Introduction

After three weeks exploring Georgia, we decided to spend a few days in neighbouring Armenia. What better way to travel to a new and, to us, little-known destination, than by an overnight train. So, we took the night train from Tbilisi to the Armenian capital Yerevan. Here’s what happened.

The Train

The night train left Tbilisi from the central train station at 10.40pm. We booked a two-person sleeper cabin, so there was no need to share with other passengers. When we arrived at our cabin, we found a selection of goodies had been provided.

This included drinks, snacks, tea and coffee, toothbrushes and paste, and comfy slippers.

The border crossing was straight forward. We had to get off the train to go through Georgian immigration at a small office on the platform. In contrast, the Armenian officials boarded the train and processed passengers in their cabins. Easy.

After a few hours sleep the dawn broke over northern Armenia.

We arrived at around 7.00 am, on time, at Yerevan’s central railway station.

Note: For more information about the train trip here is a link to a post on the Wander Lush Travel Blog describing this trip.

Walking Tour of Yerevan

We dropped our bags at our hotel in the centre of the city and headed off to have a look around. Yerevan is a city of just over 1 million people. The main sights are in and around the centre, which means that it is quite walkable. We started our walk from near to Republic Square (more on this later) and walked north with the Cafesjian Center for the Arts aka the Cascade as our main destination. This is just over 1 kilometre.

We stopped on the way for an Armenian breakfast at a pleasant park side café. This involved lavash (the national bread), cheese, greens and basturma (finely cured ham).

Continuing on we passed Swan Lake.

And just behind it the National Opera House.

A little further on the imposing structure of the Cascade appeared.

The Cascade

This massive tier of stone steps was first proposed by Soviet architect, Alexander Tamanyan in the 1920s, but work did not start until the 1980s. An earthquake in 1988 then halted construction. An American-Armenian philanthropist, Gerard Cafesjian funded its completion, hence the name Cafesjian Center for the Arts. But locals refer to it as the Cascade. It houses his personal art collection within its confines and grounds.

In front of the Cascade is a sculpture park.

There are several eye-catching works from Columbian-Italian artist and sculptor Fernando Botero including Roman Warrior.

Woman Smoking a Cigarette.

And Cat.

All done in Botero’s trademark ‘fat’ style. We’d visited his quirky gallery in Bogota a few years back. Here’s a link to our post if you want to see more of his distinctive work.

There are also some leaping antelopes.

A giant blue kiwi.

And an amazing lion made from old tyres.

Unfortunately, the Arts Center was closed when we visited, but we were still able to observe some outdoor works as we ascended the steps.

The Cascade provides a great view of the parklands below.

And higher up views of the city more broadly.

Beyond the top of the Cascade, it is a short walk to an old Soviet monument – the Memorial to the 50th Anniversary of the October Revolution.

Republic Square

On our way back to our accommodation near Republic Square we came across a giant spider made of scrap metal at the nearby Charles Aznavour Square. Charles Aznavour was a well known French-Armenian Singer, popular from the 40s until his death in 2018.

There is also a lovely fountain in the square.

There are a number of significant buildings surrounding Republic Square. These include grand past and present Government buildings and the Marriott Hotel.

armenian government buildings - republic square

And the History Museum.

The History Museum of Armenia is a definitely worth a visit.

Exhibits include a 5500-year-old leather shoe discovered in a cave in 2008.

An ancient Bronze Age wooden chariot.

A collection of intricately woven Armenian carpets.

Across the city, including in Republic Square, there are many pulpulaks (drinking fountains), which are a welcome feature on a hot day.

Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum

A must visit for anyone to Yerevan is the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum. The museum and memorial commemorate the massacre of an estimated 2 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire from 1915 – 1922.

We decided to walk the 4 kms to the museum from our hotel to see a bit more of Yerevan. The route took us through the Kond Tunnel which goes underneath the suburb of the same name.

It emerges beside the Hrazdan River. This turned out to be a little depressing as the river and environs are clearly neglected.

We passed an outdoor gym.

We then ascended a hill to where the 44m high memorial spire sits.

Beside it is a circle of basalt slabs surrounding an eternal flame.

We then visited the museum.

A very sobering experience.

To understand more about this disturbing period in Armenian history click here to visit the museum’s website.

Other Sights in Yerevan

Here are a couple of other places we visited on our few days in Yerevan.

Kond

Kond is one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods. While the Soviets replaced most of Yerevan’s handsome 19th century buildings and wooden houses with soulless multistorey apartments, Kond survived relatively intact, albeit needing a bit of attention nowadays.

We went for a wander.

Admiring the graffiti that the suburb is known for.

And we even found a little café in someone’s back garden where we could enjoy the view and a chilled pomegranate juice.

Vernissaje Market

We also spent a little time visiting Yerevan’s main tourist market.

