Why Travel To Armenia?
1. Accessibility: Armenia like any other place is easily accessible through air access, overland access and railway access.
2. Proximity: Armenia is very close to several countries, and many Armenian migrants are in Russia for its close proximity.
3. Affordability: Armenia as a travel destination is affordable and not overcrowded with tourists as of yet.
4. Family Oriented: Armenians live and do everything only for their families, and love big families.
5. Mild Climate: Armenia is often described as a sunny
country with a temperature of 25°C. But it’s also dry in some parts of
the country, and reach to a temperature of 40°C.
6. The Hospitality: One of the highlights of the
culture of Armenian people is Hospitality. They are hospitable to
visitors from all over the world.
7. Ancient History and Rich Cultural Heritage: Armenia has a rich culture with ancient history, aspirations, lifestyle, and traditions.
8. Abundance of Natural Attractions: Armenia has many natural attractions such as Sevan Lake, Mount Aragats, Debed Canyon, Khosrov, Shikahogh and Lake Arpi.
9. Winter in Armenia: The cold winter’s starts by December, January and February, and it’s the coldest time of the year.
10. Vibrant and Modern Urban Landscape: The city is having a modern touch with clean edges with more modern landscapes like patios, concrete paths and even planters.
11. Diverse and Authentic Cuisine: The popular cuisine Dolma, Khash, Manti and many others are rich in vegetables, meat, and fish.
12. Medical and Wellness: The various resorts in
Armenia offering all types of relaxation methods for every
season-whether it’s to escape the heat or the cold!
Top Tourist Cities of Armenia
1. Yerevan
The capital city of Armenia is has a rich
cultural heritage where ancient sights and delicious food are in plenty
to be discovered.
2. Gyumri (Shirak Marz)
Shirak is a province of
Armenia. Its capital and largest city are Gyumri. It is as much
semi-desert place with high mountain ranges surrounding the place.
3. Vanadzor (Lori Marz)
Vanadzor is the
third largest city of Armenia. It was previously known as Gharakilisa. Vanadzor is famous for its exquisite beauty and old age.
4. Dilijan (Tavush Marz)
It’s one of the major cities in Armenia with a major protected forest. It’s popularly known as
Little Switzerland or the Switzerland of Armenia.
5. Jermuk (Vayots Dzor Marz)
Vayots Dzor, a mountain
spa town, is a province of Armenia. It is famous for its mineral waters,
spring hot water and a home to the spa town of Jermuk.
6. Tsaghkadzor (Kotayk Marz)
This is one of Armenia's famous ski destinations. It’s also very popular for its health resorts in Armenia.
Top Tourist Places in Armenia and Yerevan:
1. Khor Virap Monastery:
Some places have a unique
history behind them. They are worth exploring as they carry a significant
element of historicity and excitement with it.
Khor Virap
is one of them, a monastery located in the Ararat plain in Armenia. The
monastery has been in existence for centuries. It is quite right to say that
when you are on your
Armenia Tour and exploring some great places there, do include Khor Virap in your itinerary.
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2. Tatev Monastery:
Armenia is considered the oldest
Christian nation on the planet. A landlocked country, Armenia has history
probably longer than any other European country. Armenia is situated
along the great Silk Road so it has been under numerous empires’
cultural influences. So Armenia is full of Monasteries.
Tatev Monastery is one of the oldest and most famous
Monastery in Armenia
is gifted with spectacular view around it. The monastery is located at
the height of 1600 m in the mountains the Tatev Monastery gives you
picture perfect view and it is guaranteed that you will never forget
this scene in your life time.
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3. Monastery of Geghard:
Monastery of Geghard is also
set up in absolutely beautiful landscape and travelers just love to come
and see this place. The scenery from top or from far looks stunning and
from close there is quite to explore. It is one of the
top tourist attractions in Armenia. Monastery of Geghard is located in Kotayk province of Armenia and it is listed as
UNESCO world heritage site.
