Overnight stops (in date order): Haghpat (x3); Sevan (x2)
The crossing into Armenia was relatively straightforward.
We followed the Debed River into the canyon it has cut in the Gugarats Mountains to Haghpat; set on the dry plateau above the canyon.
Having filled our boots with Georgian monasteries, the village’s principal attraction is the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Haghpat Monastery – founded in the 10th Century by Queen Khosrovanuysh, wife of the Bagratid king Ashot III.
Images of her two sons are carved into the wall of the main church.
The canyon and surrounding hills are great walking country;
littered with the ruins of ancient forts (such as the Kayan Fortress)
and defensive walls.
Late Summer was a time when nature was in full action.
The decaying industrial ruins of the copper smelting plant in Alaverdi, a Soviet-era ‘mono-town’ in the floor of the Canyon, are less attractive.