Lots of souvenirs to peruse.

There is plenty more to see and do in the capital. We’ve just touched on a few possibilities here. Here is a link to the useful Visit Yerevan website if you want to know what we’ve missed.

After a hard day’s sightseeing there’s always time for a cleansing ale – and Yerevan has a few good craft beer establishments.

Day Trip from Yerevan

There are lots of choices for day trips out of Yerevan. We chose one of the most popular, which in our case, was with local tour company Hyur.

Khor Virap Monastery and Mt Ararat

Our first stop was Khor Virap Monastery.

It is located 32 kms from Yerevan and dates from the 5th century.

The monastery sits on a hill with views across to Armenia’s most sacred mountain, Mt Ararat.

Unfortunately, Mt Ararat is across the border in modern-day Turkey. But that doesn’t stop its importance to Armenians.

We were lucky to get fairly clear skies and a good view of the mountain.

Legend has it that St Gregory the Illuminator, the bringer of Christianity to Armenia, was imprisoned in a pit full of snakes at Khor Virap for 12 years, before his oppressor, King Trdat III saw the light, converted to Christianity, and freed St Gregory. If you’re happy to climb down and back up a slightly dodgy ladder you can visit St Greg’s dungeon.

The current church at Khor Virap dates from the 17th century.

Azat Reservoir

We made a quick stop at Azat Reservoir to take in the view.

Then we headed off to Garni Temple

Garni Temple

Garni Temple was built by Armenia’s King Trdat I in the 1st century AD. (NB: Not sure of what relation King Trdat number 1 is to number 3 who made St Gregory’s life so difficult). It is in the style of Ancient Greece.

It sits on cliff overlooking a gorge with the Azat River below.

The temple is dedicated to the Sun God Mitra. It pre-dates Christianity in Armenia by 300 years.

It is possible to view an ancient mosaic floor in a Roman-era bathhouse adjacent to the temple.

After the temple visit, we stayed in Garni for lunch at a nearby large house with extensive gardens. Prior to lunch we watched two local women prepare lavash.

We got to eat some straight from the underground oven.

Geghard Monastery

This is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed monastery. It was founded in the 4th century, but the oldest chapel today is from the 12th century.

our hyur guide explaining the history of the monastery

The monastery is carved out of a cliff beside the Azat River Gorge.

There are a lot of impressive stone carvings. The carving below is the coat of arms of Prince Papaq Proshian and his wife Hruzakan. It sits above their 13th century burial chamber. It is two lions chained together and an eagle.

There are also numerous elaborately carved stone khachkars (carved stone steles).

The site also features many monastic cells and caves which have been occupied by monks for centuries.

The monastery is a popular spot for wedding photos.

For more information on Geghard Monastery here’s a link to its website.

The monastery was the last stop on our day trip.

The tour was very well run and informative. Our guide delivered an interesting and entertaining commentary throughout, in both English and Russian. Here’s a link to the Hyur website.

Our relatively short stay in Yerevan meant that we didn’t have time to do any other day trips. But there are plenty of options.

From Yerevan to Tbilisi – the Return Trip

In order to squeeze in a bit more of Armenia before returning to Tbilisi for our flight home we decided to travel overland from Yerevan to Tbilisi with a transfer combined with tour offered by Envoy Hostel. Each week they do Yerevan-Tbilisi and Tbilisi-Yerevan in what they call their “Enlinking Caucasus” tours.

Instead of a direct transfer from one city to the other they stop at several historical sites in Armenia and include a tour guide who provides commentary. The 275 km trip would normally take 5 or 6 hours: with the various stops it takes 10 or 11 hours.

Aparan

We stopped at the town of Aparan for morning tea and watch bread being made.

Sanahin Monastery

This was our next stop.

Sanahin Monastery is UNESCO listed.

The oldest parts date to 934.

Haghbat

Yes, you guessed it, a UNESCO listed monastery.

It sits high up in the Debed Canyon in northern Armenia.

It was founded in 976 by Queen Khosrvanuch.

Akhtala

Akhtala was our last stop in Armenia before crossing into Georgia.

It is a monastery, but also an ancient fortress, so looks quite different to all our previous monasteries.

It was then on to our destination – Tbilisi.

We were pleased with our Enlinking Caucasus choice. It was a good way to see a bit more of the countryside. It helps if you like visiting monasteries. If not, maybe catch the night train.

back in tbilisi and farewell to our envoy hostel guide

Our guide was excellent. Here is a link to Envoy Hostel’s website if you want to know more.

Conclusion

Our time in Armenia was all too brief. We really didn’t know what to expect before arriving. Yerevan turned out to be interesting and easy to navigate with plenty to see and do. The history of the country is deeply rooted in its Christian faith, which goes back to the 4th century, and is a big part of any visit to Armenia.