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4. Garni Temple:
Garni temple is located in Garni village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia.
Temple of Garni
was made in first century AD and even today it is best known structure
and symbol of pre Christian Armenia. The temple was dedicated to the sun
of God called as Mihr. It is a
major tourist attraction in Armenia. So it is apt to say that when you are on a
Armenia tour visiting Garni and temple of Garni should be among
top must see places in Armenia list.
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5. Matenadaran Museum:
Yerevan is quite a historic city having deep roots of the past and home to some beautiful tourist sites. One of them is
Matenadaran in Yerevan, which is a museum cum research centre. It has huge repository of ancient manuscripts. Matenadaran is a place to visit on your
Armenia Tour Package.
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6. Khosrov Forest Reserve:
Khosrov Forest Reserve is
quite an interesting tourist place to be at because it’s not just forest
but also has hills and rivers in it. The Flora and fauna of Khosrov are
overwhelming. Spread over 23000 hectares of mountain terrain it has
over 1900 species of high vascular plants which includes 24 endemic
species.
Khosrov forest reserve also has over 280
animal species. If you love nature specially forests you should keep
Khosrov Forest Reserves in your list when you are
booking Armenia package.
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7. Republic Square, Yerevan:
Republic square is the
central town square in Yerevan. Republic square is a happening place in
Yerevan and it has all the elements of a great place for the visitors.
Locally it is known as
Hraparak. Republic Square has
two sections. One is an oval roundabout and another is a trapezoid
shaped section in which there is a pool with musical fountains. This is
also famously called ‘
Heart of Yerevan’ and it is a favorite destination in Yerevan for the visitors. When you are in Yerevan on your
Yerevan Tour you must be here at the Republic Square.
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8. Yerevan Cascades:
Yerevan Cascade is a beautiful
structure and unique one. Cascade is an example of unique architecture
and a cool place to be at in Yerevan. The Cascade is a happening place
for both youth and old for a good time. You can enjoy to have a cup of
tea, coffee and eating a bite here. You can also enjoy the outdoor
concerts here and have a great view of it from up on the Cascade
staircase. Many events like Jazz, musical guitar and others take place
here.
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9. Gnishik Canyon:
A canyon is a great landscape, a
deep gorge where a river flows along with it or a rift between two
mountain peaks. Canyons may look dead but they if you go deep into them
you will find great liveliness in those rocks.
Gnishik in Armenia
is nature’s delight. First to get to Gnishik village from where you can
trek to the canyon it would take around 2 hours drive from Yerevan. You
should plan for Gnishik when you
Travel to Armenia next time.
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10. Cultural Sites in Armenia:
Armenia is said to be
one of the earliest Christian civilisations, it’s first church is said
to be founded in as early as fourth century. So when we talk about such a
country with impressive cultural influences it is bound to have some
impressive cultural sites as well. Here are some
incredible cultural sites of Armenia you should not miss when you are on
Trip to Armenia.
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11. Wrestling in Armenia:
Wrestling is one of
most popular Sport in Armenia
today among other popular sports like football, weightlifting, boxing
and chess. Wrestling is said to have deep roots in Armenia. Armenia won
its first silver medal in summer Olympics in 1992 in Barcelona when it
participated under a unified CIS team.
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12. Yerevan Half Marathon:
Yerevan Half Marathon is an
international event that attracts every year more and more participants
not only from Armenia, but also from other countries. The distance to
cover in half marathon is 21.0975 KM or 13.1094 miles to be precise.
Yerevan, Armenia hosted its first half marathon event in the month of
October in 2015.
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Things to Do in Armenia
1. Hiking:
Some of the best
places to hike and trek in Armenia
are Lastiver, Geghama Mountains, Dilijan National Park, Aragats,
Khustup Mountain, Tsakhats Kar Monastery, Hin Halidzo, Hatis and Ara
Mountains and many others.
