Tatev Monastery how to get from Yerevan. In Armenia by car: Yerevan-Tatev road. Where to stay near Tatev Monastery
How to fly 5752 meters in 12 minutes at an altitude of 320 meters above the abyss? Tatev ropeway allows you to do it! The project, completed in 2010, has greatly increased the accessibility of one of the most famous tourist and historical places in the south of Armenia - the Tatev Monastery.
It was my second cable car in my life. Hopefully not the last. What I saw, what I liked and what I remember - I'll tell you right now!
1. Wings of Tatev - reversible cable car. This means that the booths move in a circle, and back and forth like shuttles. Departure is carried out simultaneously from both stations. The word "pendulum" is also used. 
2. Station "Halidzor" - the one from which people go to the monastery. I met the signature to it "lower station". Perhaps she is really lower level than the other. It doesn't play a big role. 
3. Nearby are a restaurant, a souvenir shop, an observation deck. 
4. Model of the monastery. 
5. There is a photo map at the local observation deck. There are few objects around. The mountain view itself is the most beautiful. 
6. Halidzor. 
7. Gorge Vorotan. 
8. Previously, the road to Tatev along steep roads, they say, took up to an hour and a half in small minibuses. The internet says at least 40 minutes. Getting there on a big bus is simply impossible. You will see in the photo. From this place to the other final cable car, Google gives 15 kilometers in 13 minutes. Yeah. How! 
9. Cabins depart every 15 minutes. 
10. Mechanisms. 
11. A cabin that has just departed. Its speed will reach 36-37 km/h. 
12. Here she drove the first segment of the road. See the dot below? 
13. But half way! Far away on a high pedestal. 
14. Through framing, we see the meeting of booths. 
15. Specifications and rules of conduct are written in Russian, Armenian and English. The smallest section is two pillars in the middle of the road, where the cabin flies over the mountain. 
16. It's time to get in line for boarding. Rooftop waiting. 
17. Tickets are different. I have it back and forth. Today it is 536 rubles. 
18. The booth has arrived. Those who arrived left. And we pass. One cabin accommodates 25 people and 1 accompanying operator. 
19. While driving, there is a small tour in 3 languages. 
20. We start the movement smoothly. 
21. View of the mountains. 
22. If there are experts in the comments, I will be glad for clarifications about these structures on the cables. I'm guessing it's just to keep the wires from rattling. 
23. Local transport. 
24. School. 
25. Some ruins. 
26. Cemetery. 
27. Booth meeting!
28. The longest section is ahead. See the road? 
29. This is only part of it. Believe the speed promised by Google? 
30. Rest house. 
31. A small river from the monastery flows into Vorotan. 
32. Abandoned residence of hermits. 
33. Gorge of the Vorotan River from the other side. 
34. The monastery is already very close. 
35. In the meantime, below us is a waterfall! 
36. It is his water that flows into the Vorotan! 
37. We've arrived! while there are no people yet, I will take a picture of the control panel. 
38. Tatev station. 
Very nice cable car. Scary for those who are afraid of heights, but very comfortable. While waiting for the booth, you can safely surf the Internet, for example :-)
To be continued!
Thanks:
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Hello friends! Today I invite you to fly! We will even have real wings for this, can you imagine? So, dress warmly, we are going to ride the longest cable car in the world. It is located, oddly enough, not somewhere in the Swiss Alps, but in Armenia! At the end of the article there is all the technical information on how to get there, where to live, how much the entrance ticket to the Wings of Tatev will cost, as well as a video about the cable car and the monastery, filmed during the trip.
Let me remind you that in the spring of this year, my friend Katyusha and I traveled through the Transcaucasus and one fine day fell into the mountainous regions in southern Armenia. How and with whom they got there is a whole detective story, you can read how two overgrown Armenians drove us in a tinted car through snow-covered gorges:
Ropeway "Wings of Tatev"
I will show you the beauty for which we spent many hours shaking in a minibus on mountain serpentines, having covered 250 km from Yerevan. 
Ropeway "Wings of Tatev" was opened in October 2010 as part of the Tatev revival program, which includes three stages: the construction of a cable car, the restoration of the monastery and the opening of a hotel.
"Wings of Tatev" is registered in the Guinness Book of Records. The record was not only the length of the road - 5,752 meters, but also the construction time - only 10 months. The Armenians built the road, and the Austrian-Swiss company designed it. The entire construction cost investors $18 million.
