We immediately felt in love with Armenia – with its amiable people, its magnificent landscapes, and its breathtaking history with its many impressive monuments.
Surb Astvatsatsin (Holy Mother of God) Church in the Noravank Monastery in central Armenia
Many people invited us, gave us small gifts, and conversed with us in German. We were amazed at how close the connection between Armenia and Germany is. Our first morning was quite typical: We were able to spend the night in the parking lot of the first-class Caucasian fish restaurant Cherkezi Dzor in Armenia's second-largest city, Gyumri (population 110,000). The owner came to our camper in the morning and welcomed us to Armenia. He then took us to his garden, where his wife was gardening. She gave us tons of delicious vegetables and fruit, including the best apricots we'd ever eaten.
Of course, we had to try the food at this incredible restaurant where we ate sturgeon. The home-brewed beer was also exceptionally good, and all at a reasonable price.
Cherkezi Dzor has its own fish farm - fresh sturgeon
Fabulous grilled sturgeon - the first and perhaps only in our lives
Armenian live music with sturgeon
Late evening in the Cherkezi Dzor Restaurant
Gyumri is a nice city with some interesing places and buildings.
In the Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God
Green piano in the pedestrian zone of Gyumri
Red doll watching the pedestrian zone
Armenia is a land of mountains with many awesome volcanoes. Its largest is the mighty Mount Aragats, with four main peaks—two of which are over 4,000 meters high. Two of these are easily accessible, as a good road leads to Kari Lake, almost 3,200 meters high, on the southern slopes of Mount Aragats. We spent four nights in a beautiful spot just a few meters below Lake Kari. Kari Lake was famous during the Soviet era because several research stations were located there. Unfortunately, most of the buildings are now in a shabby condition.
We climbed the south and west peaks of Aragats on a bright sunny day without encountering anyone. It was a long, strenuous hike, with some scrambling on loose rock, to the summit of Aragats West. On a cloudy day, we hiked to the little summit of the 3,270-meter-high Kari Lake Mountain.
Nomades on the street to the Kari Lake with huge volcano Aragats in the back
Summit of 3879 meters high Aragats South with the Armenian flag
Rocky Aragats West Peak seen from the saddle between West and South Peak
Alfred on top of 4001 meters high Aragats West Peak
View to the Aragats North Peak which is with 4090 meters above sea-level the tallest mountain in Armenia
Plaque on Aragats West showing the bond between Armenian and German mountaineers
Ruins of a Soviet observatory at Kari Lake
There was a good water spring near our campsite below Lake Kari. We had just fetched water and were about to leave for Vahramashen Church and Amberd Fortress when Anna arrived from Berlin. She invited us to a fantastic picnic with delicious Armenian food, which turned out to be a veritable orgy. Afterwards, she showed Marion some local herbs. They both collected plenty. Thank you so much, Anna it was so nice.
Fiesta with Anna from Berlin and her Armenian family at 3148 meters above sea-level
Vahramashen Church on the southern slopes of Aragats, completed in 1026
Armenian Alphabet on the southeastern slope of Aragats with its four peaks - South, West, East and North
Our next destination was the beautiful Campsite 3s, about 30 kilometers east of Armenia's capital, Yerevan. It's one of the most beautiful campsites we've seen so far (see also the website campingarmenia.com). From there, we cycled a few kilometers to the Geghard Monastery, which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Another bike ride took us to the small town of Garni with its famous temple and incredible basalt columns. In front of the temple we unexpectedly met our friends Lydia and Uwe from Saxony, and there was another incredible surprise.
Animals in the Geghard Monastery
Women baking Lavash - traditional Armenian thin flatbread
The Temple of Garni, built in the Ionic style, is the most famous building and symbol of the pre-Christian Armenia
Landscape seen from the Garni Temple
By coincidence we met Anna's brother and his family in the Garni Temple
Symphony of Stones - Basalt columns in the valley below the Garni Temple
Nests in the basalt columns
Kitschy garden in Garni with snowy Ararat and Noah's Ark
The Geghard Valley has no exit for cars at its eastern end, so we had to drive back to Yerevan. We attempted to cross Yerevan through the southern suburbs, but encountered a terrible road with many bumps - luckily, it was downhill, not uphill. We continued southeast, first along the Turkish and later Azerbaijani border, to the Noravank Monastery, another UNESCO World Heritage Site in Armenia. A few meters below, we found an excellent parking lot with a pool. It was very hot, so it was a pleasure to cool off in the refreshing water.
A few meters behind our parking lot lies the small St. Pokas Church, a small chapel with touching relics. On the second day, our friends Lydia and Uwe arrived, and together we visited the interesting Magellan Cave at the beginning of this valley, the Amaghu Gorge.
Noravank Monastery in the Amaghu gorge with awesome red rock walls
In the Magellan Cave with our friends from Saxonia
About 50 kilometers to the north lies the striking Argmaghan volcano, with a small church perched atop its crater. A dirt road leads to its summit, which we cycled along. On the other side of the 2,320-meter-high Selim Pass, a few hundred meters east of its summit, lies the small mountain Yanak, with some impressive petroglyphs.
Red petroglyphs approx. 900 meters east of Yanak
Volcan Argmaghan seen from the descent of 2602 meters high Yanak
Crossing the river Argichi with our bicycles
On top of 2829 meters high volcano Argmaghan
Majestic Ararat in the far distance with Armaghan Church
Hay works in Madina on the eastern foot of Armaghan
Lake Sevan is the largest lake in the Caucasus and lies at almost 2,000 meters above sea level. The northwestern shore of the more than 70-kilometer-long lake is called the Armenian Riviera. The city of Sevan is an Armenian holiday destination and is known for the Sevanavank Monastery on a narrow peninsula. At its eastern end is the small Sevanavank peak at 1,991 meters above sea level.
Colorful dome of Sevanavank
Marion with Sevan Lake close to the Sevanavank Peak
Horsemen close to Sevanavank
We spent our last days in Armenia at the beautiful Kanchaqar campsite below Haghpat Monastery, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From there, we took a taxi to Sanahin Monastery and hiked the approximately 10 kilometers back to Haghpat Monastery and Kanchaqar campsite. It was a cloudy but warm Sunday afternoon, so many people were celebrating.
Big party with a lot of food and alcohol on our hike from the Sanahin Monastary to the Haghpat Monastery
Haghpat Monastery built between the 10th and 13th centuries
In the Church of the Holy Sign of the Haghpat Monastery
On August 19, 2025, we sadly said goodbye to Armenia and drove to Georgia to pick up our friend Sandra from Tbilisi Airport, where we also had an exciting time – that's the next article.
For more pictures, please click here
For a map of our itineraries, click here
To download our GPS coordinates file of Armenia, click here