to Armenia
• Crossing a land border to Dilijan – the Switzerland of Armenia
• Yerevan and Etchmiadzin – the Oldest Cathedral in the World

Subscribe to the blog here and share it with your friends.