If suddenly you also want to stay in a cozy house with our friends, you can call and agree on the dates and cost of accommodation. Igor's phone for calls from an Armenian number 093-76-19-04 . If you are calling from another country or from the numbers of mobile operators in another country, then you need to dial +374-93-76-19-04.
Video about the longest cable car in the world and the Wings of Tatev Monastery
If you liked the video, you can like it in the upper right corner and subscribe to my youtube channel bptrip and watch other travel videos around the world.
It is quite possible that before you get to Tatev, you will first arrive in the capital of Armenia, so you can read an entertaining story about. In that article, I share interesting facts about Yerevan, there are also many photos of the capital.
Mind-boggling roads to you! Sincerely,
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It was decided to dedicate the next day of our stay in Armenia to a trip to Tatev. Tatev was the main goal, but besides it, along the way, with slight deviations from the course, there are other wonderful places that we could not afford not to visit.
Early rise, early departure. We pass the Ararat plain, past trout farms, where ishkhan, trout and sterlet are bred. As you know, the Sevan trout has been listed in the Red Book of Armenia since 1978, when, after a rash experiment, a catastrophe occurred, the ishkhan began to disappear, so it is grown artificially and they are trying to restore popularity in Sevan.
On the right floats Big Ararat, a little further - Small. Despite the early morning, there is no purity and transparency of the air, so it was not possible to see Ararat in all its glory during our entire stay in Yerevan and its environs.
The road is deserted, as are the landscapes, due to the low water and aridity of those places. Alpine meadows in Armenia turned out to be strewn with stones of various sizes, which literally grew through a small layer of fertile soil.
To get to the Noravank monastery, one had to cross the pass. At first, the ascent went up along a straight road, which very soon gave way to a mountain serpentine. However, it was convenient and easy to drive along it, it was not crowded.
The turn to the Noravank monastery marked itself with a sign and a booth with security, but the booth was empty, no one stopped us, although we got out of the car. Immediately behind the buildings, the Noravank National Park began, which went into the depths of the entire gorge.
On the right side of the road to Noravank, in the rock formations on the left bank of the Arpa River, there is also a landmark of those places, and of Armenia as a whole - Areni Cave (or Birds Cave), considered the largest in Armenia, despite the fact that until the end it seems to be not worn, and no one knows its exact dimensions. The karst-type cave, formed in the rock of the Cretaceous period, consists of three halls, the first and second of which are connected to each other by passages. Below and above the level of the first hall there are recesses called "basement" and "upper" floors. The total area under the arches of the cave is almost 500 square meters. During archaeological excavations in 2007-2008, layers of remains of material culture from different periods of the Stone and Copper Ages were discovered in the first hall of the cave and on the slopes at its entrance. Based on the data obtained as a result of radiocarbon analysis of bones, coal, wickerwork, seeds and other organic remains extracted from the outside, these layers can be attributed to the last quarter of the 5th millennium BC. e. and the first half of the 4th millennium.
The entrance to the cave was welded with a grate, when, after numerous publications in the media about the finds and the progress of excavations, the cave was hit by unprecedented popularity, which almost cost the “life” of ancient household items. The archaeological expedition was very disturbed by tourists who, without permission, entered the cave without even thinking about the fact that they might break something. As a result, it was decided to close the entrance to the cave after the completion of the excavations.
The Noravank monastery complex is located among bizarre sheer red rocks on the ledge of a winding gorge. A rather steep serpentine leads to it.
The complex includes a chapel, churches of St. John the Baptist and St. Mother of God, which served as burial places for the families of the princely family. Admission is free, although all visitors buy candles at the entrance, a kind of entrance fee. Together with us, a whole bus with tourists arrived there, who hurried to serve in Surb Asvatsati, in the basement floor, which previously served as the burial place of the princely family of Orbelyans.
The western facade of the building is especially richly decorated. There are built two cantilever stairs that lead to the second tier. The bases of the stairs start to the left and to the right of the entrance to the tomb. Above the door of the first floor there is a bas-relief depicting the Mother of God with the infant Christ and the archangels, and above the upper entrance - with the image of Christ and the figures of the apostles Peter and Paul. The monument is distinguished by harmonious proportions and exceptionally refined decoration.
The oldest church of the monastery is Surb Karapet Church, which has come down to us in ruins, built in the 9th-10th centuries.