2. Wind Surfing:
Some of the
best places for windsurfing in Armenia are Armavir Province, Lake Sevan, Vayots Dzor Province, Ararat Province, Lori Province, Tavush Province and many others.
3. Sun Baking:
Some of the
best places for sun baking in Armenia
are Armavir Province, Lake Sevan, Vayots Dzor Province, Ararat
Province, Lori Province, Tavush Province, Syunik Province and many
others.
4. Camping:
Some of the
best places for camping in Armenia are Harsnadzor, Crossway Camping, Elsol Forest Camping 3Gs, Camping in Khustup, ARK Armenia Kapan Eco-Camp and many others.
5. Skiing:
Some of the
skiing places to explore in Armenia are Tsakhkadzor, Jermuk, Akhtamar – Sevan and Byurakan.
6. Monastery Shopping:
Some of the
places to shop in Armenia are Vernissage Market, Gumi Shuka, Homeland, City Market, Salt Sack and many others.
What to Buy in Armenia
Some of the most popular things people take home from Armenia are
Armenian carpets, cognac, handicrafts and Soviet memorabilia. They are
easily available in Vernissage, a flea market next to Republic Square
which never seems to stop. You can also buy duduk, or traditional flute
as a gift, as it is UNESCO’s immaterial heritage.
Markets in Armenia
Vernissage
This is an open-air market that runs
every Saturday near Republic Square. It’s a great shopping place for
tourists and locals alike. You can buy everything from traditional
dolls, a brass pot, ceramics, and a 300-year-old carpet to a 1970s Soviet
phone.
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Underground Book Market
It’s located under Abovyan Street, close
to the Metro station and the medical school, with thousands of vendors
selling thousands of books.
Armenian Cuisine and Drinks
What to Eat in Armenia?
1. Khorovats (BBQ)
It can be pork, lamb, chicken or
beef and is flavoured with onions and other Armenian spices. Some
tomatoes, eggplant (aubergine) and bell peppers are also added in the
meal.
2. Khash
It is a traditional food and
one of Armenia’s festive dishes
eaten mostly in a winter season. It is cooked in a highly sterilized
way, and it’s usually enjoyed in the morning time with some good
additions of garlic and vodka to it.
3. Dolma
It is a family of stuffed grape leaves; a
variety with vegetable to stuff in such as pepper, tomato, onion,
garlic, zucchini and eggplant. It can be eaten as an appetizer or main
dish.
4. Armenia produces
A wide variety of fruits and
vegetables. Some of its most common fruits are peach, apricot,
pomegranate, grapes, etc that you can try out! Armenians love to include
bread into their meals. There is a wide range of different types of
bread, starting from black and white till lavash (a soft, thin
flatbread) and matnakash.
Don’t forget to try out the dairy products! One of
Armenia’s traditional dairy products
that have been there for centuries of history is Matsun (yoghurt). It
contains a number of natural microelements, which have high biochemical
activity. The thick sour milk is a refreshing drink, especially during
hot summers. Okroshka, a cold soup with cucumber, dill and kefir, is a
dairy dish to try out.
The culture of hanging out in a Café is quite popular in Armenia, and
sidewalk cafés are always the best to explore. Any place near the Opera
is sure to keep you late on summer nights. There’s a famous chain called
the "
Jazzve" which offers varieties of tea, coffee, cakes, deserts and many others.
Drinks in Armenia
Alcoholic:
Some of the
most popular hard drinks of Armenia are Vodka, tutti oghi , honi oghi Tsirani oghi local beer, wine, and brandy, which are made from a variety of fruits.
Other:
Some of
Armenia’s popular drinks
are Jermuk (mineral water), (yogurt combined with water and salt),
chichkhani hyut (sea buckthorne juice), bali hyut (sour cherry juice),
masuri hyut (rose hip juice), Armenian coffee, and herbal teas.
