Adventure Hiking in Armenia
Trek the Great Silk Road, explore caves and zip-line above a gorge before summiting Armenia’s highest peak, Mount Aragats (4090m)
Adventure Hiking in Armenia
Trek the Great Silk Road, explore caves and zip-line above a gorge before summiting Armenia’s highest peak, Mount Aragats (4090m)
DURATION
6 nights
LOCATION
Armenia
ANNUAL LEAVE
5 days off work
SEASON
Jun—Sep
GROUP SIZE
Up to 13 people
MEETING POINT
Zvartnots International Airport, Armenia
ACCOMMODATION
Hotel · Guesthouse · Wild camping
DIFFICULTY
Moderate
A decent level of fitness and the ability to hike for 4-7 hours each day will see you all the way to the top.
Hike along the Great Silk Road, the ancient trading route which linked the West with the East for millennia
Trek through gorges, forests and meadows and take a dip in the second highest freshwater lake in the world
Spend a night under the stars on the slopes of an extinct volcano and hike under the shadow of Mount Ararat - fabled resting place of Noah's Ark
All our reviews are verified
— Mark, June 2022
This was a trip of a lifetime. Armenia really is 'off the beaten track' and an undiscovered gem for western tourists. If you want day after day of Instagramble moments, this is definitely the trip for you. Our guide, George, was great and kept us safe throughout the trip. Make sure to bring good winter gear for climbing Mount Aragats as you'll go across snow fields & rocks. The nothern summit is a 12-hour round trek. Plus, make sure to pack plenty of water each day.
— Micah, June 2022
Great trip!
— Philip, June 2022
The trip name was to ‘Summit the highest peak in Armenia ‘ . The second highest peak does not count. The zip wire experience is a must.
— Amanda, June 2022
Beautiful trip with amazing experience of the countries nature culture and history. The summit is super fun and the food was delicious. Highly recommend!
— Clare, August 2021
Fantastic trip which I would highly recommend. - loved all the activities and the breadth of the country we covered. Fantastic local guides, excellent food and accommodation.
— John, August 2021
This is an awesome trip with stunning scenery. The local guides and organisation were great as well.
— Bhavin, August 2021
The trip exceeded my expectations. Yerevan is a charming city that is easily explored by foot. We also got a chance to explore the countryside which is beautiful. The day hikes were a good prep for the summit trek, although the weather was extremely hot the first few days. The hotels were small and quaint, the food was nice, the guide very capable, and the logistics smooth.
Included
Guides
Expert, English-speaking guides
Accommodation
4 nights in hotels, 1 night in a local guesthouse and 1 night camping on Mount Aragat
Meals
Munch on delicious food throughout
Transfers
To and from the airport and everything in between
Equipment
All your camping equipment for the Mount Aragats summit hike
Permits
All permits and entry fees
Not Included
Flights to and from the meeting point
Travel insurance
Personal expenses
Some meals as described
Tips for your guides
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Yerevan Airport
Anytime on Day 1
Ends
Yerevan Airport
Anytime on Day 7
Transfers
Your host will pick you up on arrival and drop you off on departure, all flights will be met.
Travel options
There are regular flights to Yerevan from major airports across the UK and Europe.
Day 1
Hotel · Twin share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2
Guesthouse · Twin share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 3 – Day 4
Hotel · Twin share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 5
Wild camping · Twin share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 6
Hotel · Twin share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 7
Departure day
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
On hiking days you will have lunch boxes provided with sandwiches, a salad and dessert (cookies, fruits etc). In restaurants, you will have traditional Armenian dishes. Lamb, aubergine, yoghurt and bulgar wheat are all staples of Armenian diets. Armenian meze, served with the traditional bread called Lavash is a must. For dessert be sure to try Baclava.
These are generally meat-based meals, though vegetarians and vegans can be catered for if you let your host know in advance. Food allergies or other special dietary requirements can also be catered to, just let your host know on the passenger info form.
What is the accommodation like?
Yerevan
You’ll stay in a modern 3-star hotel in Armenia's capital. The hotel has a central location close to bars and a popular arts centre.
Yeghegnadzor
After the caving day, you'll stay in a beautiful family run winery and guesthouse set in a lovely location, with mountain-view balconies, an open fire and an outdoor swimming pool.
Herman Village
At the end of your first hiking day you'll stay in a hotel in a peaceful location in Herman Village with a sauna and a pool to help sooth your limbs.
The Great Silk Road
You'll stay at the Apaga Resort in an amazing natural setting with incredible mountain views all around.
Mount Aragats Camp
You’ll wild camp on Mount Aragats at an altitude of 3200m. There are no facilities and you’ll have to pitch-in to set up and take down the camp before and after reaching the summit. Sleeping bags and mats will be provided.
Upgrades
For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room and tent can be booked for an extra charge, see Optional Extras for the price. Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability).
Day 1
Explore Yerevan
Check into your hotel and depending on your arrival time, soak up the cosy cafes and bars of Armenia’s capital city, Yerevan. Meet the rest of your team and then head out for dinner before bedding down for the night ready for the adventure ahead.