Many khachkars have been preserved on the territory of the monastery. Previously, almost the entire space of the plateau on which the complex stands was occupied by the needs of the monastery. Now, neat paths help entire buses of tourists to culturally inspect the preserved antiquities. There are several souvenir shops.
We are heading back. We go down, stop near the old man who was engaged in his garden. Hearing the Russian speech, he willingly entered into a conversation in broken Russian, complained that he could not treat us with anything at this time of the year, recommended that we come to visit him in the fall, when there will be a harvest.
We leave the Noravank gorge and drive further. Following the sign, turn to Jermuk. At the entrance to the city we meet a local airport with a runway of some small size, it turned out to be only 1 km. We cross a wide-span bridge across the giant gorge of the Arpa River, realizing that the waterfall must be somewhere below, but it cannot be seen or heard. We ask, they gladly explain to us. We turned around, again moved in place through the gorge, we go down the serpentine down, there is only one road, we drive up to a small parking area. There is only one car on the site and the one with souvenirs. The seller shows us where to go and warns that the parking is paid, pay him :) To the question, does he issue a check? replies: What checks? where did you see the checks in the parking lots?... We don't argue anymore :) We go along the path to the waterfall.
I looked at it a lot in the photographs, preparing for the trip, and still it struck me. No wonder it is also called Mermaid's Hair: white stripes of water, like the hair of a beautiful maiden, pour down the slope, merging into the Arpa River. Jermuk waterfall is considered the second highest waterfall in Armenia. Jermuk high-quality mineral water is produced from various springs of the Jermuk waterfall.
The gorge of the river itself is beautiful.
Next, we visit the visiting card and symbol of the resort city - a drinking gallery of mineral water springs of different temperatures. The mineral waters of Jermuk are high-temperature, contain a whole periodic table (this is carbon dioxide, bicarbonate, sulfate, chlorine, sodium, potassium, calcium, fluorine, bromine, magnesium), in their composition they are close to the waters of the world-famous Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic.
The drinking gallery is an architectural structure, from the wall of which taps with drinking water are removed. Moreover, each faucet corresponds to a certain type of water and in each next the water is slightly hotter than in the previous one. In the latter, the water temperature reaches 55 C.
Our time is catastrophically running away in contemplation of the beautiful and we may not have time to visit the actual purpose of our trip - Tatev, so we did not stay long in Jermuk, tried the water from all the taps and drove back to the highway, which will finally lead us to Tatev.
Gradually the road began to rise again. Mountain landscapes evoked an unimaginable feeling of spaciousness and freedom. And the serpentine, along which we climb to the top of the Vorotan Pass, forced us to admire, but we could no longer afford to stop once again. Cars with Iranian license plates began to come across more often. People were standing and sitting along the road, offering to buy something white in buckets, baskets, basins. Looking closer, we understand that these are champignons, but such a quantity impressed us. Sergey even had a thought to walk along the slopes in search of mushrooms, but this thought was defeated by another one that everything had already been collected and put into buckets. At the top of the pass through the Zangezur ridge there are symbolic Syunik gates, we find ourselves in the Syunik region. Immediately after the pass, the quality of the road surface deteriorated. The road forks. The main one crosses the river and goes further south, the secondary one turns west to the village of Tatev. We turn off at the sign for Tatev, the highway flies to the edge of the cliff, under which Vorotan roars 500 m below.
Unlike other points of our visit, Tatev was full of tourists, mostly school students, who, apparently, were taken out on an excursion during the holidays.
There are two versions of the translation of the name Tatev from Grabar (ancient Armenian): “give wings” or “fly!” Also with this name “Give me wings!” is the longest cable car in the world, which is called so and is located near the village of Tatev. Its length is 5 km 700. By cable car on the funicular, which can accommodate up to 25 people, you can reach the ancient Armenian monastery - Tatev Monastery - in just 11 minutes.
The cable car was named "Wings of Tatev". This road was built jointly by the Swiss and Austrians. And their work cost a record $13 million. Sergei did not see the point in this road, despite the fact that a quite tolerable road led to the monastery.
We walked to the booths, everything is fenced, well maintained, a large parking lot, free of charge. We walked, looked from above where the cable car leads and drove a car along a serpentine.
A powerful and impregnable stronghold rises the Tatev Monastery on a cliff that breaks off in the gorge of the Vorotan River. The strategically advantageous location on the cape, formed by the deep, rocky slopes of the river gorge, favored the creation of a powerful defensive complex here.
