excursions to Chndsoresk and Tatev - Caucasian summer 2024 - 16
from Yerevan to Goris including visits to Chor Virap and Noravank
from Haghpat in Armenia to Tbilisi in Georgia
Tbilisi and back home
31.07.2024 - excursions to Chndsoresk and Tatev
Today we make two excursions - in the morning to the caves of Chndsoresk and in the afternoon to the Tatev Monastery.
When preparing for this trip, I didn't make a note of anything about Chndsoresk [↗]. So, I had a quick look last night and still couldn't find a reason to visit this place. Some empty caves in a hill, the grave of an independence leader, and of course a suspension bridge.
They built this bridge to boost tourism, but somehow, they missed to pave the road. This is by far the worst road on this trip so far. But who knows, maybe they are copying the business model of the Natives in Monument Valley: Leave the road so bad, that people join a tour.
The suspension bridge is 160 m long and up to 63 m high. It is not advertised as a suspension bridge but as a swinging bridge. And that's not so wrong. Not only does it move up and down, it also twists. The bridge is fairly new and seems to be safe. Nevertheless, I see no reason to cross it just to see a few empty holes.
Instead, I take the path down to the graveyards. It's nothing spectacular, a few gravestones, a nice view of the bridge, and even a cave 🌝.
Finally, I walk back to the bridge and up the 425 steps to the parking lot. Most of the steps are in direct sunlight. So if it's hot, you should use sunscreen and take some water with you (they have booths at the top).
There is also the option to hire a Russian speaking guy, who can drive you down and back up again. But make sure to ask for the price beforehand and that you get what you pay for. Expect that everything he does will cost something.
As you might guess, for me this visit was a waste of time, and the two who stayed in the hotel did everything right.
After a lunch break in Goris, we get back into the small van we have today. Once again, the road is so bad that our large bus couldn't manage it. This time though construction is under way and the road should be resurfaced in a few weeks' time.
We have tickets for the longest cable car in the world. To be precise: The longest non-stop double track cable car (there are longer ones, especially the one in Norsjö, Sweden, that are falling into other categories). It is called Wings of Tatev [↗] and takes 11 minutes to complete the 5.75 km journey.
The monastery [↗] is great. Apart from two churches, there are many rooms, corridors, and balconies to discover along the old protective walls. They have even rebuilt an old oil press right in front of the monastery.
As we were told that they are very strict with the booked time for the cable car, everyone returned quite early. But there was definitely more than enough time to see everything.