Day 2
Go Underground
Hiking
3-4hrs
Head out of Yerevan for your first taste of the Armenian countryside. Stop off at Khor Virap Monastery for some sweeping mountain views and then have a traditional Armenian BBQ as you stare out at Eastern Turkey's enormous Mount Ararat - fabled resting place of Noah's Ark. Spend the afternoon hanging out with the bats as you explore the winding and narrow tunnels of the Magel and Areni 1 cave system.
Day 3
The road to Spitakavor
Hiking
4-5hrs · 11km
Trek through Armenian villages and past ancient monasteries as you make your way towards Spitakavor, gateway to the Great Silk Road.
Day 4
The Great Silk Road
Hiking
4-5hrs · 12km
Hike along the Great Silk Road, the ancient network of trade routes that once connected East and West. Soak up the amazing views of the Caucasus mountains and the medieval fortress of Smbataberd, probably built for King Smbat II Tiezerakal, known as the Master of the Universe. Have a picnic lunch with gorgeous views of the Lower Caucasus Range and then carry on to the ancient trading post of Selim Caravanserai.End the day with a well deserved dip in Lake Sevan, the second highest fresh water lake in the world – a whopping 1900m above sea level.
Day 5
Ride the Zip-line
Hiking
2-3hrs · 7km
Begin the day flying over a 300m deep canyon on a vertigo-inducing zip line. For anyone who isn’t keen on heights, you can swap this for horse riding for a small extra cost, just speak to your guide. Back on the ground, hike into an unspoilt and rugged part of Armenia - considered one of the nation's best kept secrets, passing through a dense forest and a deep gorge into a large and picturesque meadow region of the Caucasus foothills. After dinner, help set up camp for the night and sleep beneath the peak of Mount Aragats.
Day 6
Summit Mount Aragats (4090m)
Hiking
6-7hrs · 17km · 890m up · 890m down
Walk to Kari Lake (3200m) and then climb to the summit of Mount Aragats (4090m). All going to plan, you’ll have lunch on the summit looking down on all of Armenia and deep into neighbouring Turkey. Descend down the mountain to the campsite, pack up and head back to Yerevan, the last stop on your Armenian adventure.
Day 7
Free day in Yerevan
Use your spare time exploring Yerevan, before heading to the airport and back to reality.
15% Off Outdoor Gear
Whats provided?
- Tents, sleeping bags and mats are provided whilst camping
What do I need to bring?
Bags
- Soft overnight duffel bag or rucksack
- Daypack (35+ litres)
- Waterproof liner for kitbag or rucksack / drybags
Clothes
- Waterproof jacket
- Waterproof trousers
- Breathable wicking layers
- Fleece jacket or similar
- Buff or neckscarf
- Warm hat and gloves (for early/late season departures)
- Lightweight gloves
- Lightweight trousers/shorts / skirts
- T-shirts
- Underwear & socks
- Swimwear
- Sunglasses
- Sunhat
- Something to sleep in
- Hiking boots (worn-in)
- Old clothes for caving
- Sandals
Other
- Trekking poles (optional but recommended)
- Padlock for left luggage
- Universal travel plug adapter
- Power bank or solar charger
- Spare camera batteries
- Passports (and visas if needed)
- Travel Insurance documents
- Ear plugs
- Insect repellant
- Suncream
- Personal first-aid kit (inc. blister treatment)
- Personal items (biodegradable toiletries, sanitary wear etc)
- Quick-dry towel
- Alcohol hand-gel
- Headtorch or torch
- Reusable water bottle x1 ltr (2 of these if you have room)
- Quickdry towel
- Biodegradable wet-wipes
- Energy bars and snacks
- Water purification tablets/treatment system
Single room in Yerevan
Payable Before Departure
Single room in Yerevan
…
Double/Twin room in Yerevan
Payable Before Departure
Double/Twin room in Yerevan
…
Optional Private Room & Tent Upgrade
Payable Before Departure
Optional Private Room & Tent Upgrade
…
We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 240kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2022 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
A regular level of fitness will be enough to see you through. The longest hike will be 17 km to the highest point of Armenia: the Northern Peak of Mount Aragats at 4090m. This hike takes 6-7 hours whilst the hikes on earlier days are all 3-4 hours at a gentle/moderate pace.
Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
We'd suggest you bring a couple of reusable water bottle to fill up before each hike. The tap water is safe to drink in Armenia and it's famous for its spring waters, so if you have a Water-to-go bottle or a Lifestraw please bring that with you to safely enjoy natural water sources on your hikes. You can find many drinking fountains in Armenia in the streets which are also safe to drink from.
In May, June and September the weather is mild, warm and sunny. In some regions on this trip it might be a bit cooler and windy in the evenings. July can get pretty hot with the average temperature between 30-35 degrees celsius. There may still be snow on the peaks including Mount Aragats, but this won't affect your hikes or mountain summit.
Sure can! Just ask your host and they will be able to store for you.
We recommend checking out the country specific information here and also talking to a travel nurse.
For current advice about travelling in Armenia, have a read of the UK Foreign Office pages here.
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our adventures. Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure.
Your insurance policy should also include specific Covid-19 cover, including cancellation and curtailment cover if you, your travel companion or a close relative are diagnosed with Covid-19.
We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
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