Tatev Monastery was founded in the 9th century. It was a major medieval spiritual and educational center. Tatev University was located here, founded in 1390, which included three departments (faculties).
"Gavazan" - a swinging column, installed in 904 in the courtyard, near the living quarters of the monastery, is a unique work of Armenian architecture and engineering of that time. This is an octagonal stone pillar (eight meters high) crowned with a khachkar mounted on a carved cornice. From seismic vibrations, and even from the touch of a human hand, the column can tilt and independently return to its original position. The oscillations of the pendulum warned the population of the monastery about earthquakes, as well as about the approach of enemy troops. We did not push, you never know)))
We met a Caucasian agama on the territory of the monastery (we later identified it)
Among other things, the 17th century oil press was restored in the Tatev Monastery. It was used to obtain, linseed, hemp and sesame oil. So now you can watch the extraction of oil according to ancient technology and get acquainted with the local features of cooking. By the way, in this tourist site there is not a single information record in Russian, while there is one in Armenian, English, French and, like, Italian. On the territory of the monastery there is in Russian, but it is clear that these are tablets left in ancient times, while modern ones prefer not to include Russian in their descriptions.
We return to the car. Just drove off, we see two tourists who voted on the road. We stop, the guy and the girl practically ask with gestures if we can bring them down to the Devil's Bridge. That's the reason to visit this attraction. Tried to talk to tourists. It turned out that they were from Israel, flew to Tbilisi, and arrived in Tatev and Goris as part of an excursion from Tbilisi. They have a week for Georgia, a week for Armenia is planned. Oh, how it happens! Winding unthinkable serpentines, the road goes down and goes to the famous Devil's Bridge.
Devil's Bridge (Satani-Kamurj)
This bridge is a platform between the slopes of the gorge, and is the result of the activity of mineral waters, which for many centuries formed a kind of arch about 40 m wide above Vorotan. On either side of the bridge, towering hillsides are made of pink and yellowish travertine and limestone. But everything was spoiled by a huge amount of garbage scattered everywhere.
Local guys told us that there is still a pool with mineral water, one of them led us to it. Then he offered to go down to the water, along a rope that was tied to a tree. I didn't make up my mind. Sergey went down, but somehow he was not impressed, he says that he was more worried about the camera than looking for beauty.
At the entrance to the city we see caves in the distance, but how to get to them we ask the local population. The men who were sitting on a bench near residential buildings and playing backgammon began to actively tell and show us where to go. And anyway, we turned a little earlier than necessary, got to the cemetery. We climbed a steep slope up (I kept wondering how the funeral takes place there, if the UAZ climbed with difficulty).
Before us is a cave city. This impressed me. The hilly landscape of Goris is cut by gorges, from which, like outlandish plants, rocks stretch towards the sun, revealing new fantastic landscapes, sometimes reminiscent of alien ones. These rocks are the result of the weathering of volcanic tuff. Due to this process, unusual pinkish cones and peaks were formed, which are a fantastic sight. It is also interesting that inside these cones from ancient times until the middle of the 20th century. people lived. Each dwelling, as a rule, was divided into two parts by a partition: tun - for human habitation and gom - for livestock. Along the walls of the residential part, large benches were cut down, and in the goms - feeders for livestock.
The cave city is multi-tiered, and the roof of the lower dwelling serves as an entrance platform for the upper dwelling. With the advent of metal tools, natural caves were expanded and completed more and more, forming rather large settlements. Thus, with the help of cave cities, two problems were simultaneously solved - housing and the problem of security, which, due to Turkish and Persian invasions, was very acute.
These are the caves closest to the houses. Of course, everything eventually collapses, crumbles.
But many residents still use the caves for their own needs, in particular as a corral for livestock.
It's already getting dark, it's time for us to go back. But we could not pass by another miracle of Armenia - "Zorats-Karer", which means "stone army" in Armenian, another name is Karahunj ("singing stones"). Rows of giant red-brown monoliths are visible from the road on the scorched plain. Megalithic structures, along with the Egyptian pyramids, are one of the unsolved mysteries of mankind.
Zorats-Karer is 223 vertically standing stones from 1.5 to 2.8 meters high and weighing up to 8.5 tons with even through holes, arranged in circles around dolmens on an area of approximately 7 hectares.
The outstanding Armenian scientist Paris Geruni was engaged in the research of Karahunj. Professor Geruni proved that the age of the megalithic complex reaches 5500 BC. (i.e. it is much older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids). The stone structures of Zorats-Karer were not used as burial places, but served as a temple of the sun god, and at the same time they were an ancient observatory, since the holes in the stones corresponded to the location of the stars in the sky, which proves that people of those times knew much more about the world and the universe than we thought before.
Today, many tourists are looking for new and unforgettable experiences in their travels. Therefore, the offer to ride the longest cable car in the world is unlikely to go unnoticed. This article will, of course, be about the Wings of Tatev!
One of the most popular and visited attractions in Armenia, in recent times, has become the 9th century monastery of Tatev. It is located on a small delta-like plateau of a sheer rock in the gorge of the mountain river Vorotan, which means Thundering in translation. The sound of water on the rapids can be heard even at a height of 250 meters.
Beautiful natural landscapes carefully surround the once famous abode of education, science and art. The special energy reigning here and unique architectural structures, such as the swinging Gavazan column, even today, do not cease to amaze tourists. The monastery is located in one of the most rugged and rocky regions of Armenia - Syunik. There was a time when only one road, from the nearest village of Halidzor to Tatev, took about 50 minutes by bus. As a result, the activity of this tourist route suffered greatly.
Start
However, in 2009, the government approved the Tatev Revival program proposed by the National Competitiveness Fund. It provided for three years to restore the destroyed architectural monuments of the monastery and create an infrastructure for the development of tourism.
The first step in the implementation of this plan was the construction of a cable car. After careful selection, the work was entrusted to the well-known Austrian-Swiss company Garaventa (Doppelmayr Garaventa Group). And already in October 2010, in a festive atmosphere, the longest cable car in the world was put into operation, which was immediately entered into the Guinness Book of Records.
general description
To date, the "air" way to the monastery does not take more than 12 minutes. The distance between the platforms is 5752 meters. Taking into account all the features of the area, the route itself was also thought out, which makes it possible to see many other historical and natural attractions from a height of 320 meters, such as the Bridge of Satan or the Tatev Desert. The design of the passenger cabin, which can accommodate 25 people, gives travelers the opportunity to maximize visibility. When it moves, there is a feeling of flying in the sky, which justifies the name of the cable car itself Wings of Tatev.
Some tourists often wonder how safe the trip is, and this is understandable. The company's engineers assure that the maximum security measures were applied in the design. The cabins are supported by 6 cables capable of withstanding 10-15 times the rated load. Even with strong winds up to 70 meters per second, they ensure the normal functioning of the cable car. The distribution takes place according to the formula "three for each booth" - one drive cable and two carriers. The main drives are two powerful electric motors, main and standby. In the event of a sudden interruption of the power supply, a diesel engine with automatic connection is also provided.
It should be noted that the structure of the complex itself is comfortable for visitors. Lots of open space for free parking. There is a restaurant where you can eat while waiting for your flight, or simply enjoy a cup of coffee with an unforgettable mountain landscape. The observation deck is equipped with survey telescopes overlooking the gorge. A fairly convenient ticket office with mobile communication makes it possible to purchase a round-trip ticket.
Price
The cost of a cable car ticket, depending on the season, will be 2500-3000Դ (one way) or 3500-4000Դ (round-trip). For children up to 110 centimeters tall, a ticket will cost only 100Դ. Tickets can be bought both locally and online. Check the official website for current prices and opening hours.
- The advantages of early purchase of an electronic ticket are:
- saving time, as you do not have to stand in line;
- you will 100% ride;
- you can buy a ticket for friends or relatives, for example, as a gift.
Fans of adventure tourism will be delighted by the recently introduced additional services. Now, having ordered a hiking tour to the Vorotan River, they, accompanied by an experienced guide, can go down to the bottom of the gorge, enjoying the indescribable beauty of wildlife along the way.
How to get there
The Wings of Tatev cable car is located in the Syunik region of Armenia, about 250 kilometers south of Yerevan. You can get from Yerevan by taxi, rented car or use the transfer offered by numerous tour operators. Travel time, if you go non-stop, will be about 4 hours.
On the way, you will pass Khor Virap Monastery, Areni village, Noravank monastery complex and Zorats Karer - we advise you to definitely look into these places, as they are an integral part of the Armenian cultural heritage.
And with the help of this map you will be able to lay the best route to the Wings of Tatev cable car from any part of Armenia.
